2025 Outstanding Young Citizens
Congratulations to our Outstanding Young Citizens!
Andrew Li
North Allegheny Senior High School, 12
Parent(s)/Guardian(s):
Shanhu Li
Yingru Wang
Academic Achievement
2nd Place: 2024 DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC). 200+ per event, 23k+ total competitors, Competitor – 1 Year
Congressional Award Gold Medalist (1.2% of participants achieve gold medal, 600/45,000), Participant – 3 Years
1st at 2024 Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineering Fair (PRSEF) in Medicine/Microbiology/Health Category, 2 sponsor awards, Competitor – 1 Year
1st in Biomedical Sciences, 4th Overall at 2024 PA Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS), 1 of 5 from PA to qualify for national JSHS, Competitor – 1 Year
AMIA 2024 Annual Symposium High School Scholar. 1 of 12 high schoolers selected nationwide to present research at premier informatics meeting in San Francisco, Presenter – 1 Year
Extracurricular Activities
Research: Chen Lab at University of Pittsburgh. Studied nasal microbiome’s role in asthma. 1st author publication in SCIEPublish’s Journal of Respiratory Biology and Translational Medicine (https://www.sciepublish.com/article/pii/328), Student Researcher – 2 Years
DECA Chapter President. Lead 200+ members and 20+ individual officer team, improved educational opportunities, organize and run meetings., President – 3 Years
HOSA Club Officer. Oversee 160+ members, plan events and meetings like guest speakers, CPR Certification, College Talks etc., Officer – 3 Years
Piano. 12 years of study at CMU Preparatory School of Music. 12 hrs/week of practice, compete in competitions, achieving international success (Honorable Mention at Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition)., Student – 4 Years
North Allegheny Varsity Swim Team. 25 hrs/week of swim practice, weight training, and yoga with weekly meets in season., Member – 2 Years
Community Involvement
curingwithCARE. NPO raising cancer awareness through volunteering and fundraising events. Helped raise $27k+, expand to 500+ members and 40 chapters. Oversaw progress of other branch’s financial directors., Chief Financial Officer – 2 Years
Pittsburgh Chinese American (PCA) Youth Center. Student council fostering community involvement among Chinese Youth. 22 events organized in 2023 alone, engaging 900+ particpants, Advisor (highest leadership) – 3 Years
UPMC Passavant Hospital Volunteer. 160+ service hours in the emergency department, Volunteer – 3 Years
Pittsburgh Chinese School. TA helping teach class and grade homework. Ran annual donation drive (400+ lbs of food and sanitary items donated in 2022 and 2023)., Teaching Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator – 3 Years
North Park Pool. 440+ work hours, Lifeguard, Swim Instructor – 3 Years
Plans
I will be attending the University of Pennsylvania and studying biology on a pre-med track. In the future, I hope to blend research and medicine into a career as a physician scientist. I really enjoy interacting with people and being able to care for them, but also want to help find permanent solutions to their problems through research, specifically computational biology and bioinformatics. I will continue to play the piano and involve myself in the community.