Anna is in her very last year at YCIS. She began her YCIS journey in Beijing as a Year 1 student and moved to Shanghai for Year 2. She finished her primary years at the Regency Park Campus and moved to the Century Park Campus where she will say farewell to YCIS in May of 2018. Anna’s years at YCIS have been fruitful.

Tim Gartz, the Century Park University Guidance Counselor, says, “Anna Xie recently won a Commendable Award for her performance on the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test last October and entered the National Merit Scholarship Program. She was in the top 96% of all test takers internationally (one of the top 50,000 out of 1.6 million test takers). Anna received a Congratulatory letter and a certificate at a school assembly on November 2nd.”

I was able to catch up with Anna and she was very thoughtful, honest and delightful in her answers to my questions:

What are some of your accomplishments over the years at YCIS?

I’ve been awarded the school’s Theater Arts and IGCSE Art and Design awards, as well as the Wellesley College Book Award and distinctions for Top in China marks in IGCSE Language and World Literature courses.

What are some of your favourite memories at YCIS?

Being part of our school’s drama productions in IGCSE was really fun and meaningful to me, and the connections I made in those casts helped form some of my most meaningful friendships. I’ve also loved participating in World Scholar’s Cup for our school, and this year I had the opportunity to represent YCIS in the debate showcase at the Shanghai event, which was a big honour and really exciting. 

What are your secrets for success that you would like to pass on to other students?

Read a lot. It sounds obvious and overused as advice because it is: there’s just no way to get better at using language, which you need no matter what or where you study, without observing how others do so. It doesn’t have to be classic novels or even literature – paying attention to how people communicate in any context can be helpful. Doing something badly is almost always better than doing nothing at all. You can’t fix, hand in, or get better at something that doesn’t exist. Stay curious.

What do you enjoy outside of school?

I love watching cartoons, films, and TV shows. I like talking about cartoons, films, and TV shows. I also like to read, draw, and eat.

YCIS Shanghai wish Anna the very best in her final year and are excited to see all of her future successes.

Written by: Andrea Griego, Student Support Coordinator at YCIS Shanghai Century Park Campus