Thursday, March 8, 2007 Older Editions

Phillips students at the top of the charts

By April Guilmet

After earning the Bay State's highest scores on their math and science advanced placement exam, two Phillips Academy seniors were honored by the Siemens Foundation.

Each year, the New Jersey-based technology company grants $2,000 college scholarships to the top male and female math and science students in each state - those scoring the most No. 5 scores (5 is the highest possible score on the exam) on their Advanced Placement exams.

Annually, more than 300,000 students take Advanced Placement exams nationwide.

Both seniors at the academy, this year's Mass. winners were Fay Gao of Chelmsford and H. Shawn Xu of Andover.

Gao, who is a resident student, said she learned of her award in late December. "It was actually kind of a shock. I wasn't expecting anything of the sort," she said.

The editor of the school's arts magazine, Gao's interests span beyond the math and science disciplines. "I've always been interested in the visual arts," she said.

A native of Shanghai, China, Gao and her family moved to Canada when she was 4. One year later, the family settled in Chelmsford. Gao volunteers her time teaching adopted Chinese children their native language and culture. She also tutors middle school children in Lawrence, helping them with their math and English.

"It's so hard to pick a favorite subject, I enjoy them all," Gao said. And while she's strong in science and math, she enjoys English and history, too. "I love to talk about current events and the books I've just read," she said.

Though she's still waiting to hear back from the colleges she's applied to, she plans to major in biochemistry next year, and pursue a career in medicine.

The news of his award also came as a surprise to Andover resident H. Shawn Xu. "I've been taking these exams over the past few years, but I didn't know this was happening," Xu said.

A day student at the academy, Xu lives on Orchard Crossing with his parents and 5-year-old sister. Like Gao, his interests are eclectic.

"I'm not a varsity athlete, but I like to play sports," he said. He also hosts a sports radio talk show on the school's Internet-based podcast station.

Born in Beijing, China, Xu moved to Andover when he was 7 and attended Pike School. He speaks fluent Mandarin, and said his favorite subject - this week - is economics.

"Up until this year, I've been a math and science guy," Xu said. "But there's mathematical theory involved in economics."

Also like Gao, he's still not sure which college he's headed to next year - though he's applied to 10 different schools.

"I'm just waiting to see where I get in," he said.

According to Jim Whaley, president of the Siemens Foundation, having two students from the same school win the award is unusual, but not unheard of. "We've only had it happen a couple of times," Whaley said. "The town of Andover should be very proud. It's a great indication that the community supports education."

Whaley said the company honors these students in hopes of encouraging them to pursue careers in technology. "These are our future leaders, scientists, engineers and business entrepreneurs," he said.