Bearden announces top three
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Ham
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Diaz
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Nishizawa
Bearden High School recently announced it has two valedictorians and a salutatorian.
Yejoon Ham and Mery Diaz were designated valedictorians while Leo Nishizawa earned the salutatorian distinction.
“Regardless of what class I took or what I learned, having impactful, supportive teachers was so much more instrumental to determining how my learning experience went,” said Ham, son of Young Pyo Ham and Miyoung Park.
“Also, one of the most important parts of my high school experience were the peers and friends I surrounded myself with,” he said. “They had such a huge influence on how my everyday school life looked and felt.
“Furthermore, I’m so grateful to have been able to learn to find a good work-life balance that works for me,” Ham said. “Knowing how to balance the challenging academics I should be doing and finding the activities I truly enjoyed was what made my high school experience fulfilling and meaningful.
“High school has been a truly formative time for me, and there has been no better time to explore, mature, learn about myself and understand how I navigate the world,” he added. “By the end, I’ve understood how fleeting my high school life was, and I see how important it was to take chances,
creating and taking every new opportunity that came my way.”
“I cherished my time at Bearden,” said Diaz, daughter of Juan Diaz and Reyna Romero. “My class is full of passionate, enthusiastic students who consistently uplift one another. It was contagious.”
“I worked hard because I knew that my teachers and classmates believed in me,” she said. “I felt this unwavering support when my friends and classmates told me they were rooting for me as valedictorian and celebrated like their favorite soccer team had won the world cup when I was named.
“The most valuable part of being valedictorian is to be able to share this accomplishment with everybody that supported me through it all,” Diaz added.
“High school has been a time of exploration of what clicks with me, salutatorian Leo Nishizawa said. “I think the time spent at school has helped me narrow down the type of career I am interested in while being able to have fun with friends.
Nishizawa is focusing on computer science at BHS.
“After graduation, I plan to attend Vanderbilt University to major in computer science,” said the son of Tomoharu Nishizawa and Shiho Nishizawa. The senior is seeking a
career in either the government or major technology companies related to cybersecurity.
Ham is focusing his education on electrical/computer engineering. After high school, he plans to complete an undergraduate degree at Princeton University and earn a PhD afterward. He is seeking a career in the realm of robotics, becoming a professor and being involved in research development.
Diaz is majoring biomedical engineering. She plans to attend Duke University as a Robertson Scholar and is seeking a career in research and as a professor in biomedical engineering.
While at BHS, Ham was:
• Founder and coach for MATHCOUNTS programs, for which he was a community coaching member for Bearden Middle and West Valley Middle schools;
• President of BHS Robotics, for which he secured a $5,000 STEM grant;
• Research Intern at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he developed 20-plus predictive AI models and presented at the Smokey Mountains Computational Conference;
• Four-time selected drummer for Knoxville Jazz Youth Orchestra and his church’s praise team drummer;
• Co-captain of BHS Tennis and two-time District 4AA Runner-up;
• Counselor and teacher for Sarang Church Youth and Children ministry, for which he led outreach for 100-plus refugee children in Kentucky.
• Academically, he had a 4.0 UW, 4.65 weighted grade-point average, earned a score of 36 on the ACT in all sections, and achieved a 1,570 score on the SAT;
• Additionally, he was a National Merit Scholarship recipient, Morehead-Cain Scholarship finalist, Governor’s School for Sciences & Engineering Scholar, received the Johnny Mauer award, a Korean American Scholarship recipient for the Southern Region and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute medalist.
• In mathematics, he was a two-time AIME qualifier and four-year consecutive State Champion for Math Kangaroo (2022–2025); and
• In his creative endeavors, he won honorable mention for his Father’s Birthday Poem in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in poetry.
At BHS, Diaz is president of National Honor Society and Latino Student Alliance and a member of Key Club. She also ran cross country and track and field.
Diaz is a Robertson Scholar at Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill. She also was named a Park scholar, an Annika Rodriguez Scholar at Washu, a Wake Forest Stamps scholar; and she was named for UN NCSM Excellence in mathematics, a Collegeboard Hispanic Scholar, a First Generation Scholar, National AP scholar, earned the Tennessee Honor’s Seal of Biliteracy, was part of the Governor’s School for Science and Engineering at UTK and Chancellor of Science and National Merit semifinalist.
At BHS, Nishizawa is involved in the Japanese Club, Cyber Club, Robotics Club and National Honor Society. Outside of school, “I train in Isshinryu karate and have attended East Tennessee Japanese School every Saturday,” he said.
Academically, Nishizawa has been on the honor roll every year.
Also, “my team in Cyber Club has ranked in top three in the Gold Division for sophomore and junior year and ranked second in the Platinum Division his senior year.”
“I also have a passed a Level Pre-2 Kanji Kentei, or Japanese Kanji Aptitude Test,” he said.
