Hi everyone! My name is Chenghao Xu, and I usually go by Chris. I am a 16-year-old Junior attending the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science at WPI. I live in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, and my sending school is Worcester Academy. Before that, I attended Sherwood Middle School and Walter J. Paton Elementary School.
I am an only child, so my family is small and close-knit. In my free time, I enjoy watching anime or reading manga; my favorites are Gundam, Dr. Stone, and One Piece. I particularly enjoy building Gundam model kits (aka. Gunpla). I also like watching soccer and playing Fifa.
I have been volunteering at the SPL every summer for the past seven years, a place that has shaped much of my childhood. When I was just four years old, I spent countless hours in the children’s room, joining activities like Read to a Dog, Wiggle Words, Fun with Colors, and Lego Club. As a child from an English as a Second Language family, the library was more than just a place to read—it was where I felt welcomed into the community and supported in my early learning. Shrewsbury is a wonderfully diverse town, where families from many backgrounds come together, and I understand the challenges of adjusting when English is not a home language. Volunteering at the library allows me to give back to the same community that once helped me feel strong, connected, and cared for.
I have been competitively swimming for 10 years on Greenwood Swimming, and I have participated in numerous state-level and zone level competitions, where I have made it to finals races. I have medaled in many state level competitions and have collected many badges for qualifying and participating in championships. To me, medals are a moment of triumph since the efforts and challenges behind them require not only momentary passion, but also lasting faith. I don't like to give up, especially when I fail. The medals in life remind me that after failure, I must face the next obstacle and then overcome it to succeed once more. Repeatedly, my life has shown me that the next breakthrough is much more significant than medals of victory.
In 5th grade, I started the Clarinet, and I am an active musician as a player in the Worcester Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Senior Central Districts Music Festival, the All-State Music Festival while also playing solo pieces at recitals. Even though we all come from different towns and different schools, members support each other, share a common musical vision, and work together to create harmony both on and off the stage. Year after year, we meet every week and build a long-lasting and solid friendship. Music is not only beautiful and relaxing, but it also makes me feel the happiness of sharing joy with others.
Before, Mass Academy, I was the former engineering-captain of Worcester Academy’s Science Olympiad Team. Our team was very new, so it took a lot of leadership and responsibility to help run the team. I was responsible for distributing tasks within the “build team” to ensure that we could meet deadlines before the competition. The role involved many skills including project management, mentorship, and work distribution. First, we went through tools such as CAD, laser cutting, woodworking, and coding, I needed to make sure that all our members had something to do that was achievable. Personally, I contributed a lot of work towards Electric Vehicle, Helicopter and Robot Tour because coding was challenging for many of our new members; I worked with others on Optics, Bungie Drop, Air Trajectory, and some others with my teammates.