Alumni

From burnout to standout, William Yao has experienced highs and lows on his college journey

by Linda Shrieves

Like many students, William Yao came to Valencia College for a fresh start.

He didn’t have lots of options – especially after his high school guidance counselor told him that he’d never get into any university, let alone his dream schools, either in Canada or in the United States.

Today, William may get the last laugh. He has been named Valencia College’s Mary S. Collier Distinguished Graduate for Spring 2026. And he’ll be the honored speaker at Valencia’s May 3 commencement ceremonies.

That’s a big shift from high school in Calgary, Alberta, where William – in his own words – didn’t set the world on fire.

In high school, William struggled to keep up with the expectations of his parents and community. He played piano and studied in the intense International Baccalaureate program. But he struggled with the pressure. “High school was so structured and between the pressure I put on myself and the pressure I felt, I burned out so hard,” he recalls.

Leaving Canada and coming to Valencia College, he thought, would give him a chance to hit the reset button.

“I wanted to expand my horizons,” says William, now 21. “I wasn’t the greatest student coming out of high school; I had a crappy GPA and no extracurriculars.”

Valencia College seemed a good fit for William. Aside from the college’s reputation, William had another connection to Valencia – both his parents graduated from Valencia College before heading to UCF as accounting majors.

Yet, a few months into his college experience, William knew something was missing. He walked to campus every day because he didn’t have a car.  He wasn’t getting any financial support from home, so he worked long hours in a local restaurant. One night, after working till 11 p.m., he missed his 8 a.m. class.

He quickly realized that the burnout that he’d experienced in high school threatened to derail him once again.

“Exhaustion and loneliness weighed on me like a pressure that drained what little will I had left,” says William. “I moved from Canada to America alone. Living somewhere new was overwhelming academically, financially and emotionally. That’s when I realized something had to change.”

 

William Yao was named the recipient of the Puma of the Year award at the 2025 Purrcy’s, the college’s student leadership awards event.

William took his first step by going to a meeting of the Active Minds Club at East Campus.

There he found camaraderie and friendship, support where he had none. He soon joined other clubs -- the Math Club, the Pop Culture Club, Phi Theta Kappa and the college Student Government Association.

Before long, his weekly schedule was packed with meetings and events. He made connections not just with other students, planning and participating in campus events, but also connected with faculty members and administrators. He became an officer or president of seven clubs; and helped revive participation in Valencia’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the national community college honor society. And last year, he was named Puma of the Year at the Student Development team’s annual Purrcy Awards.

“I didn’t even know what the Purrcy Awards were,” he says. “I never expected for it to go this far…to get all these awards.”

Yet William never forgot the loneliness and isolation he’d felt when he first arrived at Valencia. That led him to launch two honors projects, one about student storytelling through art, and another that examined loneliness among college students. The honors group surveyed more than 100 students and discovered a strong correlation between isolation and participation in campus events.

That wasn’t surprising to William, who drew from his own experience when creating those projects, but his new research gave him the data to advocate for many students who go unseen, he said.

“I have always had a soft spot for mental health. The reason I have such a focus on it is that I have lived through that burnout,” says William. “For my first year and half at Valencia College, I wanted to become a psychologist. I’ve changed my mind now, but mental health advocacy will always have a special place in my heart.”

While William has a passion for mental health, he plans to go to law school. After graduation, he hopes he can use the legal arena to help people like his mother.

“I have watched my mother navigate entrepreneurship while facing language barriers and complex legal systems,” he says. His mother, whose first language is Chinese, has launched several businesses in Canada, but as a small business owner, she has struggled to find lawyers fluent in English and Chinese who would represent her fairly.

But his experiences in Phi Theta Kappa have also broadened his outlook. After working on several campaigns for students running for national office, he’s now pondering dabbling in politics.

“I want to go into business law and change the landscape of ethics there,” says William. But after attending a national Phi Theta Kappa conference recently, he’s rethinking his goals – and aiming higher.

“I think I want to get into politics and run for office. That experience ignited in me, to take that dream and passion and run for public office.”