Top of the Class

Available for over a year

We hear from people who were put to the test. A student who excelled in school and earned a PhD, despite not being a legal resident. A teenager who secretly drew portraits of all 411 of his classmates as a parting gift on graduation day. And the Iranian-American comic, Negin Farsad, who struggled to fit in. Then, we visit an international school in Texas where dozens of languages are spoken. Plus, we find out how much a vote costs a political campaign. And the celebrated Cuban trumpeter, Arturo Sandoval, recounts his hair-raising defection to the United States. Image: Yuriana Aguilar is a researcher in a biomedical laboratory at the University of California, Merced. (Credit: Sasha Khokha)