Before the end of the school year, I had the opportunity to sit down with the class of 2019 valedictorian, Tyler Ng. Tyler is a bright young student who says his commitment, perseverance and sense of responsibility helped him achieve the honor. From the beginning of the school year he said, “My main goal at WHSAD is to graduate and eventually achieve the role of senior Valedictorian.” As ambitious as it seemed, with hard work Tyler made it possible.
However there’s a lot more to the Senior than meets the eye. One thing not many know about him is that Tyler doesn’t live in the New York. He lives in New Jersey with his parents. He stays with his Grandmother in Brooklyn during school nights and then spends most weekends at his parents’ home. He attributes his sense of responsibility to being away from his parents for extended periods of time: “Not seeing my parents for 5 days out the week isn’t the hard part, that gives me a lot of free time. The tough part is having to learn some things on my own and trying to be on top of my school work.” Despite the clear obstacle, he stood by his decision to stay at WHSAD. Tyler told me his parents decided to move to New Jersey right as he was about to become a freshman. “I made had to make a decision.” he says.
Ultimately he stood by WHSAD, and despite the travel complications, Tyler still made it to school for 4 years. “I definitely don’t regret coming here, as WHSAD helped me develop as a person and offered me multiple valuable experiences. I’ve met a lot of great people who have helped me a lot and made me feel welcome.” He was telling me how the many opportunities given to him by his teachers also helped him grow as a person. He appreciated all the teachers at WHSAD pushing him to do better but this year he really wanted to thank 12th grade architecture teacher Mr. Codio for giving him multiple chances to build his career. This summer Tyler is scheduled to work part-time with Mr. Codio as an instructor at WHSAD, helping teach students how to use the Auto Cad architecture program effectively. “I wouldn’t have been able to work this summer if not for [Codio].”
After work this summer Tyler plans to attend New York University to study Engineering which he has a half paid scholarship. When asked where he sees himself in 10 years he replied, “I can’t say where I’ll be in 10 years, but I know I would like to get a Masters degree in engineering and try and buy property.” Nevertheless, from freshman year to now Tyler has been a shining example of excellence in WHSAD and what the school spirit is all about. All the connections he’s made during high school have hopefully helped him to be the best person he can be moving forward.
