US Trust Scholar of the Year 2012-Andrew Ng

Here is another one of the US Trust Scholar of the Year recipients, Andrew Ng

Andrew Ng, 2012 Scholar-Chessplayer Award Recipient

Photo and story USchesstrust Andrew-Ng

Profile
'...Although my success in chess has contributed significantly to my leadership abilities, I cannot thank the game enough for revealing to me a means to success. Few experience early on in their life such fulfilling accomplishments, and I consider myself fortunate to have achieved so much in chess. Since I started playing the game, I had to mold my work ethic into a model of efficiency, for competition at the higher levels requires a dedication of a significant amount of time and effort.

Thankfully, this quality exhibited itself also in my academics – I realized that chess has had a strong correlation with the improvement of my problem-solving and logical faculties, essential traits for one who wishes to become an engineer.

On a more personal note, chess has allowed me to meet incredible new people that have assisted in my academic progress. One of these people, Jennifer Shahade, introduced me to the founder of the Adventures of the Mind program, Victoria Gray in 2009.

At Princeton University, I had the opportunity to meet eleven Nobel Prize winners in the fields of chemistry and physics, the CEO of Mozilla Firefox, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, and two former Poet Laureates of the United States. Such a contingency would have been impossible without the guiding hand of chess by my side, turning the handles towards opportunity in every direction.(more)'

Chess Achievements
Scholarship
■2008 Super Nationals Chess Tournament Scholarship ($500)

Awards
■Member of the United States National Team at the 2009 World Youth Chess Championship in Turkey
■Will be a member of the United States National Team at the 2012 Pan American Chess Championship in Peru
■2011 North American Chess Champion U18
■5-time United States National Chess Champion
■Nationally Ranked Top 10 Chess Player for Age Group since 2005, currently ranked #2 in the nation for 16 year-olds
■Full 4-year college scholarship to the University of Maryland in Baltimore County and unrestricted $500 scholarship for winning the 2009 United States U16 Cadet Championship (valued at $79,480)
■2011 United States Chess Federation Scholar-Chessplayer Award ($1,500)
■2010 Rentscheler Foundation Chess Scholarship ($1,750)
■2008-2010 Recipient of the Holly Heisman Foundation Scholarship ($1,500)
■2009 National Denker Tournament of High School Champions Scholarship ($500)
■United States National Chess Master (Title)
■Member of the New Jersey Knockouts 2008-2011, a State Chess Team that competes in the United States Chess League
■4-time New Jersey High School Chess Champion
■6-time New Jersey Scholastic Chess Champion
■6-time New York State Scholastic Chess Champion

Chess Service
■Promoted chess in Marlboro Memorial Middle School by creating a state competing Chess Team. Lead team to multiple New Jersey State Championships in 2006 2007 & 2008. MMMS won the NJ State Championship for 3 straight years. In 2008 MMMS won the NJ High School Booster Championship.
■Helped create a chess club at Lincroft Elementary School. Has taught the chess club since 2009 and continue to do so today; the current membership of the club is over 70 students.
■Volunteer to give simultaneous exhibitions at the annual Chess Fest sponsored by Prevention First held in Asbury Park, New Jersey since 2007
■Volunteer at the Monmouth County Chess School and Club, raising money for the local YMCA by giving simultaneous exhibitions
■Keynote motivational speaker at the 2009 Chess Fest sponsored by Verizon Wireless