Junlin Wang ’16

I started as a sophomore at D-E. My hometown is Shanghai, China, but I lived in Xiamen for most of my life.

My favorite classes in D-E are Nonlinear Dynamics, AP Physics, Linear Algebra, AP Psychology, and Focus. I know it's quite a few, but I do enjoy every single one of them. All of the classes are pretty engaging and challenging, but what really got me 'hooked' are the teachers—especially my Focus teacher Ms. Stott, who has helped me a lot along the way. I was overwhelmed at the beginning of the first semester because I struggled to find topics narrow enough so that I could write a paper and do field work on it within a reasonable amount of time. Ms. Stott kept reminding me that I am only a high school student and kept my project reachable within my capability while patiently finding the suitable topic with me. When it came to the final paper at the end of the semester, she gave the clearest directions on the contents, graphs, and central ideas.

My favorite club is the robotics team. The team consists of a group of people with great personalities. Despite the busy schedule everyone had, this year we still managed to build a robot that is better in terms of functionality than last year. Even though we did not have much luck with the matches this year, we still won the Inspire Reward, Design Reward and almost qualified for the super-regional. A lot of credits have to go to Dr. Pagnota. He managed all the events we had and made a home event at STEM building possible. Needless to say that he stays with us every single Friday until 9 to 10 PM.

My typical day usually starts with me dragging myself through the first two classes since I am usually not entirely awake during the first two classes. Then after advisory, I attack the last two classes before lunch with energy and purpose. I often go to club activities after lunch. For this year, I had Puzzles Club, Stock Market Club, Math Club, and Robotics. If I have a free period, I spend it with care and deliberation (by doing homework). Next year I just hope I can adapt to college life well, and make many friends!

The highlight [in D-E] has to be the moment after I finished my Focus presentation. There was a lot of pressure built up to that particular event. I worried about my presentation deliveries, my contents, and my conclusions. These worries magnified seeing the two professionals sitting at my penal. But once everything was done, I felt so relieved and accomplished.

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Junlin Wang ’16

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