The end of senior year brings a time when students often reminisce about their accomplishments throughout their academic careers. And for senior Alex Korchev, he has one more accomplishment to add to the list: Class of 2024 Valedictorian. This title attests to his work ethic and ability to bounce back from difficult situations.
Korchev will be attending Brown University in the fall, majoring in applied mathematics and economics. Though he has a strong interest in these subjects, the university’s open curriculum is what drew Korchev to select this school, in addition to the school’s many avenues to explore whatever he wants. He also appreciates the school’s location which is close to home, as well as the good balance between an urban and rural environment.
“I like to dabble in some science. My parents are both chemistry majors [so] I kind of want to do a bit more of that,” Korchev said. “Or just some architecture [or] engineering [since] I also find that pretty interesting.”
Korchev has undoubtedly taken some of WA’s most rigorous course offerings, with his senior year course load alone including AP German, AP Biology, AP Environmental Science, AP European History, AP English Literature, along with a Dual Enrollment math class. Though he has always had a fascination with math, this transcript is a testament to Korchev’s variety of interests in all subject areas.
His passion for math led him to explore extracurriculars pertaining to the subject. Korchev was a part of WA’s Math Team for three years and became the team’s co-captain this year. Additionally, he has been participating in math competitions for a very long time, and one of the accomplishments he is most proud of is qualifying for the highly selective American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) all four years of high school.
However, even with his rigorous academic schedule, Korchev was still able to balance his school and personal life by managing his time as efficiently as possible. Throughout his time in high school, he would make sure to make time to unwind, oftentimes utilizing workouts as a stress reliever.
Still, everybody’s high school career is full of ups and downs, and Korchev is no exception. The Class of 2024 has a unique experience due to the COVID-19 pandemic, completing their first year of high school mostly through computer screens. Because of this, Korchev found it difficult to adjust to the fast-paced high school courses whilst working in isolation. However, he was able to bounce back and join several clubs during his sophomore year to put himself out there and make up for his freshman year.
“[One piece of advice I would give is] join as many clubs, do as many things as you can freshman year, and then you can dial it back a little bit later once you hone in on what you want to do,” Korchev said.
Hoping to pursue his interest in mathematics, Korchev aspires to be an actuary when he is older, a profession that analyzes the financial cost of risk and uncertainty through statistics and math. Their work is essential to the insurance industry. To become an actuary, one must pass close to 10 exams, each varying in different topics such as probability, investment, and statistics. These exams are recommended to be taken during undergraduate school, and each take around 300-500 hours of studying. This path is not daunting for Korchev, however; in fact, it excites him and has become a goal he would like to achieve.
“That’s something that is a career goal of mine,” Korchev said. “In 10, maybe 15 years, hopefully, I can be done with most of [the tests] or all of them. That’s something that takes a lot of hard work and it’s something that I want to strive for.”
