Discus Award Winner
Travis Yeh
11th Grade, TX
ATTRIBUTES
Academics
I have continually strived to achieve academic success. With a 4.0 unweighted GPA, I am currently the salutatorian of my class of nearly 600 students. Additionally, I am a National AP Scholar with Honor, scored a 240 on the PSAT and have a 2400 SAT superscore.
I am particularly interested in mathematics and science. For the past two summers, I have attended the selective Honors Summer Math Camp at Texas State University. Last summer, I had the privilege of conducting research at Texas State and worked on creating a simulation of mathematical knots with applications in biology and robotics. I am also the founder of my school’s Biology Olympiad program, and this year I qualified for the AIME, earned Honorable Mention in Biology Olympiad, and was a Chemistry Olympiad National Finalist.
Arts
I am an avid violinist and have played the instrument for 9 years. I have been selected a member of the Texas All-State Orchestra every year of high school so far. Additionally, I am the first violinist of a quartet selected as Houston Young Artists in 2011.
The achievement of which I am most proud, however, is playing with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra in 2011. Members of the orchestra came from 30 different countries and were selected from thousands of applications by several rounds of judging. I was the second-youngest member and had the opportunity to play 3 sold-out concerts in the Sydney Opera House under the baton of prestigious conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. The Finale concert of the orchestra broke records with over 33 million live online viewers.
Community Service
I believe that using one’s passions to serve the community is extremely important. Thus, in my sophomore year, I founded MUSICO, a district-wide organization that visits and performs at nursing homes and hospitals. This year, I founded my school’s chapter of the Tri-M Music Honor Society. Members are encouraged to give back to their community by performing at local events and nursing homes. Members also tutor at several middle schools to help students without private teachers learn an instrument and discover a passion for music.
I also volunteer at the Sugar Land Memorial Hermann Hospital. I visit each patient’s room and volunteer to play violin for him/her. I have found this experience to be a powerful testament to music’s power to heal and to establish a connection between strangers.
