News: Senior brings global perspective

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Senior brings global perspective

High achiever focused on solving problems

By Nathan Donato-Weinstein The Press-Tribune

Ashley Baer/THE PRESS-TRIBUNE

Granite Bay senior Allen Ding is setting his sights high for life after high school.

Allen Ding is that rare Granite Bay High senior ? one who hasn?t yet received his driver?s license.

And he couldn?t care less.

?I was more frustrated by me not getting to vote in the election,? the 17-year-old said recently inside a Granite Bay Starbucks, after a grueling week of submitting college applications.

It?s in keeping with the high-achieving senior?s priorities, those who know him say, of being focused on issues of injustice, poverty and suffering ? anywhere he believes people can effect change.

It?s why Ding sprung into action to raise funds for Chinese earthquake victims earlier this year and participated in a recent protest against Proposition 8.

Most of all, it?s why Ding has set his sights high for life after high school: a top tier university, a degree in international relations, a job in a multinational organization helping the underprivileged or perhaps those in developing nations.

?He?s not just into finding fault with things, he?s into solving things ? solving the puzzle,? said Rita Prichard, Ding?s speech and debate teacher.

Ding?s background also reflects his international sensibilities.

He came to this country when he was 3 from Wuhan, China, after his father was hired by an American technology company.

His success in learning English ? Ding knows Mandarin as well, though he has to practice ? is thanks to ?unlimited access to cable television? when he was young, said Ding, who has an 8-year-old brother, Brian.

?It taught me the idiomatic expressions in the U.S.,? Ding said.

In the first grade, Ding?s family moved the Placer County. He excelled in school, and thrived in Granite Bay.

Last summer, he landed an internship in the office of San Francisco Assemblywoman Fiona Ma. He remembers sitting at lunch with other interns and staffers, discussing the day?s legislative agenda.

?From her I got my lips wet in the political environment and the impact people can make with legislation,? he said.

Ding admits his hometown?s well-known conservatism is at odds with his more liberal outlook.

But, he said, ?The reputation can blind you to the richness and diversity that do exist,? adding: ?I?ve learned that conservative parents raise liberal children.?

Earlier this year, he and a group of friends mobilized following the Chengdu earthquake, starting a drive that raised about $2,200 in just over three weeks.

?In spare change alone we raised $1,700,? Ding said. ?People were just so receptive of that.?

But Ding?s high school career has been most defined by participation in speech and debate. This year, he?s captain of the school?s debate team, and is currently ranked 16th in the nation in the National Forensic League.

?I had no idea what I was getting myself into,? he said of his first entr?e into the class. ?That first day, she told us we?d have to go out and get tournament dress. My heart just stopped.?

?He watches things, picks up when things aren?t right,? Prichard said. ?That?s why he?s such a good debater, because he knows how to listen. So he chooses his words carefully.?

Ding is not all debate prep, however. He?s played basketball and soccer for the school and enjoys hanging out with friends. But he?s also consciously making an effort to savor his senior year. He says he?s trying to be more ?school-oriented,? meaning participating in more activities like dances and bonfires. Ding even plans on missing out on an upcoming debate to attend the winter dance (he asked Prichard?s permission first).

Still, in the months before graduation, there?s no mistaking what?s at the top of his list. His cell phone is programmed with test dates and college application deadlines. His No. 1 prospect: Georgetown.

?At the same time, when friends call, I feel all work and no play makes a dull person,? he said.