Eric Tang
Whether it’s being a member of the Debate Team or being a proctor in Ewald, Eric Tang is greatly respected and admired on campus for his tenacious work ethic and ability to be a caring friend. A member of Model UN, Math Club and ESSO Coding, Tang is as versatile as he is dominant in his interests and passions.
Over the summer, Tang participated in a teaching program called 826 Valencia. This education nonprofit in San Francisco, his hometown, allows elementary students all over the city to receive a free education thanks to volunteers like Tang. In addition to education, Tang enjoys working with technology and coding in his free time. This year, he finalized an iOS app with friend and classmate Aivant Goyal. Tang also teaches coding through ESSO to youth in the Exeter area.
“I just want to do something good for the world.”
In the classroom, he particularly excels in the studies of math and computer science, but there is one subject that really stands out to him: “History, because there are so many differing perspectives and so many questions to unpack, but it’s also grounded in facts and reality,” he said. Tang explained how he had always been enthralled by The History Channel growing up, as well as history exhibits and displays in museums.
“The thing about history,” Tang said, “is that the discussions always carry on outside the classroom. History applies to politics and current events too.” Due to the strong history curriculum at Exeter, Tang says he has learned a lot through writing papers in the Exeter U.S. history sequence. It has also allowed him to create a valuable list of his role models, with his idol, Clara Barton, at the very top.
When asked why he loves history so much, Tang reflected on a quote from a teacher at his past public school. “When I asked him why he chose to teach history out of all the disciplines, he told me something along the lines of, ‘History is the great unknown, unfinished story, and every time we talk about it, we brush off some dust and flip a few more pages.’”
Dorm mate and senior Jesus Rivera admired Tang’s driven attitude in school and his organizational skills. “Since prep year he was always on top of his work, and would usually go to bed by 10,” Rivera said. “Eric Tang is truly on another level. I think that beyond that though, what I admire the most about Eric is that he cares so much about those he loves and is willing to give up sleep sometimes to help them.”
Rivera remembers coming into room 17 of Ewald hall on his first day of prep year and feeling slightly lonely. Not long after, Tang came in, introduced himself, then went on his way so that Rivera could unpack. By dinner time, Tang came back to make sure that Rivera went out to dinner with the rest of the dorm. “That moment has stuck with me my whole time at Exeter,” Rivera said.
Combining his passion for computer science and education, Tang pondered ideas for pursuing a career after Exeter. “I hope to work at Khan Academy one day, which creates a huge array of online resources for students to learn for free, from anywhere in the world,” he said. If not at Khan Academy, he also expressed interest in other jobs like the company Nava, which Tang explained, “Created the web interface for Obamacare and is now turning to improving other government digital infrastructure.”
In addition to technology and education work, Tang went on to describe his enthusiasm for other fields such as government and even journalism. He concluded his interview by saying, “I just want to do something good for the world.”
When asked how to describe Tang in one word, Rivera said, “Curious.” As he embarks on his final year of high school, Tang itches to achieve great things beyond Exeter. Rivera said, “He’s always ready to take on a new challenge and reach his goals.” Whether it be in the classroom, on the computer, at the Harkness table, in front of a crowd or in the dorm, Eric Tang is always taking on new challenges.