Aurora student surpasses goal, going right to the top of the class

July 23, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Brock Weir

“You’re doing too much homework,” is not something one would normally expect a parent to say – but then again, not many students are like Aurora’s Felix Kan.

Felix, who recently graduated from St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic High School this summer, was a man on a mission. With a goal of securing himself a place in the University of Toronto’s sciences program this summer, he buckled down and got to work – and was named St. Max’s top scholar in the process.

By the end of the school year he achieved a remarkable average of 97.5 per cent – safely overshooting his goal of a 90 per cent average.

“I just wanted to meet the cut off to get into my program, which was between 87 and 90,” he says. “I just decided to put more effort into my studies in Grade 11 and in Grade 11 I developed some habits I carried with me into Grade 12. I had a schedule every day when I got home, so I always took that, ate something, and then did homework. Then I would spend four or five hours [doing homework] on the weekend. I also had a job at McDonalds which helped me time manage.”

Through it all, he would do the homework his teacher assigned the class and, if time allowed, he would go ahead and start work on the next chapter of his textbook.

“My parents have always supported me, but sometimes they would actually tell me to do less homework!” he says. “I just really wanted to achieve my goal.”

Felix was born in Canada, but aged just 1, his family moved to Hong Kong for job opportunities. After studying at an international school in Hong Kong through Grade 3, the family them moved back to Canada. Settling in Aurora, he finished Grade 8 at Hartman Public School before doing his entire high school run at St. Max.

He wasn’t always as dedicated to his studies. Before he set his goal, he counted gym class as his favourite subject because it got him out of the classroom. Throughout high school, however, he kept this love alive playing on the high school basketball team through Grade 11, and staying involved on various local Rep teams.

During high school, he developed an affinity for the sciences, particularly chemistry. Although he initially wanted to be a doctor, he thought chemical engineering could open up new doors while keeping the door to med school still open a crack.

“I found with chemistry, it wasn’t like studying English – I actually liked it and actually wanted to read more and learn more,” he says. “I actually enjoyed the homework and I did well in it. Ultimately I want to become an engineer and, if my marks are high enough, I see that I have the opportunity to still get into med school.

“[To achieve these marks] you have to be really goal-oriented and hard work really pays off. If you want to achieve something, anything is possible.”