Like many other seniors graduating this week from Camas High School (CHS), Nhan Truong boasts a resume packed with AP classes, extracurriculars, awards and high grades. He has been in many extracurriculars since middle school, earning several officer spots in the past few years. He served as vice president of CHS Science Olympiad during his senior year and previously held a position as team captain in Knowledge Bowl. 

Truong finds his passions lie mainly in astrophysics, and he has spent countless hours studying for the Astronomy event in Science Olympiad.

“Over the summer, I studied every day for three months for Astronomy, and that was my main event going into freshman year,” Truong said. 

His work ethic paid off- out of 41 total medals he earned from his 4 years of high school Science Olympiad, he said most were from Astronomy. Truong earned the most total medals out of any senior graduating this year. 

“I wanted to test my skills in astronomy, so I entered a nationwide competition hosted by US Astronomy and Astrophysics Organization (USAAAO),” Truong said. 

He won a bronze medal after completing the testing tournament. 

“In USAAAO, I learned that life is not a repetition of facts and exercises you did in class, but rather the application of those facts,” Truong said. 

While Astronomy was his best event in Science Olympiad, he also excelled in Geologic Mapping, an event focusing on structural geology through graphing and calculations. Truong and his testing partner earned a 3rd place medal at the state Science Olympiad tournament this year. 

This strong dedication to learning also contributed to Truong’s success with Knowledge Bowl throughout his middle and high school career. 

“In eighth grade, I got the opportunity to pick my teammates for Knowledge Bowl,” Truong said, “and we’ve had pretty much the same team since.” 

Along with his teammates- Adhith Srikanth (12), Emilio Sanchez (12) and more recently Arvin Shyam (11), Truong helped Camas bring home the fourth place trophy at the Knowledge Bowl state competition. 

“Last year, we had Arvin join our team, and we managed to get sixth at State with no seniors on our team,” Truong said.

Truong is also a CHS MST Magnet program member, and his senior MST project was focused on astrophysics. He got a position at the Summer Science Program at the University of North Carolina last summer and conducted his senior research on tracking the orbit of an asteroid. His involvement in MST helped him grow in his academics and pursue his passion for astronomy. 

As much as he loves astronomy, Truong opted to study Computer Science at the University of Washington next year. 

“I’m excited for college life and having more freedom, as are we all,” Truong said. 

Overall, Truong’s high school career was filled with academic success that will undoubtedly continue as he goes into college next fall.