The Inglemoor High community has been good to Daniel Howe with its student unity and motivating teachers. Now, the senior class president, who graduates Wednesday, is ready to see what Yale University in New Haven, Conn., has to offer him in the fall.

“I’ve learned a lot in terms of academics, but I’ve also learned a lot about making friends and also staying connected with people — that’s an important skill that I’ll use forever,” Howe, 17, said about Inglemoor.

Howe is looking forward to studying social sciences at Yale, as well as attending city council meetings, doing community service and working on the Yale Farm. “It’s a student agricultural thing, something that will be a nice relaxer while I’m there,” Howe, who enjoys gardening, said of the farm.

Sitting on the school’s front steps last Thursday, Howe reflected on his time at Inglemoor with a smile and many words of wisdom that he first heard within the classrooms. Carrying a 3.98 grade-point average, he’s taken a host of International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, including a two-year biology class.

In one IB class during his junior year, Howe recalled: “It was with Mr. Curtis, and the theme for that year was M.O.M. — or mind on the moment — and I think that’s kind of important where you keep focus on what you want to do. Despite your difficulties, your challenges, you’ve got to overcome those challenges. And then when you (succeed), you can enjoy that experience.”

As class president, Howe had a hand in putting on the Star Wars Prom at the Experience Music Project in Seattle and organizing T-shirt and Krispy Kreme donut sales to raise funds for senior activities.

Community service is another “valuable” part of Howe’s life as he volunteered with Unite for Sight (an organization that helps underprivileged children and adults gain access to eye care) and Earth Core (which holds environmental restoration projects at Kenmore’s Rhododendron Park and other parks).

It’s through Earth Core that Howe was able to dig into his biology lessons. “Biology is really applicable. In general, when you’re walking around, it’s really interesting — after you learn the biology, you say, ‘Oh, I know why this plant is doing that.’”

And there’s much more on his plate, like his passion for playing cello in the Inglemoor senior orchestra and running for the track and cross-country teams. He performed in the school’s Pops Concert last Thursday and recently returned from the San Francisco Heritage Festival, where the Vikings’ orchestras, choirs, jazz band and wind ensemble combined to win 17 awards.

“I’d say I’m pretty good at juggling things around,” he said. “It’s both a good and bad thing: It lets me do all the things I wanna do … get that really rich experience. The bad thing is sometimes you get involved in too many things and it kind of (overwhelms you).

“But I’d say it’s worth it … definitely worth it.”