Alexander Sun

ABOVE all, what Alexander Sun wants is a challenge.

The 16yearold Logan Park High School pupil takes great pride in his studies, his chess and his music.

When it came to school work Alexander enjoys studying anything, but is drawn towards subjects he finds difficult.

Physics is a particular favourite. If something fails to test his abilities, he quickly finds his attention waning.

‘‘I want to challenge myself as much as possible.’’

That attitude has seen him excelling beyond his year group and aceing University of Otago papers at a young age.

He even scored in the 99.9th percentile in the SAT test, a standardised test used for college admissions in the United States.

Despite his success, he has not settled on a career yet and plans to send some time away from academics to pursue his other passions.

Perfectionism is at the root of those other interests as well.

Classical music provides an expressive yet nuanced challenge that is different from his academic studies, which he greatly enjoys.

It was also a love he shares with his family, as he organised a charity concert last year with his older sister and spent time tutoring his younger brother in piano.

He takes great pride in his family and his Chinese background.

Chess is another avenue for perfection.

Every game is different and he adores the thinking process behind it.

Something captivating always happened in a game of chess and there was always room for improvement, he said.

‘‘You can never know everything about chess.’’

It is the ultimate game for a challenge.