View full sizeThroughout high school, Devin Wyckoff played baseball and basketball, including varsity baseball his junior and senior year at Banks High. He used sports, he says, as a way to channel his stress from schoolwork. BANKS -- Devin Wyckoff was a high school sophomore when he first spotted the round golden medallion worn by that year's valedictorian. It was then he made a promise: He, too, would someday earn such a symbol of accomplishment.
"He just knew," said his mother, Debra Wyckoff. She remembers him walking up to the valedictorian and saying: "One day, I'm going to be at the top of my class, too." The
senior has done that, and then some.
While some students played it safe to protect their grade-point averages, Wyckoff took almost every Advanced Placement class the school offered, including AP Biology, AP Calculus and Honors English.
Despite having a clear strength in science and math, Wyckoff excelled in every English, social studies and history class he took.
"He consistently challenged himself in a remarkable way," said Diane Coughlin, an English teacher at the high school.
Even more striking is how well rounded Wyckoff's high school experience was.
When he wasn't solving calculus equations or studying for his next big history test, he was in the gym playing pickup basketball games or on the baseball field, practicing his pitch.
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Picked up for varsity baseball and varsity basketball by the time he became a senior, Wyckoff has earned several honors for his athleticism, including co-captain in basketball and several Scholar Athlete awards.
Sports were more than a just a way to stay healthy, said the tall, broad-shouldered 17-year-old. "It was a way to direct the stress I had sometimes from my schoolwork."
His achievements earned him several college scholarships, which he'll put toward an engineering degree at
in the fall.
With his flair for math and ability to solve problems, Wyckoff has found a perfect path, said his high school calculus teacher, Kevin Cliff.
"He's someone I would actually want to work with in the field," said Cliff, a former engineer.
Considering his background, Wyckoff's choice of college major makes sense.
His parents are owners of
a fruit, vegetable and herb farm off Oregon 47. Wyckoff has led a hands-on life at home, fixing tools, building structures, planting crops and laying down irrigation systems on the 18-acre farm for years.
That experience, Wyckoff said, not only piqued his interest in engineering but also led him to consider a focus in agricultural engineering.
With his son heading to a university known for its strong agriculture program, Wyckoff's father is, understandably, proud.
"He just loves building things," David Wyckoff said. "To see him take that ability and turn it into something -- it's really great."
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