A future engineer, this valedictorian excelled here

Three years ago, Hoi Ying Man left her native Hong Kong to come to New York in pursuit of a better education. She has used her opportunities here, maintaining a high GPA and being involved in multiple school activities while still finding time to help in her community.
As a senior at Martin Van Buren High School in Queens Village, Man’s favorite subject is math and she has a GPA of 98.09, which earned her the position of valedictorian for this June’s graduation.
“I’m really happy and excited,” Man said of her accomplishment. “I’ve worked really hard.”
One of Man’s most difficult struggles was learning and perfecting her English. Mary Schauder, the college advisor at Martin Van Buren, said that Man embraced this challenge head on to overcome it.
“She came here and she went into our scholar’s program and she fit in very quickly,” Schauder said. “She quickly rose to the top of her class. She scores extremely high. She’s very down to earth, very open and very friendly.”
Man takes part in many different activities at Martin Van Buren including the Arista, Key Club, the math honor society, Leaders Organization and her school newspaper, Beeline.
Along with that, Man has taken part in Junior Achievement, a program where students are taken to an elementary school to teach children. She has taught economics and family life to kindergartners and third graders.
“It’s pretty nice,” she said of the experience. “It’s like you’re inspiring them.”
Although her school commitments keep her busy, Man finds the time to aid her community in events like the American Cancer Society Breast Walk and the Relay for Life and helping with various canned food and toy drives. She also volunteered at the Glen Oaks Nursing Home, which she said helped her learn more about caring for others.
Following her graduation from Martin Van Buren High School, Man plans on studying engineering, selecting the field based on its use of math.
Schauder predicts that Man will do “exceptionally well” both in college and beyond.
Man said that her biggest source of support throughout her school career has been her family, who she thanks for giving her the educational opportunities that she has had.