Each month, the principals of Gilroy and Christopher high schools choose a total of four students (two from GHS and two from CHS) to spotlight. CHS senior Jerry Kuang, 17, is this week’s Student of the Week.
What inspires you?
People inspire me. From my family, to my friends, to my instructors, and even to strangers, I take inspiration from all of the people that I meet in my life, discovering both the qualities that I want for myself and those I hope to avoid. For example, I once saw someone’s car break down in the middle of the road. Immediately, random strangers came from all directions to help the man push his car through the intersection. These moments are golden to me.
What is your favorite subject in school, and why?
I enjoy all of the sciences, which is very broad, but I feel like the sciences really give me the most opportunity for intellectual exploration. Learning and discovering in the sciences is learning and discovering the future, and I hope that by following this path with my education, I will find the field where I have the most potential to contribute.
If you had the power to change one thing in the world, what would it be?
Not knowing. In my eyes, the biggest problems stem from people’s not knowing, and there are too few people sharing to those that don’t know. Whether with opportunities or public issues, it’s not that people do not want to do or do not want to help, but rather, it’s often that people do not know that the opportunities or issues are there.
If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
When I get the chance, I would like to visit China. Even though that is where all of my relatives are from, I have never had the opportunity to travel to China. I have heard all about the good and the bad, but I think it would be much more real to get to experience it all for myself.
Name one big challenge in your life right now:
I have never really left the Gilroy-San Martin area for an extended period of time, whether to travel or to study. As college approaches, I am bursting with excitement and anticipation; however, I have created so many incredible relationships and resources here, and I am struggling to figure out how I will be able to hold on to all that I want to keep.
What is your dream job?
My aim has always been to support people. Growing up, I thought that becoming a doctor was the only way to achieve this; however, my participation in the Stanford Medical Youth Science Program in the summer of 2012 opened my eyes to the numerous other possibilities, such as public health, for this simple aspiration. I hope that, through college, I will be able to find the best path for me to reach my goal. I have the dream. I just have to find the job.
If you were stuck on a deserted island, what three things could you not live without?
A means of finding or contacting people, a piano/saxophone/musical instrument and a seed.
Favorite book:
“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot.
What do you want to do after high school?
This summer, I will be participating in the Stanford Institute of Medical Research program, where I will get some research experience before college. For the fall, I have chosen to study at Stanford University, as a prospective pre-health student. I intend to pursue a career in the health sciences, but I am not yet sure of whether I will pursue medical school and traditional medicine or public health and preventive medicine. To quote one of my favorite Internet comedians, Hank Green, “there are two ways to improve the world: decrease the suck or increase the awesome”. I don’t know which one I will pick yet, but I hope that the practical experiences I get in the future, from hospital internships to research opportunities, can help me decide. Maybe I’ll do both.
Something that makes you smile:
Resonant quotes make me smile. Friends make me smile. People make me smile.
