Danny Du joined WAB in Grade 5 and graduated in 2018, leaving behind a legacy of dedication to academics, community service, arts, leadership, athletics, and more.
He went on to study engineering at Stanford University, majoring in computer science, and was recently named a winner of the prestigious Frederick Emmons Terman Engineering Scholastic Award.
Danny and WAB High School Principal Melanie Vrba join us for this week's episode to discuss Danny’s award and other academic accomplishments, his plans for the future, and the people and systems that supported him throughout his journey at WAB. Danny also shares some poignant advice for current WAB High School students.
Tune into the episode with the player above, by clicking the image to the right, or by searching for "The WAB Podcast" on your preferred podcast platform.
“When I decided I was going to be a computer science major, the reason I had was that there is not a single industry in the world in 10 years, maybe even in five, that will not use CS. That has already turned out to be pretty accurate,” he said. "For students who are interested in something, I would say look beyond [IB Higher Level Math class and university] to see what else there is in the world."
Later in the conversation, Danny speaks specifically about choosing his major without having identified a definite area of interest he wanted to pursue. He goes on to discuss that even now, with graduation just months away, how he continues to explore different opportunities for learning, professional work, and making an impact.
Melanie reinforces Danny's approach to continuous investigation and his curiosity and explains to parents in the audience how students don't necessarily need to have identified a passion before going to university.
“Parents worry sometimes if their child doesn’t already know in high school what they want to do. What does that mean for their future?" Melanie asked. "It’s reassuring that you can still be deciding quite a long time after high school and be highly successful, as you have been.”