As shots ring out across the indoor range, senior Young Min reaches for the cold steel handle of her Pardini air pistol, her magazine loaded and vision locked on the bullseye in front of her. 

One step. Straightening out her posture, she slowly approaches her target. Two steps. 

Fire. 

The pellet cuts through the air and strikes dead center on the white paper in front of her — it’s a perfect 10. Lowering her pistol, Young lets out a deep exhale before raising her pistol to the target once more. 

Before entering the world of shooting, Young devoted her early years to ballet, practicing for hours at a Russian ballet studio. She moved through her dance practices whilst simultaneously developing a quiet admiration for Olympic shooting, which stemmed from watching the Korean shooting team’s success. Despite her budding interest in shooting, it wasn’t until one of her mother’s acquaintances introduced her to the sport in sophomore year that she picked up her first air pistol. As she continued training, firing pellet after pellet, she began to realize a sharp difference between shooting and ballet.

“In ballet, everything needs to be coordinated, everything needs to be in sync: there’s no such thing as yourself. You are one with your team,” Young said. “The sense that I could take my own breaks when I wanted to, that I could focus on myself and that I had a presence within the sport itself, that was really new to me because I was used to giving up my individuality to fit in with other people in ballet, where being in-sync is considered impressive.” 

On top of this newfound individuality, Young also discovered a tight-knit athletic community that welcomed her with open arms. The smaller world of youth-shooting meant that she would often practice alongside Olympians attending the same tournaments, and Young admired how they would always offer a helping hand to younger shooters. In many ways, the shooting community Young discovered actively embraces and reflects one of her core values: a fundamental commitment to those around her, which originated from her involvement in community service work. Interacting with individuals from different backgrounds offered her valuable insight into the inequities facing different communities and, consequently, the work that still needs to be done. 

“Working with people that are more neglected in our community can really change your perspective on what opportunities you have and what you are doing in your life right now,” Young said. “Seeing and acknowledging that fact makes you realize that your life is beyond whatever you can ask for whenever you interact with people who are neglected. I’m really driven by them.” 

Young’s desire to serve her community plays an integral role in driving her work forward, pushing her to create different projects serving marginalized groups in the Bay Area. She especially focuses on assisting military veterans, and her volunteer work at the VA Veterans Hospital shed a new light on the kind of community Young wanted to foster with her own efforts.

“Obviously, there’s community within our school, within my shooting team, within my church, but I haven’t seen a community as strong as theirs,” Young said. “They’re always smiling, and they’re always more than willing to share their stories. They always say hi to one another, even if they don’t know each other. After working there, I always made sure to say hi to people. That was a big takeaway moment in my life, realizing that just the act of saying ‘hi’ was very impactful.”  

Now, Young approaches interactions with the aim of making others feel welcomed and comfortable. History teacher Chuck Witschorik taught Young in her junior year and comments on the bright and inquisitive energy she brought into the classroom setting. 

“She would ask questions,” Dr. Witschorik said. “She listened very carefully in lectures. She was friendly with her teammates and was just a positive presence — somebody who other people enjoyed being around and added a lot to the class.” 

Close friend senior Katerina Matta also deeply values Young’s strong moral compass and often seeks her comforting presence during tough times, trusting in her mature advice and reassuring words. Having known Young since kindergarten at Harker, Katerina reflects on how Young has only continued to grow more admirable each year.

“She’s always been confident, and as the years have gone on, she’s grown more and more into her voice and that’s something really cool to see,” Katerina said. “She’s a very strong person. She has a very strong sense of who she is and what she wants to do in the world. It’s really nice to have a voice that’s so sure of itself and that’s guiding in your life.” 

Young’s confidence also extends to her determination to pursue a career in medicine. As she gained hands-on experience in the field at an internship at Johns Hopkins, Young’s desire to utilize medicine to uplift underserved communities truly solidified. For her, becoming a doctor was never about the prestige or money— it was an avenue to truly make a positive difference in the world.  

“The first thing the doctors started talking about is salary and where you need to go to earn the most money,” Young said. “That really hit me because that’s not at all what I’m striving for. I want to make sure I go to remote areas. I want to help people that really don’t have access to medical facilities. I totally get people who want to strive for success in that area, but to me, that wasn’t my goal at all.”

Watching Young’s unwavering resolve to give back to her community, close friend senior Arthur Wu feels inspired to emulate her strong work ethic in his own life. From playing video games with Young during quarantine to planning UNICEF fundraisers together, Arthur commends her for being a driven, compassionate friend and wants to tell Young that she is bound for success in the future.

“Everything you do, you’re going to do great,” Arthur said. “ You’re such an amazing person, so don’t stress about anything. I know you get anxious at times, but you’re going to do amazing in life no matter what happens. You’re going to be great.” 

As Young moves through her last year of high school and looks ahead to the path that awaits her, she reflects on the formative role her time in high school played in uncovering her one, driving purpose.

“I became a lot more confident in almost every aspect of myself,” Young said. “My dreams have gotten even bigger since frosh year, mostly because of all of the different experiences that I’ve had in the past four years. They have become a lot more solidified, and I know I want to have a job that can really help those in need. That’s the main motivation behind everything I do.”