His mind wandering to Japanese reincarnation fantasies and Korean dungeon tropes, senior Aidan Wang immerses into a web novel. Pause. The gears in Aidan’s brain begin to whir as he devises grandiose predictions for the denouement of his half-read book. A story on a phone, yet also a catalyst to Aidan’s self-growth and cultural awareness slowly unfolding, one page at a time. 

From the moment Aidan first downloaded Webtoon in sixth grade, his interest in reading only progressed, expanding to manga, manhua and manhwa, concentrating on different genres of Asian comic books and web novels. Exploring the fascinating comic tropes, Aidan found solace in the connection of cultural elements of his reading and how they related to his own life.

“Web novels encompass a lot of cultures and different ideas across multiple stories into one, but meshes it well, so that it is not conflicting and actually enjoyable to read,” Aidan said. “I explore how different cultures blend together.”

Each web novel features different cultural themes such as the Isekai of Japanese manga, tropes of regression and systems in Korean manhwa, and cultivation (xianxia/wuxia) in Chinese Manhua. Each web novel features a variety of gods and supernatural beings from folklore, creating a rich cultural experience for the reader. Rather than sticking to the storyline, Aidan enjoys coming up with his own interpretations of endings, formulating ideas to relax, and he finds peace in creativity.

“For a lot of comics I read, I like to do my own form of world building with inspiration from what I read in my head,” Aidan said. “As a form of distressing, I come up with my own thoughts in fleeting moments.”

For Aidan, reading accompanied by conversation and reflection is most valuable. One such case was how a long-lasting friendship with senior Lianna Wan blossomed from their shared fascination in reading. Despite her interest in a different genre of book, Lianna admires the compassion reading inspires in Aidan, reflected through ardent conversions. By exploring and learning about the different cultural norms expressed in his web novels, Aidan has broadened his worldview and understanding of other people.

“He will go on rants or tangents about novels that he likes to read,” Lianna said. “And I think it’s just cool to see him so passionate about something. The novels brought in his cultural perspective, and made him more accepting of other people and interested in listening to them.”

While Aidan finds enjoyment in discussing novel motives with Lianna, close friend senior Kyle Li notices that Aidan is always observant and empathetic to his friends emotions.

“If I did poorly on the test, he would say: ‘Hey, how are you doing?'” Kyle said. “He’s a really considerate person.”

Beyond schoolwork, Aidan quite literally shoots for the stars by channeling his curiosity and creativity towards aerospace engineering. Aidan’s fascination in aerospace initially developed in sophomore year through volunteering at the Hiller Aviation Museum, an opportunity introduced by senior members of the Aerospace Club. 

“I mainly guided people through how to use the flight and drone simulators, the controls and how to reset the simulation if you crash.” Aidan said. “A lot of them are children. It’s fun seeing the new generation become interested in the field.”

Since then, Aidan has engaged in this field extensively, finding joy in sharing knowledge with peers and younger children, passing down knowledge just as past Harker students once did with him. Aerospace Club advisor Anthony Silk admires Aidan’s passion towards the field.

“Chatty, extroverted, likes to talk to other people, engaged — all those things were my first impression,” Silk said. “Aidan was a big member of the Aerospace Club. He was still a little goofy in the best sense, but you could see how engaged he was. He’s really interested in aerospace engineering. And so when he was talking about that, there was a serious side of him I didn’t always see in class.”

Inevitably, with success comes certain obstacles, a phenomena which Aidan is by no means unfamiliar with. Rather than avoiding the team-based challenges aerospace engineering projects pose, the differing opinions shared by other members only increases Aidan’s interest in the field. Through aerospace, such opportunities of collaboration and conflict have helped develop his leadership and teamwork skills. 

”In aerospace engineering, it is hard to communicate in a team-based environment because people have different ideas of what to do,” Aidan said. “If you synergize, there’s more creativity and minds working together towards a common goal. What you might miss might be brought up by others.” 

Aidan’s infectious enthusiasm and growth mindset of perseverance manifests not only in school organizations, but also in his friendships. Rather than faltering during difficult situations, Aidan’s willingness to make educated decisions and move on, focusing on what he has the power to control rather than dwelling on the past, has been pivotal in many situations. 

“To challenges, he’s able to take the time to think about it and not worry too much,” Lianna said. “He knows it will be better. When it comes to decisions, he’s really certain, and can present everything in a logical and orderly manner and organize his thoughts, whereas my thoughts are always jumbled. He has given me some structure that I can adapt into my life.”

Within his academic classes, Aidan brings a similar sense of structure, determination and creativity in group collaboration to solve challenging quests. Silk remarks that Aidan displays resolve within the classroom, applying his teamwork capabilities in every aspect of his life. 

“He brings in a sense of wonder, a sense of interest, a sense of a can-do attitude,” Silk said. “There was never a point where he said ‘this is too hard. This can’t be done.’ He always felt like, ‘yeah, I can do this,’ and sometimes that translated to directly, ‘I can do this.’ But what was more interesting, and one thing that I really liked, is it frequently was a ‘we can do this.’”