Junior Jonathan Huang: YouTuber, Math Honor Society President and Science Club Vice President

Although resources such as Khan Academy and Organic Chemistry Tutor have been staples for high school chemistry students for years, junior Jonathan Huang has emerged as an essential guide, with many students identifying his Youtube channel as a resource crucial to their understanding of difficult chemistry concepts. 

From spending afternoons at Saratoga Library reading books about recent breakthroughs in STEM to watching medical Youtuber Chubbyemu, Huang has always been drawn to the sciences. 

“I don’t feel like I can really pinpoint one thing in particular [that fueled my interest],” Huang said. “But I would say that some innate part of me would rather know something than not.”

Huang has made videos for the Chemistry Honors and AP Chemistry classes since his sophomore year. His videos began as a personal project, through which he hoped to learn how to record videos for educational purposes. He also noticed that many of his classmates were under immense stress as they tried to attain good grades while balancing their other classes and extracurricular activities. 

“I didn’t want them to worry about getting that A in the class,” Huang said. “Especially at Lynbrook, there’s this mindset that everyone has to be accomplished, so I wanted to make their lives easier by clarifying challenging concepts.”

Before most quizzes and tests, Huang uses Open Broadcaster Software to create videos that detail relevant chapters. These videos are posted in the AP Chemistry and Chemistry Honors group chats, with each video receiving around 100 to 200 views. He also often films videos which explain labs and answers any questions students may have about material or homework questions. 

“AP Chemistry is by far one of the hardest classes I’ve taken at Lynbrook,” said senior Joyce Tung. “However, because other students and I were always able to refer to Jonathan’s videos and receive individualized, accurate help from him,  many of us were ultimately able to get the grade we wanted.”

Huang is also President of Math Honor Society and organizes math competitions at Lynbrook, such as American Mathematics Competitions and California Math League contests (CAMLs). During the club’s weekly meetings, Huang makes it his goal to create engaging presentations that broaden the scope of students’ mathematical interests. He is also a member of Lynbrook’s Science Bowl Team and regularly volunteers with Miller Middle School’s Science Bowl Team, moderating practice rounds and assigning reading to help students. 

“When it comes to STEM competitions, it’s always like ‘oh I’ve mastered all of these topics,’” Huang said. “But for me, I want to make it less of an individual activity — how do you make it more fun while studying? How do you retain information while being able to apply it to real life things?” 

Huang applies this mantra to all aspects of his life and has dreams of one day creating a lecture series covering a variety of STEM topics and presenting them to different clubs on campus. 

“People always ask me where I get the inspiration for what I do,” Huang said. “There are obviously so many fantastic scientists and teachers who I look up to, but personally I feel like I should determine my own path and push myself to achieve my goals.”