Hi, they call me Stephen. I was born and raised in San Diego, California where the beaches aren't so white and the water not so clean. Anyhow, I've been told that I'm very Southern Californian because I don't like to cut my hair often, play ultimate frisbee, have a farmer's tan, and ride a longboard. I can't put into words how much I love skating and playing ultimate. I am currently a student at UCLA who hopes to study chemical engineering (currently a bioengineer by major) and get into the pharmaceutical industry after graduation.
Extracurricular
- Ultimate Frisbee Team
- High Tech High Storm! Went 16-0 last season after playing several games against Southern and Northern Californian teams.
- Goaltimate
- Played on the High Tech Middle Goaltimate team for the California State Games for 2 years. Unable to play in the actual games the second year, but we took gold. No longer a CalState Game.
- Informal Band/Self interest
- Something that was once all serious and forced upon me has become somewhat informal and my only form of artistic expression, considering my lack of ability in other art forms.
- Math Club
- A few students, including me, were looking for a challenge because our math classes were not teaching us quickly enough. So we found a teacher who could teach us more advanced math topics. This eventually evolved into a club where everybody took the AMC tests.
- Volunteered at a Tutor
- I volunteered as a tutor at High Tech Middle in San Diego over the course of a whole year. Helped students with homework, especially math.
- Volunteered at an Afterschool Program
- Oversaw and helped lead activities and also helped parents locate their children. Did this whenever there was no need for a tutor at High Tech Middle.
- Volunteered at AUVSI's Unmanned Vehicles Competitions
- Helped with general set up as well as the assembling of the playing field for the 2008 AUVSI UUV and USV competitions. Also helped clean up.
- Volunteered at a Church's Vacation Bible School
- Volunteered at Chinese Bible Church of San Diego's Vacation Bible School (VBS). In 2007, volunteered as an assistant teacher and skit director. In 2009, led an arts and crafts booth. VBS in one week.
- Interned at SPAWAR Systems Center San Diego (SSC-SD)
- Through the Office of Naval Research's SEAP (Science and Engineering Apprentice Program),I interned at SPAWAR Systems Center San Diego (SSC-SD). Worked for 8 weeks (7:30-4:30; every other Friday off) on a project requiring the use of CAD systems.
- Interned at Project Wildlife
- Interned at Project Wildlife under Kirstin DeGeer, manager of the education and outreach department. As her intern, I created fact sheets about various birds and other mammals around San Diego, which could be easily handed out at various events. The fact sheets also provided information about how to react to an encounter with each animal.
- CBCSD Core Leadership
- Served in Chinese Bible Church's youth group's leadership team (called Core). Started at the end of sophomore year and is going to the end of high school. Core plans projects looking to reconcile social injustices.
- High Tech High Table Tennis Club
- A co-founder of the High Tech High Table Tennis Club. As a treasurer, collected money in order to buy a ping pong table as well as nets and balls. Also had to find people who were willing to donate tables that they had at home that weren't being used.
Experience
- Book Compiler, Co-Editor
- High Tech High
- 2009 to Now
- Compiling a book about the concept of biomimicry. The content was created and edited by classmates. Now a team of us are compiling the content into a book for publication. Also one of three primary editors for the entire book.
Education
- High School
- College
- UCLA
-
Bachelor of Science(Engineering)
- 2010 to Now
Honors & Awards
Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair First Prize in Environmental Sciences
California State Science Fair Third Place in Senior Division Zoology
Interests
- Engineering
- Photography
- Science
Favorites
- Movies:
Matrix (Reloaded and Revolutions, too), Shaolin Soccer, Star Wars, A Chinese Odyssey, World Without Thieves, Jet Li's Fearless, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Tangled, How to Train Your Dragon, Inception, Pulp Fiction, Sawshank Redemption, Fight Club
- TV Shows:
Suits, Modern Family, Community, Chuck, House, Scrubs, The Simspons
- Music:
Jack Johnson, Hellogoodbye, Green Day, The Killers, Muse, Queen, Yellowcard, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Weezer, U2, Angels and Airwaves, All American Rejects, Blink 182, Cake, Weezer, MGMT, Modest Mouse, Radiohead, Beck, The Fratellis
- Websites:
iGoogle homepage, Digg, Facebook, Gmail, Various webcomics (XKCD, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, Dr. McNinja, and Amazing Super Powers to name a few), OMGPOP, Youtube
- Quotes:
"No matter how rich you become, how important you were, the number of people who attend your funeral is dependent upon the weather."
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment."
"You know what I just realized? If you are what you eat, you're a cannibal no matter what."
"At least I'm not dead meat." - Books:
Michael Crichton books in general (especially Prey, Terminal Man, and Congo), The Artemis Fowl series, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, Kurt Vonnegut's books in general, Anthem, Sun Tzu's Art of War, War for the Oaks
