Spotlight on: Johnny Xiao
Class of 2026 Valedictorian
Herkimer Central School District recently announced the Class of 2026 valedictorian as Johnny Xiao and the salutatorian as Maggie Bray.
Xiao said he enjoyed the moment of officially being named valedictorian.
“It felt great,” Xiao said. “It really hit me that, OK, I made it, and I can take a deep breath now, and I can just slow down. I’m proud of myself. My parents are proud of me. It was great.”
Both students took a demanding course load and participated in various extracurricular activities on the way to their academic accomplishment. Xiao, Bray and their classmates will graduate from Herkimer Central School District on Friday, June 26.
Xiao, of Herkimer, is the son of Helen Qiu and Zhi Yong Xiao. He will graduate with 29.5 high school credits, 24 college credits through the College Now program with Herkimer college and two Advanced Placement (AP) classes. He will receive a Regents Diploma with Advanced Distinction with a Seal of Biliteracy.
For extracurricular activities, Xiao’s participation included vice president of FFA, left stage manager for the musical, Model UN Club and the Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H program.
Xiao said becoming valedictorian was just “kind of” a goal for him, but he was more focused on doing his best.
“I just always thought to myself, ‘Just do the best you can and do as much as you can,’ and so, you know, I just ended up there,” he said.
Xiao will be going to college at Northeastern University – starting out in California for his first year at the Northeastern University Oakland campus – to study electrical engineering.
“I want to be a patent lawyer, so after that, I would attend law school somewhere – probably also in California,” he said. “And then, hit Silicon Valley and all that.”
It was a moment in high school that helped Xiao determine his path.
“I always was into computers and stuff as a kid, but I remember 11th grade English class, we did a mock trial, and I was the prosecutor of that case, and I’m like, ‘Wow, I kind of like doing this,’ so I took a law class, and I was into it too,” Xiao said. “And then, when I discovered this profession [patent lawyer], I’m like, ‘It’s kind of a mix of both – it will be perfect.’”
Xiao believes Herkimer Central School District prepared him well for his college and career path.
“I feel like it did really well because we’re a tight-knit community, and you just feel that support – like if I ask them for help, they’ll help me no matter what,” he said. “I feel like there’s just always help all around me – like we’re there for each other, you know?”
Xiao expects that feeling to carry over to Northeastern.
“And this college I’m going too, they’re also like that, so it’s kind of a perfect match,” he said. “I just finished up a webinar actually for one of their programs, and it’s specifically for people who come from an immigrant family, and they offer additional support for that, so I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s just like Herkimer.’”
As Xiao prepares to give the valedictorian speech as graduation, he has been thinking about what he wants to talk about.
“I want to say something with impact,” Xiao said. “I feel a lot of people talk about their favorite moments in high school, and that’s cool and all, but I want to do something that is memorable and important. I remember, last year, I watched the valedictorian of Harvard, and she had a speech, and it was about interconnectedness and community, and I thought it was really good, so I probably will draw inspiration from that.”
Xiao reflected on his academic journey and said that one thing he found useful was taking breaks or shifting where you’re doing your work or studying.
“Give yourself breaks, actually,” he said. “Even though everyone tells you this, you kind of forget to take a break and come back to it. It might just be doing homework in the living room instead when you always do it in the bedroom or something.”
He also offered other advice to younger students entering their high school years.
“Just try your best,” Xiao said. “If you just go into the mindset of you don’t have to do this, this and that – you just try your best – you actually end up accomplishing more that way,” he said.
Xiao also recommended that students ask more questions.
“Think about things critically,” he said. “Even if they don’t seem important, you never know what they could apply to your knowledge of other things. If you get yourself to do that more, it will be such an advantage in life in general.”