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Schools

Whiz Kid Chelsea Chen Heads to Cornell University

This honor roll student plans to combine her love for photography, dance and travel into a career.

Chelsea Chen and her family moved to Peters Township from Georgia, just in time to start kindergarten in the district. Now as a senior, Chelsea has taken the lessons she has learned and the talents she has developed to skills that are likely to take her to great accomplishments as an adult.

Much of what she has done so far has earned her the spot as this week’s “Whiz Kid.”

The daughter of Daniel and Shuping Chen, she is a master of both the English and Chinese languages and has traveled back to her parents’ birthplace in China on numerous occasions. She has turned her love for photography into a talent that has earned her a place among the high school student photographers. Teachers and students alike have enjoyed her artistic work behind the camera.

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She's involved with Students Against Drugs and the Peters Township Student Council, while maintaining a 4.4 GPA and a spot on the honor roll. In addition to photography, Chelsea, and her younger sister, Maple, a sophomore at the high school, perform with a Chinese dance group, which is part of the Organization of Chinese Americans. The group travels around the area to do shows for various types of nonprofit groups. Another sister, Julianna, a fourth-grader also dances.

Chelsea has been accepted to Cornell University, where she will study Hotel Administration and Management.

Find out what's happening in Peterswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We sat down with Chen to ask her a few questions.

Patch: How did you become interested in photography?

Chen: I always had a little point and shoot camera, but I never thought of it in an artistic sense. Then one day I picked it up and fell in love with it. I then started begging my dad for a big camera and he finally gave in and got me one during my sophomore year.

Patch: What do you like to photograph best?

Chen: I love photographing people. I’m not a big fan of nature shots or anything. I love the genuine human emotions. They really interest me.

Patch: You’ve traveled to China -- that must have been a memorable experience.

Chen: I try to go there every year or every other year. It’s been amazing and just a wonderful experience. I have enjoyed it so much.

Patch: So you’re turning your adventures into something you can do for a living, like hotel management?

Chen: I traveled so much growing up that I visited a lot of hotels. I’m really interested in what goes on behind the scenes. I think it’s something I would like to do for the rest of my life.

We congratulate Chen and wish her the best of luck at Cornell. Do you know of an amazing child or teen? Read how to submit your Whiz Kid nomination .

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