A part of Keystone’s Class of 2029 since 6th grade, Cody Zhu has made his mark on the Keystone community and the world around him in many different ways. Cody has formed part of a variety of clubs at Keystone, most notably the Keynote newspaper (for which he is Co-Editor-in-Chief), Yearbook (Co-President), NHS (Vice President), and Robotics (Software Lead).
His favorite thing about Keystone is its emphasis on individualized attention from teachers that students receive by attending the school, as well as the encouragement to pursue activities outside of the academic environment. Although Keystone is primarily known for its focus on academic excellence, there is a schoolwide encouragement to be involved in a variety of activities and ways to explore passions outside of the classroom, and Cody has definitely done so. Some of his talents include playing the piano, for example, and he is a second degree black belt in Taekwondo.
That’s not to say his academic career hasn’t blossomed at Keystone; rather, his achievements, particularly in STEM areas, speak for themselves. He considers his biggest accomplishment winning the Grand Prize at the 2024 Regional Science Fair and placing third at the Texas State Science Fair. His science fair project dealt with using artificial intelligence to identify early signs of agricultural disease in farms.
Yet his contributions outside of the classroom have also been impactful to him and his community. His volunteer and extracurricular involvement is extensive. He’s volunteered for and is a co-founder of the nonprofit stemming from our SA Smart water conservation project, an initiative that distributes complimentary low flow water devices, and is proud of having grown his societal impact by helping low-income families afford their water bill. He’s also been a volunteer for NHS activities, Middle School Model UN Secretariat, and the Witte Museum.
He’s completed his fair share of internships, having done a paid software engineer internship at USAA, an internship at UTSA, and a software development internship at the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology.
Keystone, however, has also stuck with Cody in other ways. It’s impossible to think of the full Keystone experience without discussing the outdoor education trips—and our senior class has certainly had some interesting ones. While most of the trips have been centered around hiking, Cody says his favorite trip was the opposite—the DC trip, a departure from our usual hiking style trips.
When asked what the biggest lesson he’s learned so far is, Cody said, “helping my local community through volunteering and our nonprofit has kept me grounded and has taught me resilience and camaraderie.”
Cody plans on majoring in electrical and computer engineering in college, and he is open to furthering his education with a Master’s degree. I have no doubt that he will excel in these fields of study and any career(s) he decides to pursue. Whether it’s stocking the slounge fridge with ice cream sandwiches and loaves of bread for the senior class or helping fellow classmates with calculus homework, Cody has become a permanent piece of the puzzle that makes up our grade’s community and will form, too, an important part of his college community and environment.
