Michael Ding, A Barrington High School graduate from Barrington, Rhode Island, Michael Ding has exhausted his school's AP curriculum while maintaining excellent grades. Aside from being an enthusiastic student, Michael has talents in many areas. He is a musician, researcher, athlete, and leader in extracurricular, student government, and volunteering activities. He has played piano for more than eleven years and performed at the Rhode Island Musicians Chopin Club and at a senior center. He took his Senior Project as an opportunity to investigate the economic and scientific benefits of unconventional cancer treatments over conventional ones. This project included an experiment exploring the effects of trace elements on the growth of tumor cells in a lab at Brown University. The experiment won him the National Semifinalist title in the Siemens Competition. As another result of his insatiable love for learning and information, Michael was a captain of the math, computer science, and consumer awareness teams at his school, and a top scorer in state, regional, and national competitions. His role as a passionate and devoted class officer and a National Honor Society team leader involved volunteering immensely at school and community fundraisers, a soup kitchen in Providence, and environmental cleanups on state beaches and land preservation trusts, etc. He is an avid reader and an active runner. His diligence and determination led to his recognition as a 2007 Presidential Scholar. For his undergraduate studies, Michael plans to major in life sciences at Harvard University this fall.

Acceptance Speech

The SAPA Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program is a motivating initiative that promotes education, academic achievement, and the sciences. I feel honored to be recognized by SAPA. I believe we share the common goals of promoting public health and scientific exchange. This scholarship has validated my scientific aspirations and will inspire me to focus on scientific projects and endeavors oriented towards these ideals. I am now even more motivated to do my best at Harvard and I look forward to working with SAPA in the future, helping promote the pharmaceutical sciences and foster scientific communication.

Sophie Cai, valedictorian of Ridgefield High School in Ridgefield, Connecticut, will be attending Harvard University in the fall. Sophie's academic accomplishments include being a 2007 Intel Science Talent Search finalist, 2007 Presidential Scholar semifinalist, 2007 National Merit Scholarship recipient, 2007 and 2006 U.S. Physics Team member, 2006 (MIT) Research Science Institute scholar, 2007 U.S.A. Biology Olympiad Semifinalist, and 2006 U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad Semifinalist with Honors. Throughout high school, Sophie was actively involved in her school's newspaper, serving as Editor-in-Chief for two years, and her school's math and debate teams, serving as President and Vice President respectively. Sophie also attended Chinese school for ten years, graduating from Huaxia Chinese School in New York in 2006 with honors. Starting in 2005, Sophie has been Assistant Director of the U.S.-China Youth Forum, where hundreds of American and Chinese students come together to discuss common issues and promote cross-cultural understanding. Music is another one of Sophie's interests, and Sophie has earned several awards and honors in piano and violin. In the future, Sophie plans to major in the life sciences at Harvard, and she hopes to combine her love of physics and biology to contribute to ophthalmology and/or vision research.

Acceptance speech:

I am very grateful to everyone at SAPA for honoring me with this scholarship. SAPA's support will help me work toward achieving my dream of becoming a vision researcher and/or ophthalmologist. Because I am interested in both a career in the life sciences and in the promotion of communication and understanding between China and the United States, I wholeheartedly embrace the goals of organizations like SAPA. SAPA is paving the way for better and faster international scientific development and exchange, and I am looking forward to contributing to this movement toward global scientific cooperation.