Live, Laugh, Love, Louis

If you hear someone laughing in class, nine times out of ten, it is probably Louis. There is never a dull moment whilst talking to him — not only does he work to include everyone in a conversation, his cheerful demeanor and constant laugh is extremely contagious. This positive personality is what allowed him to connect with his many students and succeed at his position as a swim coach at Calphin.

“At Calphin, I loved being able to have fun with the kids while coaching them,” explains Louis. “I learned a lot about independence and communication, and over the course of the summer, I became much more professional.”

Swimming isn’t the only thing he teaches. He volunteered to teach a physics class for middle schoolers and spent hours developing and perfecting a curriculum, which, to the joy of both parents and students, imparted knowledge while still igniting interest. Parents all shared positive reviews expressing appreciation for the passion for physics and learning he sparked in many of his students.

“My child told me how much he enjoyed this class and was so sad when it ended,” a parent reflects. “He even started doing problems on his own and did not miss a single lesson. I was so surprised!”

His passion for physics is also well evident in the classroom. He always approaches problems in the classroom with interest and dedication, never leaving until he figures it out. He is currently a TA for AP Physics 1 and hopes to impart his knowledge on younger grades.

“Louis would always stay behind to work on challenging problems,” reflects Esha, his AP Physics classmate and long-time lab partner. “He was always deeply engaged and very serious, which was the opposite of his normally smiley self.”

Apart from teaching and learning in the classroom, he was a front-end developer for Web Security Development, a program which detects errors and debugs code of websites. He was mainly in charge of the user interface, designing the website to make it easy to use and easy on the eyes.

“Working in a more applied manner has only made me more sure that I want to pursue computer science,” he explains. “This website will make debugging other websites much easier and I am proud of its utility. From here, I would like to dive more into AI and machine learning and am planning on using my senior project as an opportunity to learn more.”

He spent his junior year summer applying his newfound skills in machine learning by designing and programming an autonomous ship at UC San Diego, focusing mainly on the data science portion of the project. The ship collected large amounts of data on water quality from a lake in San Diego, which will be used to improve methods in ocean water quality control.

“I got to finally apply many topics we covered at school and have a hand at the mechanical side,” he explains. “The amount of data I was able to collect and the impact that data will make on measuring and regulating water quality really made me think I could make a difference. I even learned how to build a database which was really cool and having a working tangible product is also pretty cool.”

Apart from working hard, Louis plays hard. To him, badminton has become more than a sport — it's a way for him to form and strengthen connections with friends. He has been playing since he was in elementary school in China and has made great friends in both his fellow players and his coaches who push him to be better.

“I play badminton twice a week and it feels great being able to play with my friends” he says, “I made a lot of great connections, especially with my coach, who now feels more than just a coach, but rather a friend.”

What drives his work hard, play hard attitude is the motto he lives by: “Don’t stress and enjoy every moment.” It is this mentality that draws Louis to challenge himself to try new experiences out of his comfort zone. Even though he is scared of heights, he is eager to ride violent rollercoasters and ski down black diamond trails. To continue pushing his boundaries, he hopes to skydive as soon as he turns eighteen.

“I really enjoy trying new things,” Louis explains. “And being extremely scared of heights, I really want to skydive to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone.”

And it is with his friends and family that he chases these new experiences. Moving from China caused him to be separated from his father and extended family, leading him to value them even more. The happiest day in his life was going back to China and sitting at the table with his entire family after not seeing them for six years.

“I really miss them,” he explains. “I always look forward to going back, eating, and celebrating with them. Family means a lot to me. Of course, receiving red packets is also great.”

Last year, during Lunar New Year, he made customized red packets for all of his friends. Collectively his friends all agree that Louis is always there for them, willing to help or talk whenever needed.

“Louis always brightens the mood and puts a smile on all of our faces,” said Ajay, one of Louis’s closest friends. “ He is always there to cheer us up when we need it and we all appreciate him for that.”