Brian Zhu, Age 12
Schools: 7th grader at Miller Middle School, competitive member of Young Genius, Bay Area Speech and Debate Academy in Saratoga and HS2, an after school program.
Accomplishments:
Finalist at Fall 2014 Harker Speech Tournament
Finalist at Spring 2015 Peter Burnett Speech Tournament
Took the ACT and qualified for John Hopkins’ Talent Search Program
Placed 4th in a school wide business competition
Is in the Top 1% in Miller Middle School’s Math Olympiad
Member of Science Olympiad Team
Won numerous piano competitions
Reached Advanced CM piano level while in the 7th grade
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Earned awards in Art Competitions
Straight A student
Key to Awesomeness:
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Brian started his speech and debate career in the 7th grade at Young Genius, Bay Area Speech and Debate Academy. Within the first sessions at Young Genius, Brian’s coaches discovered that he has a talent for speech and quickly placed him in his first ever tournament, in which he ended up being a finalist. According to Taisia Dubinina, Young Genius Speech Program Director “Brian possesses a humorous personality, which he is learning to channel into his performance, and combining with other speech skills I have to doubt that if he continues this activity Brian can not only be a finalist but also win one of the top awards.”
Brian also perseveres in his academics. In the 2014-15 School Year he was honored for having the top 1% math score in his entire grade. He was even chosen to be the founder of his school’s SEARCH Business Program. In addition, Brian has already taken the ACT as a middle school student and his score qualified for the John Hopkins Talent Search Program, a rare occurrence for a student of his age group.
Brian’s parents know the importance of a well-rounded individual, which is why in addition to speech and debate Brian participates in the arts and music. Brian began learning to draw a few years ago and he is already earning highest awards for his masterpieces. On the other hand, Brian has already finished Advanced CM piano level, a level most kids finish only in their sophomore year of high school. Not only that but Brian has played in over 12 recitals and won 7 prestigious honors.
Brian also loves linguistics and can speak fluently in two languages and is currently learning Spanish. He is also interested in literature and currently his favorite book is I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb.
Could this be a hint of Brian Zhu’s imminent political career?
If your student has outstanding achievements and you would like to share it with the comunity please contact helen@younggenius.org or call (408) 384-2419 or (650) 563-4261.
