Batavia grad ready for next challenge

BATAVIA – It’s a common hope to leave something in better condition than you found it. With Batavia seniors leading the way into graduation season, having graduated May 18, one senior certainly went above and beyond in making BHS, and the community, a better place.

Alyssa Gao, 18, graduated BHS with the No. 1 class rank out of 478 seniors, scored a 35 on her ACT and boasts a perfect 4.375 GPA. An accomplished violinist, Gao also has many musical accomplishments.

“In the fall, I will attend Dartmouth College, where I will be majoring in environmental studies. My interest in environmental science stemmed from my childhood obsession with animals. When I was younger, I used to check out a pile of [Zoobooks] magazines from the library and spend hours poring over the vivid pictures. As I outgrew my childhood fantasies of becoming a zoologist, and Zoobooks were replaced with National Geographics, my interest began to expand past the animal kingdom,” she said.

Musically, she’s been a member of the Illinois Music Education Association district and honors state orchestras since seventh grade, including being concertmaster. She’s been concertmaster for the top ensemble of the Batavia Curricular Orchestras, and earned the National School Orchestra Award and many more honors and accomplishments. Gao has taken part in both the Elgin Youth Symphony and Chicago Youth Symphony orchestras, being selected to be co-concertmaster of the CYSO.

BHS orchestra director Nathan Sackschewsky reflected on Gao’s community involvement and leadership.

“Alyssa is not only a talented student, but she also gives back to the community and to the [orchestra] program. She has been doing outreach concerts at some of the local nursing homes and volunteered to be one of our practice mentors for fifth- and sixth-grade students,” he said.

While juggling academic and musical commitments, Gao has earned more than just lines on a resume.

“Participation in various disciplines of music and at all levels has given me confidence in myself as well as in my ability to lead,” Gao said.

Dedicated to science and learning, Gao said her proudest accomplishment was when she founded the National Science Honor Society chapter at BHS.

“As someone who had taken many of the advanced science classes at my school, I noticed that the sciences are very underrepresented at BHS. I wanted to find a way to bolster the science department, encourage interest in science and recognize scientific thought. I discovered the NSHS when I was researching high school science activities dedicated to science, and I was inspired,” she said.

Gao has taken many advanced placement courses and exams, but credits her first AP English teacher as being most influential.

“The most influential educator I had the privilege of learning from was Mrs. [Kimberly] Pearlman. I had her for AP language and composition my junior year, and then for advanced speech the beginning of my senior year. Going into AP language, I was incredibly nervous. It is the first AP English class every Batavia high school student takes, and it is quite the jump from freshman and sophomore honors English. Mrs. Pearlman helped bridge the gap between underclassmen classes to upperclassmen classes, and definitely helped ease my transition into those critical years of high school.

Pearlman was equally impressed with Gao.

“As a teacher, there are students we instruct, others that we push, and there are those that we start as a guide and end up following along as an observer because the student has taken the lead. Alyssa falls in the last category, and it was an absolute pleasure to watch her take the lead and find her power and voice both as a writer and as speaker,” Pearlman said.

Gao credits her time at BHS in preparing her for whatever the future holds.

“Batavia has definitely played a tremendous role in shaping who I am today. There is a distinct culture that forms with each class of students. It is a complex system that relies on the social dynamic and interaction of the student. Each student becomes an agent of change who will make their impact on the culture of our society as it evolves,” she said. “Interacting with my peers on a daily basis served to challenge my insights about the world and broaden my horizons. I was introduced to students with diverse opinions and ways of life, which supported my understanding of the differences and similarities that contribute to the composition of our society.”

BHS Principal JoAnne Smith described Gao as a fantastic example to her peers of hard work and perseverance.

“I know she will be successful at Dartmouth and beyond. I wish her the absolute best,” Smith said.