Salutatorian Haochen Wang went from struggling in middle school to singing with the Rolling Stones
In middle school in China, Haochen Wang would dread getting his grades back. In a selective math and science program, the teacher would read the test scores aloud.
“They started with the highest [scores],” he said. “Very often, I was in the second half.”
Wang, who grew up in a port town in Anhui province, would study around the clock, determined to be a better student. One day, he went to his teacher’s office hours and asked what he could do to improve.
“He just told me he didn’t know,” Wang said. “I was so devastated.”
Wang, a 2019 salutatorian, is graduating this month with bachelor’s degrees in astronomy and mathematics at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. In the fall, he’ll start a Ph.D. program in physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He’s contributed to research all four years at USC and recently authored his first paper, working with researchers at JPL, on the search for low frequency gravitational waves.
Looking back over the last four years, sometimes he feels like pinching himself.
“It’s totally unimaginable, like 10 years ago, that I would go to a school like USC and then MIT,” Wang said.
From struggle to singing with the Stones
Back in middle school, after being discouraged, Wang decided to change his perspective. He would no longer do math or science for validation. He would do it for fun.
“If it’s something you feel passionate about, you should pursue regardless of the results,” he said. “Everybody grows in different ways. To learn something, to explore something — the only reason to do it is because you like it.”
Wang has applied this philosophy to other interests, too. During his junior year in high school, he was an exchange student in Portland, Oregon, and joined choir.
“I loved it immediately,” he said of performing with a group.
While at USC, it happened again. He heard of the USC Thornton Chamber Singers and got in. Over the past four years, he’s performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and alongside The Rolling Stones, performing “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” during the Desert Trip Music Festival.
The funny thing is, Wang didn’t know much about The Rolling Stones, which he attributes to growing up mostly in China.
“My friends — they were crying,” he said. “I was like, why are people overreacting? Later, people told me they are huge deals.”
Wang has another reason for pursuing music: He loves math and science because he is curious about the laws of nature. Music, on the other hand, is all about telling stories and expressing feelings. It’s that mix that helps him feel connected with people.
Although becoming a professor and researcher is his ultimate goal, professional musician is now on his list, too. And when he gets to MIT, he’ll be looking for a choir flyer.