Spartan Spotlight

By: Ry Williams (12th Grade)

Each Spring, GAC’s Academic Dean stands before the student body to announce the school year’s Star Student, the Senior that achieves the highest SAT score of their class. In this year’s annual ceremony, GAC proudly announced that Kevin Liu (Class of 2024) had been chosen for this honor. Liu will be celebrated later this year by the State of Georgia in a banquet, alongside the teacher he chose as having the greatest impact on his High School career, Dr. Marcus Miller, the Middle and High School Choir Director. This came as a surprise to many, as the Star Student’s chosen teacher typically comes from one of their core classes. I sat down with Liu to discuss how his time at GAC has led him to this honor and how music has had an impact on his High School career. 

Liu, a GAC Senior, was born in Beijing, China and moved to the United States in 2017. “The hardest part was probably transferring all my credits and classes, and basically starting a new life,” Liu said. He credits his success to the support of his family and the new friends he made upon arriving in the US. Nearly 7 years later, Kevin Liu has grown to be an important contributor to the academic, musical, and social culture on campus. He can be found playing the electric guitar alongside the GAC Worship Band or playing volleyball with friends and his local volleyball team. Liu also serves as the concertmaster (the first chair of the First Violin section) of the GAC Orchestra, and the leader of the Choir’s Tenor section. 

His musical contributions don’t go unnoticed. Liu explained to me that he is proud to have been accepted into Georgia’s All State Chorus, All State Reading Chorus, and All State Orchestra. “I was also the regional quartet and male solo champion in the Literary Team…which won state last year” (Liu).

Liu emphasized the role that playing the violin and singing have had on his personal growth. “It’s nice to have something in mind when playing music, and [it] also helps me process my emotions”, he told me. “There’s something that Dr. Miller likes to say- Absence of thought equals absence of color in music” (Liu). Liu credits his time with Dr. Miller in both choir and AP Music Theory to his success as both a student and musician.

“Music has helped me develop academically, personally, and also spiritually”, he said. He continued by explaining the benefits of participating in a musical program. “Choir teaches a bunch of transferable skills… both cognitive and collaborative, [such as] leadership [and] teamwork” (Liu). According to Liu, the unwavering support he received in Choir is what prompted him to choose Dr. Miller to attend the Star Student banquet alongside him. “He helped me…transition from never singing before to being a core member of the Choir” (Liu). 

Liu’s exceptional musical accomplishments are coupled by his amazing academic successes, including the Star Student achievement. When asked how he manages to balance everything he simply commented, “Do the things that are most important”, and stated that effective planning has become especially helpful in times of stress. His dedication to excelling in both of these areas is what has set him up for long term success. 

Liu is now looking to his collegiate future to continue his musical and academic impact. “My plan is to [study] material science and engineering at Georgia Tech”, he said. Although Georgia Tech does not offer a music major, Liu says that he is excited to get to share his talents through their musical ensembles. Until then, let’s celebrate Kevin Liu for his amazing accomplishments and contributions to our GAC community!

Check out the video below, which features a piece performed by the GAC Chamber Orchestra with a solo accompaniment performed by Kevin Liu: