What Jasper Yang lacks in height, he makes up for with his personality and exciting life. He’s played Varsity soccer for Nashoba since freshman year, he is an EMT, and he excels in the academic world.

Jasper plays soccer all year-round, for the school in Autumn and for NEFC in the spring. He has earned the nickname “Master Yang” for his exceptional work on the field. Yang is an attacker for both teams and overcomes whatever challenge comes his way.

Jasper and the rest of the team preparing for a game against Shrewsbury.

Jasper also loves to watch soccer. His favorite club is Everton FC and his favorite player is Everton’s midfielder, Ross Barkley. Every weekend Jasper commits at least 5 hours of his time to watch his favorite Premier League teams. He also collects Premier League merchandise, including scarves and other accessories to show his support.

School life for Mr. Yang is very busy. He is in AP Chemistry, Honors Pre-Calculus, AP U.S. History, Honors English, and Honors Spanish IV. He has roughly 4 to 5 hours of homework from these classes that he has to manage every night.

“I usually end up staying up until 1 or 2 in the morning getting all of my work done. I rarely go to bed before midnight,” Yang stated.

EMT has also entered Jasper’s life this year. In addition to all of his classes, EMT takes up 7 hours a week for him. He believes that participating in this program will better his future and, perhaps, offer a career in the medical field. So far, despite the heavy work load that goes along with the program, he’s really enjoyed the content and the potential he’s gaining from it.

Some of Yang’s closest friends spoke about him and had only good things to say. Jonah Lemieux has been a friend of Jasper’s since the first grade. They weren’t best friends until seventh grade, but since then have been inseparable. Over the years, they’ve bonded through baseball, fantasy baseball, and basketball.

“If I had to describe Jasper in one word, I would have to use short….and smart,” says Lemieux.

Peter Farrell is also a long-time friend of Mr. Yang. They first met in Kindergarten and have been friends ever since. They’ve mainly bonded through mutual classes and sports such as soccer and baseball.

“Jasper is a great guy, real smart, not perfect, but is a good, loyal friend to have,” says Peter.

Caity Curtis had some words to say about Jasper, as well. They met freshman year of high school and bonded through the classes they had together, especially there experience in Environmental Science, with Tinsch. Since then, soccer, school, mutual friends, and the EMT program have kept the two together as close friends.

“Jasper is incredibly smart, a great friend, amazing at soccer, and one of the funniest people I know,” states Curtis.

Despite his cramped schedule, Yang still manages to find time to enjoy his favorite hobbies. Like most teenage boys, Jasper enjoys playing video games, in particular, the FIFA franchise. In addition, he’s currently working on fine-tuning his singing and piano-playing abilities. His most recent work is his cover of the song “Imagine” by John Lennon.

On top of creating music, he also enjoys listening to music. Currently, his favorite band is The Red Hot Chili Peppers, but he also enjoys bands such as Queen, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and The Beatles. Additionally, he likes watching movies.

Jasper is an active member of the Movie Club at Nashoba. In fact, he (and some of his closest friends) founded the club last year and have been participating ever since. Some of his favorite movies include Good Will Hunting, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Imitation Game.

Jasper Yang biking in Ireland

This past summer, Jasper traveled to Ireland. He started his trip in Dublin then traveled to Kilkenny, Clarie and Kerry. He saw breath-taking cliffs, magnificent castles, and many other memorable sights. During the summer prior to this one, Jasper took a trip to France with his family, travelling to places like Paris and Loire Valley. He also visited Brussels, Belgium and Amsterdam, Holland during this trip.

“Experiencing the different cultures really helped me understand the world better, and gave me a lesson that school never could,” believes Yang.

Jasper Yang strives to be the best person he can be through his hard work and constant kindness. He’s puts in 110% no matter what the occasion: soccer, school, friendships; you name it. He’s a fun-loving guy and epitomizes the best Nashoba has to offer.