At this week’s commencement, Aidan Yackly was honored as Point Loma High School’s valedictorian, but now he has sprouted claws and thicker fur while transforming from a Pointer dog to a much larger, proud UCLA Bruin.
“I can’t believe I’ll be going there,” Yackly said last week while awaiting rehearsal for the school’s 92nd graduation where he delivered a key speech while dressed in a white cap and gown to signify his accomplishments.
After visiting the Westwood campus, Yackly was overwhelmed by “the culture and rigor of the school itself,” calling it “an incredible school that anybody should be proud to get into. I just felt at home there, it’s very similar to San Diego, has the Southern California vibe and I really enjoyed it.”
His family, living in Mission Hills, includes father Charles (“my best friend, always pushing and supporting me to do my best”), mother Kelly Salt (“my role model, my inspiration for everything, who I could always come to for help”) and older brother Cameron (“a fun guy I’ve always looked up to who has challenged me in everything”).
At UCLA, Yackly plans to study bioengineering, a subject he never would have considered until he took several classes at PLHS.
“My favorite subjects were biology and physics,” he said. “I don’t think I would have picked this major if I didn’t take those classes. 
And a now-retired math teacher made a huge impression on Yackly as well.
“My freshman Algebra II and junior year Advanced Placement Statistics class with Mr. (Ian) Law” were memorable. “Just a great guy,” Yackly recalled. “Incredibly interested and passionate about everything he taught. He reminded me of someone I’ve always wanted to be.”
Yackly estimated he did “about three hours of homework per night,” to achieve his top grade point average of 4.81.
Yackly noted math and the sciences came more easily to him, while having to work a lot harder for such classes as English, social sciences and history.
“I don’t think anybody can get through high school by just coasting,” he said.
Among his prouder achievements in high school was playing varsity soccer for four years in a program that improved each year and included a CIF Div. II championship in his junior year and becoming a team captain as a senior.
“This year we played in the Open (highest) division playoffs for the first time in school history,” he said, “and that will always stick with me” although the Pointers lost a very physical semifinal match to St. Augustine on penalty kicks after the two teams battled for over 100 minutes without a goal.
Another special Pointer memory was being part of the Aaron Price Fellows Program (aaronpricefellows.org) which he called “the greatest experience I’ve had in high school.”
A special club interaction was Circle of Friends, a campus group where Yackly and others ate lunch and socialized every Tuesday with special needs students. “They are always the most happy and loving people,” he emphasized. 
Yackly’s advice to incoming freshmen is to “do everything you can. That’s the beauty of high school,” noting there are so many choices provided at PLHS.
Aidan Yackly is the type of young man whose love of people and learning will open even more choices in the coming months when he settles in as a UCLA Bruin freshman.