Wu ’13 selected to carry Olympic flame in Calgary

Wu, who is from Salisbury, Md., is one of 20 people selected by Coca-Cola to carry the Olympic flame through Calgary, Canada, on Jan. 18 and Jan. 19 as part of the longest torch relay yet held by a single country.

“I’m just really excited,” Wu said. “It’s going to be a really unique opportunity. I’ll be running in Calgary, Alberta, which is the last leg before Vancouver.”

Wu will arrive in Calgary for the relay on Jan. 17 and will run 300 meters in the torch relay, which will last 106 days and cover more than 27,000 miles.

“I’ve been going to the gym a lot,” Wu said. “Mainly it’s really exciting. Coke has been sending me a bunch of stuff — information, T-shirts … It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime trip.”

The group of Coca-Cola winners comprises 10 teenagers, including Wu, as well as five national health organization leaders, three Coca-Cola employees and Olympic gold medalists Shawn Johnson and Steven Lopez. The torchbearers were nominated by peers, teachers or community leaders for their contributions to promoting positive living, which encompasses commitments to a healthy lifestyle, community service or recycling.

Wu, a recipient of the President’s Service Award and the Maryland Governor’s Volunteer Award, was honored for his community involvement as a co-founder of the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) and a student member of the Maryland State Board of Education. Wu is also a board member of Sister Cities of Salisbury/Wicomico County, for which he is the co-chair of the educational subcommittee. In May, George Whitehead, who worked with Wu on creating YLA, nominated him for the opportunity to participate in the relay.

Wu helped found YLA in his freshman year of high school when America’s Promise Alliance issued his hometown a grant for being “One of the Best 100 Communities in America for Young People,” he explained.

“Our first year was in my freshman year. We spent a year planning the academy, and we held a summit in August,” Wu said, explaining that the three-day workshop, which is now in its fifth year, helps students develop leadership skills.

“[Wu] and several other students joined with several adults to create … YLA,” Whitehead said in an e-mail. “We called the high school students the Youth Action Team (YAT). Derek was a part of the YAT and helped plan the YLA for four years. Because he and I had the opportunity to work together on YLA, I asked him to work on Sister Cities of Salisbury/Wicomico Co.”

As part of the Sister Cities program, Wu traveled on an exchange trip to China in his sophomore year. While there, he visited high schools and helped to establish an informal sister-city relationship with Balian, China.