Magda Janczara, Class of 2016, Gubei Campus

My name is Madga, I’m from Poland, and I attended YCIS for seven years. During my time at YCIS I really enjoyed participating in sports, especially volleyball and basketball, and I also did cross-country.

Beyond sports, I most enjoyed the service activities we were able to participate in, and I was involved in volunteering at a rehabilitation centre, called CereCare, where we helped children with cerebral palsy. For this activity, we also had a lot of support from our Creativity, Action, and Service (CAS) coordinator to help us arrange these visits, which was fantastic.

I’ve had a lot of memorable experiences at YCIS, but I definitely think that the school trips, such as Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) trips throughout China or the Year 12 CAS Thailand Trip, are what I will never forget. The Thailand trip was a great opportunity to get to know people outside of the classroom environment as we lived with our classmates together for ten days and bonded a great deal.

At YCIS, I am especially proud of the progress I made in English. When I came to Shanghai from Poland I could not speak any English. However, by my last year in school, I was studying literature at a higher level and I really enjoy the fact that I can now express myself and understand the works of some of the most famous poets and writers.

Our teachers at YCIS were also great, and many inspired me during my time at school; however, my Design & Technology (D&T) Teacher, Mr Mitchell, probably inspired me the most. He not only teaches, he also shows his passion for the subject. Through many class activities, such as 3D printing or injection molding, he would always take the time to show us how things worked and would carefully explain the different techniques. It’s really inspirational to have teachers who enjoy the subject, too, and it makes learning really enjoyable.

Overall, I definitely had more opportunities in Shanghai than I would have had back home. The people that I met at YCIS, from all over the world, and the programmes of learning helped me to evolve both with my language skills and academically. YCIS is a great school and I will definitely miss it.