Name: Ko Takaoka
Age: 15
School: Kaimuki Intermediate School
Pastimes: Playing with computers, swimming
Future: Chief executive officer of a large company

These are words that Ko Takaoka, an eighth-grader at Kaimuki Intermediate School, lives, breathes and works by.

"It means you can do just about anything. You just have to try until you get it," says the foreign student studying here from Japan. His parents, Yoshio and Keiko Takaoka, have reinforced that attitude.

The 4.0 grade-point-average student completed the Honolulu Marathon last year, finishing in the top 5 percent in his age division. He plays the cello in the Honolulu Youth Symphony. He is active in tennis and soccer.

Vice Principal Gail Masui calls Ko an excellent student who has risen above difficultes in a foreign country. Ko's family moved to Hawaii in 1990 due to his father's business and will return to Japan this month.

It hasn't been easy, says Ko, who stays up until at least midnight to do his homework every night.

Ko likes the challenge of problem solving that math provides. "The easy ones aren't fun, the hard ones are. It feels so good when you get the answer."

Math team coach Jeanne Kurita says Ko is "very conscientious, very reliable."

"He's all-around - music, sports, academics."

Reading teacher Linda Tsubata enjoys Ko's eagerness to learn and the 110 percent he gives.

"As smart as he is, he's very humble. He's always there to help other students," she adds.