Our challenges are urgent. Let's face them together.

While other kids in Plano, Texas, were building forts and playing with Play-Doh, Asher Hong was climbing door frames. He wanted to be Spider-Man.

Today Hong holds records Peter Parker never dreamed of. This past spring the rising junior helped the Stanford men’s gymnastics team win its fifth consecutive NCAA championship, while claiming individual titles on three events. 

As a member of the men’s senior national gymnastics team, he was the all-around champion at the 2023 U.S. Championships. This followed a third-place finish in 2022, and Hong credits his improvement to Stanford’s team-first approach.

Maggie Steffens dreamed of being an Olympic soccer player, but she also loved swimming, basketball, and gymnastics. Her solution? Water polo, which combined elements of each. 

At Stanford, she led the women’s water polo team to three NCAA championships—while earning a bachelor’s in science, technology, and society as well as a master’s in management, science, and engineering. 

Steffens won golds in the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympics, and went on to become the sport’s all-time leading scorer. As Team USA captain, Steffens is hoping for a fourth straight gold medal, something no water polo team has achieved.

Blame the pasta. Prior to high school, Valarie Allman’s heart had been set on dance. But in ninth grade she found herself drawn to track and field—and then to the offer of a free spaghetti meal for all of the school’s throwers. By graduation she held the state record.

Allman went on to be a six-time All-American at Stanford. She claimed gold at the 2020 Summer Olympics and holds the North American discus throw record.

Looking back, she has said, “that was the best spaghetti dinner of my entire life.”

Jonathan Tan’s parents had him learn to swim at age five—it was purely a safety thing. But by age eight, he was swimming competitively. Now 22, Tan is one of Singapore’s best swimmers. 

Despite extended breaks from training—he had to fulfill his national service requirement—Tan won gold medals in the 50m and 100m freestyle events at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, achieving a qualifying time that will send him to the 2024 Olympics in the process. 

Tan enrolled at Stanford in 2023, and is preparing for a career in finance. He hopes to win a medal for his home country in his Olympic debut this summer.