GGGA student George Qian dreams of going to Stanford, and he has the grades to back it up.
Qian, a student in the Full-Time Junior Program at the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy, scored in the top one percent in the country on his ACT (a nationwide standardized college admissions test) all but putting him on the right track of making his goal a reality.
Academics are of huge importance for Qian, who is a junior at Montverde Academy, GGGA’s educational partner – and they have been ever since he was really young he said.
Qian recalls doing extra homework on the weekends with his parents from time to time, while his friends were out doing whatever they pleased. He didn’t understand the need for it then, but he sure does now.
“All that extra work early on really got me ahead and prepared me for my high school years,” Qian said.
Qian’s parents had a lot to do with his discipline to his studies he said. That discipline and work ethic comes from the challenge of going through the school system in China, where his parents are originally from and where he spent two years prior to moving to Iowa.
But make no mistake, golf is also extremely important to Qian.
Qian’s dedication and focus on what is important to him is also very noticeable on the golf course, said Bryan Van der Riet, Qian’s coach at GGGA.
“George is the type of kid where if you give him something to work on, he’s going to do it,” Van der Riet said. “He knows what he wants, and he works hard to get it. I would without a doubt give a great recommendation on George to Stanford or any college.”
In his first semester at GGGA in the fall, Qian worked mostly on the technical side of his game to get his swing where he and his coach wanted it. Now into the spring, he feels like he’s on a great track from the work he put in in the earlier part of the year.
With about a year left until the recruiting period in his senior year, if all goes according to plan, Qian hopes to be the next great Cardinal.
