Alumni 

Education:
University of Virginia, freshman

Home: Chantilly, VA

After graduating in the spring, Ryan travelled to South Korea to visit one of his best friends and classmate, Middleburg Academy international student Travis Kim. He was in Seoul and Sokcho for fourteen days and then traveled to places such as Daegu and Busan for sixteen days. He saw fifteen of our international students while there.

A few of my senior year achievements:
Valedictorian; Vice President, National Honor Society; Student Council; Virginia Governor’s School for Arts and Humanities; Scholar-Athlete of the Year; Foreign Language Department Award; International Club; Varsity Lacrosse, Varsity Cross Country (MVP and all-conference), Varsity Mountain Biking (MVP) and Varsity Wrestling (qualified for state tournament)

Why I chose Middleburg Academy:
I wanted to attend a small high school without sacrificing the kinds of opportunities that might be available to me at a large, public high school. From what I had heard and what I had seen for myself, Middleburg was one of the few such places in the state.

Top three highlights of my recent trip to Korea:
When everything is a new experience, it’s hard to compare. Some of the best times I had were, in no particular order:  hiking ten miles into the mountains to the Buddhist Temple Hermitage at Oseam and living with the monks; eating hwae (raw fish), which we caught ourselves while sailing off the east coast of Korea; meeting and becoming close friends with Korea’s most prominent contemporary poet.

Most unusual food I ate while there:
The foods I tried could fill pages, and even more so if I knew what I was eating half of the time. So far, people are most interested to hear that I ate such things as live squid and angler fish.

Most surprising insight into the lives of our Korean students:
Korean students begin the school day much like American students and at a similar time; however, that is where similarities end. The Korean students are not done when they return home from school around four o’clock. They return to school (or rather an “academy”) after eating and sometimes stay until midnight.

Why international students are an important part of our school:
If we only know one culture - our own - then we really don’t know any cultures. The students of Middleburg have a rare opportunity to greatly expand their minds because the international students here are much more integrated, and therefore more sociable, than the international contingents at most other local area schools.

What I will miss most about Middleburg Academy:
I will certainly miss the degree to which I socialized and interacted with my teachers. I haven’t found many students outside Middleburg who can claim similar experiences or who knew their teachers so well.

Toughest class in high school:
AP Chemistry with Dr. Komelasky progressed like a bad soap opera!  Ask Peter Kim about it. He will tell you it was rough - and he was the best student in the class! I enjoyed that class tremendously.

What I hope to study at UVA:
I’ll be studying International Business or, more specifically, Commerce and Russian.