By Sevanah Sandoval
It is no secret that Benicia High is home to many high achievers. By offering seventeen Advanced Placement courses and several honors classes, Benicia ensures that its students have all of the resources they need to achieve their academic goals. This creates a competitive environment for all students that wish to push themselves to compete with their peers.
On April 29th, Principal Kleinschmidt sent out a school-wide email congratulating our Valedictorian, Kaden Tang, and our Salutatorians, David Broom and Aden Li. I was lucky enough to interview Tang, and get insight into how and why he reached this great achievement.
As someone who has taken many AP classes at our school, Tang is a great judge on which can be most fun. When asked about his favorite class, Tang explained that AP Psychology with Mr. Starkweather was his favorite class because it taught him to “manage [his] own emotions and meaningfully connect with others.” So, if you’re debating on which class to take to fill any free spaces in your schedule, consider AP Psych.
Because competing for the title of Valedictorian is so rigorous, it stirs up curiosity as to what motivated someone to persevere and put all of their efforts into attaining this achievement. While motivations can vary from person to person, Tang explains that his love of challenging himself to develop resilience and grit propelled him through his high school years. He further explained that this grit allowed him to “achieve things [he] never imagined [he] could.” Tang is a strong believer in challenging oneself physically or mentally to grow.
Of course, academic excellence isn’t confined to activities in the classroom. Tang is also involved in many meaningful extracurricular activities. For example, he is an advocate for technology equity and publishes articles and works on computing projects to make internet access more accessible for everyone. In addition, he works on affordability research and has created an application for workers to find the most affordable places to live in the United States based on their wages and cost of living.
It can be easy to write off high achievers as geniuses that are able to understand things easier than the rest of us. However, this does not give people credit for the challenges they face and overcome in their pursuits. When asked about the biggest challenge he overcame in high school however, Tang cited something outside of academics. He shared that he is “most proud of [him]self for learning how to freely express [him]self around others.” Further, Tang notes that “[he] tends to be a pretty filtered and reserved person, so…letting [his] inner emotions out has helped [him] to feel free and energized. It’s really important to embrace and celebrate the moment, and not hold back.”
For any future aspiring Valedictorian’s, you’re in luck–Tang shared some advice for the classes beyond 2024. He advises to “[f]ocus more on your high school journey, and less on maximizing your GPA. Explore classes that interest you and challenge you within your limits. High school’s a fleeting experience, so make the most of every moment and don’t hold back.”
Tang would also like to thank the people that helped him on his journey to this achievement. This is what he said:
“I’d like to thank my family for their unrelenting support and guidance, and my friends for comforting me during my toughest times and celebrating with me during my brightest times. I’m also grateful for the incredible mentorship I’ve received from my teachers, especially Mr. Knight, Profe Martinez, and Ms. Westerman.”
After high school, Tang plans to double major in Applied Mathematics and Economics at the University of California Berkeley. Beyond college, Tang is considering entering tech, finance, or even law. Best of luck Kaden, Benicia can’t wait to see the great things you will do.
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