Lambert’s Chorus Department is a tight-knit community where talented and musically-inclined students collaborate every day. Under the guidance of Mr. Ryan Wason, the Lambert Choruses have been recognized and won several awards over the past couple of years. One of Lambert’s chorus performers is junior Roger Wang. Wang is a deeply passionate student who has greatly contributed to the success of Lambert’s Performing Arts Department as he is a member of both Lambert’s Men’s Chorus and the Acting Troupe of Lambert (ATL).
Despite only being a junior, Roger has participated in several events and won countless awards including All State Chorus, All State Reading Chorus and 1st place in the statewide GHSA Literary Competition. In addition to his long list of accolades, he has been cast in leading roles for several of ATL’s productions.
Roger’s musical journey began early on, when his mother first introduced him to the musical “The Phantom of the Opera”.
“I would sing along with my mom, and I wasn’t very good at it,” Wang stated. “But I really enjoyed it. That’s what got me started.”
Roger’s aptitude for music and fine arts didn’t go unnoticed by his teachers. During his sophomore year, he was nominated for Georgia’s Governor’s Honors Program (GHP) to represent Lambert at the district level. This highly selective program selects outstanding high school students to participate in various presentation and collaboration opportunities tailored to the student’s selected field. He soon advanced to become one of the top finalists to represent Georgia.
“I was really happy when I found out,” Wang said. “The school level was the toughest level by far since there was a lot of competition. The interviews got a lot easier as the rounds progressed.”
Roger’s favorite memories of GHP mostly consisted of interacting with the other students and getting to know them. He found it heartwarming to see so many students pursue their passions at a high level without worrying about pressure or grades.
He believes that GHP is a wonderful opportunity for students to discover what extracurriculars they’re truly passionate about and to focus on them completely.
“During interviews, they like to assess the character of the student very highly,” Wang elaborated. “I always made sure to show engaged body language since they’re looking for students who show a high degree of enthusiasm.”
Despite all of his success, Roger faced some challenges deciding what he truly wants to pursue in the future. Being an active and passionate performer has always been time consuming for Roger, especially when it came to balancing performing and his studies. As of right now, Roger is unclear on whether to turn his full attention to music and performing arts or to consider a potential career in STEM.
“Things that interest me include performing and engineering, which are two radically different things,” Wang explained. “For right now, it’s balancing the two fields that is difficult for me, especially with theater taking up so much of my time.”
However, fine arts will continue to be a part of Roger’s life regardless of what field he chooses. Whether he’s destined to be a star on stage or a successful engineer, it is clear that Roger has a very bright future ahead of him.
