Just five years ago, Daniel Tang graduated from Princeton Day to embark on college studies at New York University where he earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. This year, he returned to teach in the Middle School and Upper School, where he teaches two classes of Honors Physics. Back in his days as a student at PDS, Mr. Tang reported that his favorite class was Honors Physics with Mr. Lapinski. He further explained, “Mr. Lapinski was one of my favorite teachers. His class was fun with a ton of cool stuff, and I liked doing physics, problem solving, and straight forward logic.” During his final two years at PDS, he even used the same STEAM Center that current students use. Other great memories from his high school days was the Science Olympiad, where he built events and even placed fifth in the state.
Upon entering NYU, Mr. Tang immediately knew that his major would be Mechanical Engineering, but he offered the advice that “it is completely fine not to know what you want to major in when you first go to college. You will take many different classes and get a better idea of your interests; it’s even okay to switch majors. Students often don’t even understand what a major actually encompasses, especially in the fields of mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineering.”
Besides science and engineering, Mr. Tang has a variety of other interests. “I played percussion instruments in high school and am now learning the guitar.” He enjoys winter sports, which he traces back to his love of sledding in childhood and then, later, skiing and snowboarding. He also loves Chinese food with his favorite dish being soup dumplings.
Mr. Tang has many fond memories of his student days at PDS and is busy making wonderful memories as a teacher. When asked if anyone ever mistakes him for a student, he laughed and stated, “Just today, someone told me that I could use my student ID in the library to print! They thought I was a student!”
