Considering he's finishing his second year of post-secondary education, the call to his family from his former high school principal caught Vernon's Justin Li a bit off guard.
Li, 18, a mathematics student at UBC Okanagan, was told by Mike Edgar at Clarence Fulton Secondary that the 2023 grad had won a Governor General's Academic Medal.
Two years ago.
"The principal called my family, and said I had won something. It was quite surprising because I had already graduated," said Li. "Mr. Edgar wanted us to come pick up the award. I guess there were some delays in getting the award to me because of COVID and other things."
Created in 1873 by Lord Dufferin, Canada's third Governor General after Confederation, the academic medals encourage academic excellence across the nation. They are the most prestigious award that students in Canadian schools can receive.
The medals are awarded to the student graduating with the highest average from a school, or approved college and university programs.
The Governor General's Academic Medals are handed out at four distinct levels: Bronze (secondary school); Collegiate Bronze (post-secondary, diploma level); Silver (undergraduate level); Gold (graduate levels). There is no monetary award associated with the medal.
Li received his Bronze medal and personalized certificate from Edgar, who also expressed his delight in presenting the honour.
"This prestigious award is a testament to your unwavering dedication, hard work, and exceptional intellect," said Edgar. "It is truly inspiring to see a young individual achieve so much through perseverance and dedication."
"This is the biggest award I've won so far," said Li, who graduated from Fulton at age 16 with what's regarded as the highest graduation percentage average in the school's history, 99.3 per cent, something he's very proud of. At 18, he is one of the youngest students at UBCO in 2024-25.
"I'm quite ambitious."
Born in China, Li arrived in Vernon in 2010 with his parents, mom Valen Tao, and father Roger Li. He attended Mission Hill Elementary while speaking very little English. He spent a lot of his time reading, or listening to different English podcasts and audiobooks.
During the summer, Li picked up some advanced mathematics and immediately fell in love with the subject. He also became quite familiar with calculus. At age 11.
Reading about different types of topics, Li graduated from Mission Hill to Fulton Secondary, where his math teacher, Ryan Thompson, noticed that Li was quite talented in the subject. Thompson recommended Li skip some courses.
A further recommendation was made by a school counsellor: skip Grade 11.
"It was thought that it would be a waste of time to keep participating in the regular curriculum, so I was studying advanced academic courses and participated in many final exams," said Li. "Fulton was a very warm and welcoming environment. We, as students, had the opportunity to participate in any activities we were interested in. Some go into sports, some into academics, but we all reach for our goals."
Li, who also skipped a year of elementary school due to his academic prowess, helped coach Fulton's math team 鈥� and participated as a student 鈥� at regional and provincial competitions. He finished in second place provincially, and helped his teammates place top-3.
"It was really fun," he said. "We talked math every week, shared math thoughts. It sounds boring, but it was really fun."
Li was bombarded with post-secondary offers. He chose to stay close to home and attend UBCO. He gets up school days at 5 a.m. to be ready to catch the 7 a.m. bus to campus. He gets home nightly from school around 6:30 p.m.
Li is taking five courses this term (after taking four courses from September to January), continues his studies in the summer, and is close to maintaining his high school grade average. He finished his first year of post-secondary education with a 96 per cent average, and he anticipates this year's number will be about the same as he prepares for final exams this month.
Li won the UBCO Deputy Vice-Chancellor Scholarship, awarded to continuing domestic undergraduate students entering second, third, or fourth year at the 琉璃神社 campus. The scholarship is based on academic achievement in the previous year and comes with $1,000, which he can put toward tuition.
Away from college, Li plays drums and guitar, but does not play video games. He competes in math competitions, has worked weekends since 2020 at Pizza Hut as a cook, and is a big fan of the franchise's Canadian pie. He is still contemplating his future, but Li believes math will play a big role.
"Maybe I will go into graduate studies and continue with a math career," he said. "Maybe go into the financial business."
His current UBCO program is for four years and, unlike the past, he's not trying to graduate early.
"I'm not rushing anything," he chuckled. "I just want to take some stress off of my shoulders."
He is looking for a second job to help with his education plans. If you'd like to contact Li, you can reach him at .
