Not all schoolwork for MBA’s Chua

Delaney Kyle Ycoy Chua is the youngest in Marianas Baptist Academy’s graduating senior class. The 16-year-old finished as the valedictorian. (Contributed Photo)

Delaney Kyle Ycoy Chua’s years at Marianas Baptist Academy is not all about schoolwork. The 16-year-old is also into extracurricular activities to break from the everyday student life that revolves around assignments and school projects.

Chua, this year’s valedictorian of MBA’s 2016 senior class, said he always had a lot of fun playing basketball—whether in practice, scrimmages, or league games—which is also one of his stress reliever. He was also member of MBA’s Student Council and the Yearbook committee.

He also considers being part of MBA’s men’s basketball team, the Stormz, as one of his greatest achievement in school aside from the numerous academic awards he earned. The team regularly plays half court games with new students or with their other classmates.

“Reaching the championship game [in the Coalition of Private Schools Sports Association] with my friends is one of my proudest achievements. Unlike schoolwork, basketball requires teamwork,” said Chua, who studied at an early age and was accelerated from 5th to 7th grade.

He said playing pick-up games with other students made the team better and that helped them reach the finals this year where they eventually lost to Mt. Carmel School. He also received an All-League Selection certification from COPSA.

“When we joined the tournament, we celebrated like we won the NBA Finals after every single game. It was amazing how far we reached and won second place, given that more than half the team never played competitive basketball before,” Chua added.

He also spends some time hanging out with friends before studying and preparing for class the next day. The memorable experiences weren’t from studying, but by having fun with friends. As a senior, I get lots of free time between classes.”

“With that, I often talked and collaborated with friends on projects. and going off campus to eat. After that, I would go home and do work or go out again with my friends. My schedule always seemed packed back then, but that is what made it fun and memorable.”

The middle child of Celso and Nancy Chua received numerous academic awards including a gold medal in the CNMI MathCourt competition. He also received the top honors in AP calculus, physics, AP Japanese, AP Literature, and composition subjects in his senior year.

Chua, who has two brothers Cloency Zuriel and Deancey Adriel, said he wasn’t sure if he would finish atop of his class but he already had an idea because of his report cards based on a near perfect GPA and receiving awards in most of the subjects.

Now, he’s preparing to enter college where he plans to take up engineering at University of Rochester in New York. Although still undecided on what specific branch of engineering to take, he said UR was a decent pick since it is ranked among the Top 25 new Ivy League Schools by Newsweek in 2006.

“It was an impressive school academically and I wanted to go live in the city after all my years on Saipan. It was also great financially because of the scholarship which exceeds the cost of tuition. Also, it wouldn’t be as stressful as it would be if I’m attending a top college,” Chua said.