Story By Henna Khan

Pre-Calculus teacher Paula Russell still remembers the day Peter Chang walked into her class four years ago.

“When I met Peter Chang for the first time, he walked in my door, 12 years-old, so little, I couldn’t understand why he needed my help,” Pre-Calculus teacher Paula Russell said. “So I looked at him and asked ‘Are you lost?’”

But Chang wasn’t lost. In fact, he was on his way to becoming the valedictorian of the class of 2010, and as a freshman, Pre-AP Pre-Calculus was only his first stop.

Rarely do we see an anomaly such as Chang who skipped three grades coming in as an inconspicuous 12-year-old trying to fit in and is now leaving as a 16-year-old with far more than just an astonishing GPA.

Since the day he entered Coppell High School, it was often assumed that Chang’s only goal was to be number one of his class since, but in fact, rank was far from his interests, as he was trying to get by with rigorous courses just as every other one of his fellow classmates.

“To be honest, I didn’t really care as much about maintaining my rank,” Chang said. “As long as I was satisfied with the amount of work I was doing, rank didn’t matter. Even being 16, I actually felt quite normal, and never once thought of myself as being the most ‘academically achieved’ person in my grade. I figured sometimes your best can get you far and that is exactly what happened. Of course, there was always failure, but my challenges only made me stronger.”

This four-year journey for Chang has been quite the array of challenges. With Business Professionals of America competitions, scientific research and several rigorous courses such as AP Biology, this young savant has endured quite the roller coaster to preserve his position over 735 other envious students.

“Most people describe this expedition as one long marathon, but I see it as a series of sprints,” Chang said. “There are moments when you have to give it your all, but there are also moments when you just come to realization with it. Looking back, more than anything, it was simply my desire to excel. I took it one day at a time.”

According to Russell, in her 36 years of teaching at CHS, she has never come across a student as gifted as Chang. His keen wit, precocious sense of humor, giving nature and kindness had a profound effect on teachers such as Russell.

“Oh, Peter Chang, God love that boy!” Russell said. “There are countless rewards in teaching, but when you get to be involved in a student like Peter’s life and play a role in their life, that may be one of the most rewarding things I have ever come across. I get addicted, which is exactly what keeps me teaching here.”

In the Chang’s past four years of high school, Russell not only taught him Pre-Calculus, but recently wrote him several college recommendation letters and continuously stayed involved in his life with the help of Chang’s family.

“Mrs. Russell was my first introduction to a rigorous class,” Chang said. “Her class was so conceptual that it became one of my first big academic challenges. If I hadn’t taken that class, my work ethic would not have been where it is now. She’s like a facilitator and is definitely the person you need to go to in order to know anything about pre-cal.”

If anyone has conversed with Chang about his academic career in depth during high school, it’s been his counselor Penny Davis who sees him three to four times a month, or perhaps even more during the past couple of months.

“Peter has always been very focused; he knows what his interests are and he is aware of the courses offered here at CHS that will help him develop his talent,” Davis said. “He is so talented that I never had to worry whether he was on the right track. For anyone that wants to follow in his footsteps I would advise that you take classes that challenge you and follow the passion for what you want to do after high school.”

Aside from his academic career, Chang maintains amazing talents that do not involve books. Little do others know, he can transpose music, combine melodies and is highly artistically inclined.

When it comes to spending time with friends, Chang might surprise some with how different he is outside his academic world.

“Peter has an introverted personality; he’s very secretive, and seldom will you find him talking about school with his friends,” senior Quinn Zhang said. “He can crack the wittiest jokes that leave me wishing I had said that. Taking into account his competitive nature, Peter is addicted to the video game, Starcraft, and I find him spending hours on the ‘team Witchwood’ forum.”

While the 4 year experience has been one to remember for Chang, there is also the future to look forward to. He went about his application process just like any other student, writing essays and stating the same information about himself repeatedly, but the outcome was unpredictable even for Chang. Chang committed to Rice University in April in hopes of pursuing chemical engineering.

“Part of my decision to go to Rice relied on the fact that I got into the Century Scholars program, which allows me to continue the scientific research I have been doing thus far,” Chang said.

The Rice University Century Scholars program matches select incoming freshmen with faculty mentors for a two year period. During that time the student and mentor collaborate on one of the mentor’s research projects. In addition to the research opportunity, select students receive a two-year merit scholarship and a research stipend.

Chang will rekindle his thanks and memories from the previous four years in a speech at graduation on June 6. So how would Chang describe the feeling of concluding high school as a valedictorian?

One response: He fist pumps the air.