DANIEL FURLAN, 18

Father John Redmond C.S.S. (Physics, Chemistry, Calculus and Vectors, Advanced Func- tions, English, Biology, Law, Re- ligion); heading to University of Toronto ( life sciences)

How does one get 100 per cent in English?

Usually for advanced place- ment courses they’re consid- ered much harder than aca- demic courses, so toward the end, they don’t round up your average, but they give you a bo- nus. I achieved an average really close to 100 already and (100) was guaranteed with my bonus. I’m also really passionate about English.

How do you fuel a study ses- sion?

Sometimes I drink coffee and caffeinated drinks. And I take a nap every now and then. I’ve also trained myself to fulfil re- sponsibilities, especially men- tally strenuous ones.

How did the pandemic impact your academics?

The pandemic actually kind of helped me with my studies be- cause it boosted concentration. The pandemic had a huge toll on a lot of people’s mental health, but I guess it kind of empowered me.

Your favourite time waster?

Swimming and reading. I spend so much time reading that my parents have to, you know, tell me to get off my book.

What do people not understand about top scholars?

Attaining high averages is an objective requiring a lot of dedi- cation. There are brilliant stu- dents out there that don’t do so well in school because they don’t have the opportunity to do well. And high school perfor- mance isn’t the only metric that can measure how successful a person will be. Also, some peo- ple presume that students like me are conceited about the amount of knowledge we’ve learned. To that, I say the more I learn, the better I understand my limitations and how little I know in the grand scheme of things.