SAN DIEGO — A San Diego High School senior has been named a 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholar.
In this Zevely Zone, I circled back to a familiar face. In 2020, I interviewed Kyle Tianshi, a 14-year-old who wondered how much plastic was in the ocean. "Microplastic contamination has been found polluting both the ocean and other water sources," said Kyle in 2020.
We showed that segment from four years ago to Kyle who is now 17 years old. Kyle is about to graduate from The Cambridge School. "That is me, I'm very tiny," said Kyle. Back in 2020, he finished in second place in the national 3M Young Scientist Challenge. "The top prize was 25,000 dollars," said Kyle who missed out on the cash. "That's okay, what can you do about it?" said Kyle.
When Kyle was 14, I asked him what he would have done with $25,000.
"I probably said sushi," said Kyle.
When we replayed the story from 2020, sure enough, the 14-year-old said, "Maybe a sushi dinner?"
When we showed Kyle, he had the same answer at 17 years old he laughed.
"Yeah, I am still the same person, ha, ha," said Kyle.
The same person with even more awards. Kyle has been named a US Presidential Scholar. "I wasn't expecting it at all because so few people get it," said Kyle.
Along with acing the SAT, Kyle is an award-winning author with a series of sci-fi fantasy novels. He's also launched a non-profit to spread awareness about the global water crisis. Back in 2020, Kyle said the following about the invention he made.
"This device can be used to continuously monitor home filtration systems and reverse osmosis seawater factories."
Watching himself from 2020, Kyle couldn't help but see a go-getter in the making.
"Yeah, he has a lot more energy than I have I think, great speaking," laughed Kyle.
In high school, Kyle branched out and auditioned for the school play. "That's King Triton and Ursula," said Kyle while showing me pictures from The Little Mermaid. Just a few days ago, he had more fun with a senior prank. "We took an entire boat and we put it in the parking lot," said Kyle. I asked him if he got in trouble. "Not so far, maybe in the future yes," he laughed. It's nice to see such a serious student have some fun. "Yeah, yeah definitely," laughed Kyle.
I then asked him what he plans to do with his life. "Wow, that's a big question I don't really know I hope that I'll be a positive influence," said Kyle. Not knowing what he wants to do means Kyle could still do anything he wants when he attends Stanford University in the fall. I told him I'll interview him again in 2028.
"See you in four years," I said.
Kyle replied, "Ha, ha, another four years alright.
Kyle was one of only nine students in California to be named a 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholar. He was also named a Coca-Cola Scholar.