History and econ buff named Presidential Scholar

Studying macroeconomics and history in her free time, Yale-bound Saint Stephen’s Episcopal senior Vanessa Yan, 17, is not your typical high school student.

“I feel like the economic theories, both the Keynesian economics the Democrats are in favor of and the trickle-down economics the Republicans like both have their own flaws,” Yan said. “There is a huge void in macroeconomic theory right now.”

So it should come as no surprise that Yan has been named a U.S. Presidential Scholar, an honor bestowed on just 161 students nationwide. This summer she is headed to Washington, D.C., to accept the award.

A press release from the Department of Education praised Yan for her accomplishment.

“I congratulate this year’s class of Presidential Scholars for their devotion to academic excellence and their parents and teachers who have guided them along the way,” U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said. “Today’s Presidential Scholars are tomorrow’s leaders, and I am confident they will continue to be shining examples as they enter the next phase of their academic careers.”

Yan qualified for the honor by scoring perfectly on the math and reading sections of the SAT. Her 1,600 score put her in a group of about 5,100 students. She was ultimately selected for the award through a rigorous application process.

Yan is one of 161 outstanding American high school seniors who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, artistic excellence, leadership, citizenship, service, and contribution to school and community, the release states.

“I was a bit surprised because I know that it’s very, very competitive,” she said. “I feel very honored and I’m really grateful for this recognition as well as the opportunity to meet other presidential scholars this summer.”

Yan said her interest in economics and history was sparked by history teacher Patrick Whelan, who taught his 10th grade students by sitting in the middle of the room and turning history into a story.

“From those stories we could understand the historical trends, and we found that history is so fascinating and has great story telling power,” Yan said.

In addition to visiting Washington to accept the award this summer, she will be attending a history conference in Boston and she hopes to visit some national parks.

“I want to just kind of broaden my perspective and immerse myself in nature,” she said.

This story was originally published May 12, 2017 at 12:05 PM with the headline "History and econ buff named Presidential Scholar."