Talk about an overachiever!
Avery Hansberger, a senior at J.W. North High School in Riverside, has been accepted to five Ivy League colleges, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UPenn, and Brown. He's also been accepted into Stanford, Duke, UCLA, Berkeley, USC, and five other top universities.
The sole valedictorian at North this year, Avery is enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program and has a 4.69 weighted GPA. He scored a 1520 (out of 1600) on his SAT.
"When Avery is not helping his classmates work through a problem, he is attempting to spark joy in the room or engage with a new and unfamiliar face," noted Mr. Adam Quaal, Avery's AP Physics teacher.
In addition, Avery has served as the Vice President for North's environmental club (TREE Club) and was co-captain of the school's Environmental Competition Team. He competed in the National History Day competition for four consecutive years, coming in as the State Runner Up as a sophomore, the State Champion in the Performance Category as a junior, and took second place in the National Competition as a junior.
Avery also performed in ten theatre productions at North; he served as an Associate Creative Director for Broadway Camp at the Lewis Family Playhouse, served as Assistant Director and Choreographer for a production of the Adams Family for a nonprofit youth children's theatre; wrote, directed, and cast two short musicals, and performed in a television variety show on the ABC affiliate in Palm Springs during the pandemic.
Avery also participated in Varsity Swim his sophomore year and served as the co-chair of the Mayor's Youth Council, which engages youth in city governance and serves as the primary advisor to the Mayor and City Council around youth issues.
Meanwhile, Avery has narrowed his final selections down to Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and Yale.
"Really what colleges want to see is authentic people who have done things they enjoy," added another teacher, Mr. Ed Gonsalves. "Take what you love and do them to the best of your ability.
"Avery has not only proven to be an inspiration to younger students on the rise but also to us old people already set in our ways."
