“Don’t write my profile about math.”

Despite skipping two grades in math as early as elementary school and spending years training for the competition math circuit, these were the first words senior Jonny Xue said to me regarding this piece. Since starting high school, he strove to distance himself from his earliest passion, not entirely leaving behind the formulas that once danced before his eyes, but taking them with him into new worlds of exploration. 

This mindset began as early as the COVID-19 pandemic, when Jonny found ample time to contemplate the doubts he’d begun to have about his chosen path. He started finding less joy in the endless competition problem sets he’d once devoured; instead, inspiration came in the form of a tech-related public policy newsletter that made its way into his inbox. A few cold emails and a couple of years later, Jonny took on the new position of working with policymakers to advise the development of laws around tech policy, combining his goal of having an impact on those around him with his initial love for STEM.

“Math to me is art,” Jonny said. “When I was doing competition math, I realized, ‘This is not meaningful to me.’ I wanted to use math to actually affect people. Through STEM, I’m able to create change for people, and it’s more meaningful to see that the things I do can affect people and better people’s lives.” 

Jonny’s journey to expand his personal horizons soon departed from solely the STEM sphere. When he joined the journalism program in his sophomore year at the advice of a close upperclassman friend, he found the same sense of human interest he long lacked in contest math in the Humans of Harker project. Now, as co-editor-in-chief of the publication, he reflects on how the profile process has brought him closer to the school community. 

“Every person tells you, ‘This thing’s so meaningful to me,’” Jonny said. “The fact that people can find meaning in different things is so beautiful. Life can have such a diversity of meaning for everyone, and how everyone finds their own purpose in various things was inspiring.”

Close friend and senior Adam Pawliger noted how Jonny extends this same care for others to his personal relationships. Beyond the formalities of a Humans of Harker interview, he interacts with those around him intentionally. 

“He’s a really helpful person,” Adam said. “Even if he’s busy, if I ask him for help, he’ll always try to make time. He also always makes efforts to connect and checks in on you to see how you’re doing, and that’s always appreciated.”

Jonny brings communities together in more ways than one. One of his signature eccentricities throughout middle and high school has been his love for the “Om Nom,” a character from the game Cut the Rope that can often be found on paraphernalia for Jonny-led initiatives like Math Club, where he’s Co-President. Whether in silly illustrations of the figure on classroom boards or club merch around campus, Jonny’s search for meaning has left its mark on campus culture.

“I enjoy finding meaning in meaningless things,” Jonny said. “Om Noms came from a bout of divine inspiration, but I like that idea of how something so trivial can connect the community, how it can bring change and how you can bring meaning to anything.”

Close friend and senior Robert Fields emphasized Jonny’s individuality. Not only does he refuse to conform to the dominant STEM culture in the Bay Area through his interdisciplinary approach to math, but he also pursues his interests unforgivingly, as wild as they may be at times. 

“He’s very willing to be himself,” Robert said. “He has very unique quirks that he embraces. He cares a lot about what he does, which is really refreshing, and he cares about the impact that he has.” 

Jonny’s high school journey has taken him to various destinations on campus, from the journalism room for Humans of Harker to Dobbins Hall for Math Club to faculty meetings as part of the Honor Council. There, he has served for the past three years as a class representative, striving to strengthen the campus’ commitment to personal growth and academic excellence. 

As Honor Council adviser and Jonny’s long-time mentor since teaching him in AP Calculus BC in frosh year, upper school math department chair Anthony Silk applauds Jonny’s genuine pursuit of his interests and commitment to exploring them with others. 

“It has been really fun for me having somebody who’s been here that I’ve gotten to watch grow, and I can see and connect with and talk to and have interesting conversations with,” Silk said. “Not just about math, but also about the honor council and how the school runs and his ideas on what we should do and shouldn’t do. They’re all fascinating, and we’ve had a lot of them. It’s going to be strange not having those conversations again, but I’m excited for him.” 

Although Jonny remains uncertain about his future, whichever path he chooses, he wants to maintain his values at the forefront of his efforts. Just as he challenged himself in middle school to expand his perspective beyond problem sets to real-world issues, he hopes to continue evolving no matter where he goes. 

“The heart of my mindset is that I never want to stagnate,” Jonny said. “That’s something that’s always been with me. I always want to keep moving, keep doing things that are meaningful. I still don’t know what I want to do yet in my life, but I know for sure that I want to do things that are meaningful to me and that are fulfilling.”