Imogen Stevens, Class of 2016, Gubei Campus

My name is Imogen and I’m from the UK, and I just graduated from YCIS after being at the school for nine years. I really liked the community at YCIS because it was very close and diverse. Students are from all over the world and everyone is very accepting, and it was a nice environment to be a part of for so many years. 

At YCIS, I was active in quite a few music extracurricular activities. I did orchestra for six years, and I was involved in choir and the “Battle of the Bands”. In addition to that, I was a Prefect for seven years and was Head Prefect during this last school year in Year 13. I am most proud of the confidence that I have built up at the school and the leadership opportunities I have taken advantage of. As Head Prefect, I really developed confidence in leading a team of people and meetings, and running and organising events and leadership training.

Some of my most memorable experiences from my time at YCIS were travelling on the Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) trips. Through these trips, my friendships grew a lot closer and it gave us the chance to explore different parts of China that you might not have gone to otherwise.

The Creativity, Action, and Service (CAS) programme in IB gave me the opportunity to run an after school sports club where we encouraged younger students to get involved in, and have fun with, sports. This also really helped me to build leadership skills and also experience something different as sports, for me personally, aren’t usually a main area of focus.

Overall, the international school environment provides a lot of opportunities to learn about the world from different perspectives and it really opens your mind to so many things you weren’t aware of before. YCIS is a strong school academically, and it also offers students a variety of experiences in many different avenues. I would encourage all current and future students at YCIS to take advantage of everything the school has to offer!