Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 3, 1993 TAG: 9305270540
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH COX SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Klahn's father, an engineer at the Babcock and Wilcox Nuclear Technology plant in Lynchburg, got him interested in the field by taking him to work with him on weekends.
For the past two years Klahn, who plans to attend Virginia Tech this fall, has participated in the Junior Engineering Technology Students competition that pits high schools against each other in team competition. Teachers select the students for the competition, which involves a series of different tests, some multiple-choice and others problem-solving, Klahn said.
"It helps to be able to work with a team, and it gives engineering experience because you have to spread the work out. It gave a little bit of an example of the type of work an engineer faces," said Klahn.
Klahn and Lisa Trent, the 1993 salutatorian, will be among the top 10 seniors to speak during graduation. Staunton River's 1993 graduate class numbers 200.
Because he's "always been into team work," the JETS competition was easy, Klahn said. He also runs the 400- and 800-meter in track and cross-country.
"I've been running since the eighth grade. While I run, it's just me, by myself, so it gives me a chance to figure out problems. It's a nice chance to think. You're just running by yourself [in cross-country], but you take the placement of each person" in order to figure out the winning team, he said.
Bill Evans, his physics instructor, said Klahn goes on every academic competition that's offered, and "he does excel in academics."
But, Klahn "conforms to a Jeffersonian balance of physical, spiritual and mental," Evans said, citing a belief Thomas Jefferson held that true balance was necessary to be "truly happy and wealthy in ways that matter."
Evans said that Klahn's participation in academics, running and church "really makes him stand out as a balanced, well-rounded person. What distinguishes him is that you don't get this nerd aspect. He's well-liked and well-respected by his peers."
Evans said that part of this respect is a result of Klahn's ease with academics. "He's probably missed a couple of questions all year - he has a 99.7 percent in physics. With his free time, he's my lab assistant; and he often is over there conducting his own experiments. He's always looking things up and seeing what will happen. He wants to see what things will do. He has an insatiable appetite."
This thirst and quest for knowledge, said Evans, has influenced the other students in Klahn's class. "He shows up wanting to be engaged in the process [of learning] and as a teacher, that makes all the difference. We can spend the whole class talking about physics; it's such a two-way street, and to me, that's what's important. More than that, he helps other students."
by CNB