Ambition kept Cheung focused

Being “the only Asian in my class, all through school,” helped Kiang Yien Aaron Cheung try harder to succeed, he said.
“That’s been a character building exercise all my life.”
That, and his parent’s admonitions.
“My mom told me my job is to go to school; her job was to work to put me through school. My job was to learn, to excel, to do the best I can.”
Cheung took it to heart.
“I was pretty self-motivated, I guess.”
Cheung attended Iola’s McKinley and Jefferson elementaries and Iola Middle School before attending IHS. He was always focused on achievement. “My thought was, it’s a small town. If I can’t make it here, I can’t make it anywhere.”
Still, he credits those who taught him over the years.
“I had a lot of great teachers and I probably wouldn’t be here without them,” he said.
Cheung stayed busy in high school, participating in track, cross country, basketball, iClub (varsity sports club), National Honors Society and Future Business Leaders of America. In addition, he’s helped out at Iola Middle School through a mentoring class at IHS.
Out of the academic realm, Cheung has taken private piano lessons for 14 years. At recitals, he does well, he said.
Cheung is also an artist, and was honored earlier this year with a “Best Painting” award in the “Kansas: As Talented As You Think” contest for his painting of a bicycle propped against a parking meter. He worked from a photograph he had taken in Lawrence, he said at the time.
Cheung intends to continue his hobbies, plus sports, “on the side. I’ll just focus on my studies,” when attending the University of Kansas, where he will major in electrical engineering, he said.
“I’m interested in technology,” he said of his choice. “I wanted to do something that’s really helpful to the world.”
Cheung hopes to apply his creativity in the field, and noted “I don’t plan to stay in Kansas. I’ve always had the intention to go either to the east coat or the west coast. California’s probably my dream state, but it’s probably too early to say.”
He plans to go on to graduate school after completing studies at KU.
“I’d like to attend graduate school where I intend to live; I always thought that would be a good idea,” he said. Then, “I’d like to get into a large company and find stability in a good job.”
Besides his teachers and parents spurring him on, Cheung noted “I’ve had a lot of role models” including older sisters Megan, who is pursuing a career in textile design in New York City, and Christy, a junior in chemistry at KU.

CHEUNG’S family is originally form Hong Kong, he said, but has been in Iola about 25 years.
His mother, Sharon, was an accountant, and his father, Paul, an aeronautics engineer when they moved to Wichita 27 years ago.
There, they opened a Chinese restaurant.
“It was tough in Wichita for them, competition-wise,” Cheung said. Then, he said, “Someone told them ‘You should come to Iola, there’s no Asian restaurants here,’” so the couple moved.
It was the right choice, Cheung said.
“It wasn’t until we go to Iola that we go stable.”
The family has run China Palace for 27 years, Cheung said. Despite their training in other careers, both his mother and father came from restaurant families, he said.
“My mom’s family had a big restaurant in Singapore and my dad’s dad was a famous baker in Hong Kong.”
Cheung’s grandfather, Shu Wan Cheung, came with his wife, Sau Fong Wong, to help Paul and Sharon with China Palace in Iola.
Cheung’s grandfather died 14 years ago, but his grandmother remained with the family.
When his grandfather died, his baking secrets went, too, Cheung said. “He never had time to teach anyone,” he said. “It’s lost recipes.”
Cheung himself does not cook much, he said.
“I can, but I don’t prefer to.”
An aunt and uncle, both siblings of his father, also live in Iola these days, Cheung said.
That has led to a larger extended family with young cousins in Iola’s middle and elementary schools.
As advice to the next generation, Cheung said, “Remember what you’re there for in school. Set strong goals and just work hard for them. You can see your hard work pay off.”
While Cheung said he was often bored in Iola, there are ways to stay busy and stay out of trouble.
“That’s why I stayed in as many sports as possible,” Cheung said.
For those who still have years to put in, he advised, “Remember your values. Stay involved. Make the best of your situation.”
Cheung noted that “the hardest thing is finding your passion.”
He found his early, though, with a few odd ideas along the way.
“I think I wanted to be a tornado chaser when I was young; that’s one of the funny things I wanted to be.” Cheung said that was a short-lived fancy, born of seeing the movie “Twister.”
Mainly, he knew he wanted to excel academically.
“I like challenges. I like competition — I always have. That’s what draws me into engineering,” Cheung said.
“I saw (school) as more than grades; I just thought I should really learn,” he said. “I saw there was always going to be more competition with each successive level.”

CHEUNG is looking forward to his summer before beginning at KU this fall.
“At the end of June we’re gong to China and the World Expo in Shanghai, so that’s exciting,” he said.
Then, it’s back to Iola, where he’ll “help out at the restaurant, of course” before beginning his new life at KU.
No matter how far he gets, though, he will always remain influenced by “Culture, family, situation — that’s always built character.”