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Daniel
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As the son of a Jewish Ukrainian refugee escaping religious persecution in the former Soviet Union, Daniel spent his whole life in Asia. Although a US citizen, he was born in Tokyo, grew up in Singapore, and became a teenager in Hong Kong. Daniel is passionate about the interwoven nature of business and social impact.
My Story
Growing up, when Daniel arrived in Hong Kong and decided to try baseball, he was new to the game as well as to the team. Game after game, he sat on the bench and didn’t get a chance to play at all. He also was on the periphery with his teammates often feeling excluded. Daniel did not give up. He went to the field every day on his own, with his brother or his dad to practice. Daniel also reached out to his teammates and forged connections that last to this day. His efforts paid off, since as a freshman he made his high school varsity team.
Presently, Daniel is a member of numerous school clubs, such as the Investment club and Economics Society. He is currently taking Honors Biology as a freshman and next year is planning to take the maximum of one AP course as well as two honors courses. Outside of school, Daniel is a Junior Entrepreneurship Elevator Pitch Challenge Finalist, a President’s Award for Educational Excellence recipient, and his baseball team has won the HKLL championship for the 4th year in a row. Daniel is giving back to the community by teaching underprivileged kids of Hong Kong how to play baseball, as well as participating in Feeding Hong Kong bread runs.
When asked about his future, Daniel reflects on the time when he had the opportunity to talk to an esteemed professor at Wharton, Dr. Joao Gomes. Professor Gomes said that in order to change a country, you first have to change its people. Inspired by this, Daniel hopes to get a deep-rooted set of connections by attending the Wharton school of Business, because he aspires to be a changemaker in the world of business, and an influencer in order to inspire like minded people to tackle the real issues that are going on in the world. Daniel hopes he can combine his passion for business with AI to solve problems such as climate change and medical issues.