Cal State L.A. Student, 15, Wins National Honor

Cal State L.A. sophomore Yang “Kelly” Yang, 15, has become the youngest person to be named to the USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team, an honor that comes with a $2,500 scholarship.

Yang, a San Gabriel resident, skipped grades 9 through 12, and began attending Cal State L.A. at 13 as part of the school’s Early Entrance Program.

She was one of 20 college students chosen for the academic team by judges who weighed the academic achievements and community contributions of more than 800 nominees from across the country. The team was announced last week.

“It’s a really prestigious award. I was really shocked,” Yang said.

Yang has a 3.96 grade-point average and will earn a bachelor’s degree in 2002, before she is old enough to vote. She hopes to eventually earn a law degree, she said.

After emigrating from China to the United States when she was 6, Yang discovered a love of writing. In junior high, she wrote a book of short stories based on her life in America that was published and distributed in China. Her next book, “Yang Yang Experiences America,” will be published next month and includes details about college life.

Yang publishes two monthly newspapers with her own articles in English and Chinese. The Pen Times is targeted to children and their parents who want to improve their writing skills. The Los Angeles English Guide, which is distributed in the United States and China, teaches American idioms and slang expressions.

Yang said she will use the scholarship money to fund future issues of her publications.