ROYCE WANG loves to think. Even more, he loves to be challenged in his thinking.
If there is a pattern to the Stanford junior's life, it's the desire to "think a different way." It is the driving force in his choice of major, architectural design, and sport, fencing.
Wang fights with the sabre. The fighting styles of foil and epee are more calculated, but not sabre. The action is fast. You attack. You think quickly.
"Things happen in the blink of an eye," Wang said. "When you're standing on the en garde line, you have to be ready to react to anything that comes at you."
How did Wang, with all the sports at his disposal while growing up in Silicon Valley, become a fencer? He loved Peter Pan. He pretended to sword fight in the living room. Finally, his mother, Joanne, signed him up for the real thing. He was 9, and Wang still is swashbuckling.
This week, he competes at his first NCAA Championships, a four-day meet opening Thursday at Penn State. Greats like Nick Bravin and Alex Massialas have excelled at Stanford, which has won 13 individual NCAA titles – the fifth-most of any school. But they've come in foil and epee. A sabre championship remains elusive.
"Once you engage in fencing, you think in a different way," Wang said. "It helps shape your individuality and your work ethic. You really see the difference after you take up the sword, in your personal life as well. You become more organized. You become more observant. You develop intuitive senses."
Wang was born in Somerset, New Jersey, to Taiwanese immigrants. Clearly, Royce was destined for great things. He was named after a Rolls Royce (his dad, Regal, was named after a Buick). Royce's middle name, Junhan, means "general." His last name means "king."
Though the family moved frequently, but settled in Palo Alto. As a middle schooler, Wang joined the Cardinal Fencing Club, coached by George Pogosov, also Stanford's co-coach. Pogosov looks at the person, not just the results, and Wang always has appreciated that perspective. Wang even has learned some Russian, Pogosov's native language, to joke with his coach. Wang describes Pogosov as "a second father."
Yet, even the draw of familiarity was not enough on its own to convince Wang to cross El Camino Real from Palo Alto High to Stanford. It wasn't the tours and the departments and majors that Wang was most interested in, it was the conversations.
At each campus he visited, Royce looked for benches. He would sit down next to a student and talk. At Stanford, "the conversations I had here were more interesting," he said.
Wang first chose computer science, but realized he was uninspired. When it came to choose a major at the end of his sophomore year, Wang did some "soul searching,"
After speaking with Stanford professors, especially John Barton, Wang chose architectural design. The discussions helped Wang open his mind "to what architecture really is. It's not about building buildings. It's trying to incorporate creativity and finding a human solution to the problems of the world."
Wang is drawn to residential architecture, particularly low-income housing, so that he can be part of the solution that so attracted him to the field.
One core class especially, affirmed his choice. It was Bevely Choe's CEE 32F: Light, Color, and Space. The course explored color and light as a medium for spatial perception. Again, Wang was in awe of this different vision.
Ever seeking, ever pushing his personal envelope, Wang is doing the same in fencing. He wants to be an Olympian and has begun work to reach the 2020 Tokyo Games. Wang is a member of Taiwan's national team and competes when he can to accumulate points in World Cup and Grand Prix events that will help qualify him for an Olympic berth. On March 30, Wang competes at the Grand Prix in Seoul. There is a sabre tournament in Iceland in April and two more European events in May.
Wang's way of thinking will continue to guide him long after his fencing career is over. Fencing and Stanford are a big part of that process, but just parts.
"Stanford's helped me grow as an individual far more than I could have imagined," Wang said. "Stanford has helped me realize there is more than just school and fencing. That Stanford community continues to open my eyes to much more than that."
George Pogosov has coached Royce Wang (right) for nearly a decade and is described by Wang as, "a second father." Photos by Bob Drebin/ISIphotos.com.