Local Student Wins Virginia AP Award

Chantilly's Yuqing Zhang, a senior at , was one of two students in Virginia to receive the 2011 Siemens Award for Advanced Placement.

After taking 13 AP exams, Zhang was awarded with a $2,000 scholarship for being named Virginia's top male top scorer in AP math and science exams.

“These students lead the nation in performance on Advanced Placement math and science courses and we are proud to recognize them for their academic excellence,” said Jeniffer Harper-Taylor, President of the Siemens Foundation.

A USA Biology Olympiad Bronze Medalist, Zhang's favorite AP class is Physics, and he plans to study computational biology in college. At this time, he hopes to pursue a career as a computational biologist or surgeon. 

“Over the last 13 years, AP exams have become the gold standard of academic rigor in schools across the world,” said College Board President Gaston Caperton.

“Today the College Board and our partners at the Siemens Foundation recognize 101 students who have risen to meet this standard and exceed it," said Caperton. "I am incredibly proud of the hard work put in by each and every one of them, and I look forward to watching them grow up to change the world.”

Zhang first became interested in science and math after participating in the MATHCOUNTS competition as a middle school student, and his hobbies include basketball, the American Red Cross and the Biology Olympics.