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Schools

Minnetonka Senior Motivated By Math, Medicine and Music

Student Spotlight: Daniel Wang hopes to turn his passion for math into a career in medicine.

Pi Day is not a holiday most people observe. But to Daniel Wang, it has a significant meaning.

Pi Day is the designated nickname for March 14, or 3/14, because the mathematical constant “pi” is 3.14.

To the Minnetonka High School senior, Pi Day is when Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) delivers its admission decision letters to applicants like Wang. 

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So far, Wang has been accepted to California Institute of Technology and is waiting for responses from MIT, Stanford, Princeton and Yale.  

College coursework shouldn’t be a problem for Wang, who takes a demanding load of advanced placement classes at Minnetonka. His favorite class? “Multivariable Calculus/IB Further Mathematics Standard Level,” he said. Try saying that ten times. 

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“Math has always come naturally to me, I guess,” said the . “I like it because there is a lot of creativity that goes into math. Sometimes you have to think from different angles.”

Wang is considering a major in engineering, then plans to go to medical school.  Engineering and medicine may be in the family, as Wang’s father is in engineer who works on medical devices.

Wang gets to experience the medical field when he volunteers at Ridgeview Medical Center’s emergency and urgent care departments.

“I help the nurses, clean rooms and lead patients back to their rooms,” he said.  “I do stuff the nurses don’t want to do or don’t have time to do. I like to be helpful and the nurses appreciate it.”

Music is another of Wang’s passions. He started playing clarinet in fifth grade after moving to Minnesota from New York. Now he is first chair in the wind ensemble in the band. 

“I like a broad range of music,” said Wang. “I listen to anything from Mozart to Coldplay on my iPod.”

Wang will spend spring break with the band as they travel to Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria. “That’s where The Sound of Music was filmed,” said Wang. “My mom is a big fan so I’m going to try to track down a souvenir for her.”

Wang is honing his communication skills as co-captain of the school debate team and editor for the school newspaper, Breezes. “Right now I’m working on a piece poking fun at Valentine’s Day stereotypes,” said Wang, who describes himself as single. 

This summer before he heads to college, Wang will visit China with his parents and younger sister. “Both of my parents are first generation immigrants,” Wang said. “Most of our extended family is still in China.” 

He has been to China twice. He is looking forward to eating his favorite Chinese dish, chong qing, chili-studded chicken named for the city in which it originated. “I like spicy food,” he said.

When summer ends, Wang will head to college on the East or West coast. How does he feel about it?

“It’s a little bit scary,” he said. “It’s hard to believe I’m at this point. Freshmen are looking up to me—that’s weird. I can vote—that’s weird.” For the record, he likes Romney.

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