万源学子 绝不简单 | 高中学子人物专访 Talents at High School

上一期我们多彩协和系列向大家推出了一个“一直向前冲的女孩”，从协和上海，冲向了美国纽约大学；这一期我们将继续向大家推出一个“不停自我探索的女孩”，来一起看看她的追求与收获吧。

大众对国际学校学生的印象通常是外向健谈的，但这次介绍的这位美高学生并不属于这一类。安静的她虽然不常表达，但内心也有自己的想法。在这一期报道里她将分享自己独特的美高生活和申请经历。

People used to consider students from international school as outgoing and talkative, but this student doesn’t fall into this category. Although she is quiet and doesn’t speak up as often as others, she has her own opinions inside. In this report, she will share her personal school life and application experience. 

学习不仅仅是在课堂，也在生活的每一个角落。多彩协和系列报导的宗旨是通过不同的视角来帮助大家发掘万源个性化、多元化的教育特色。“东方和西方每朝对方迈近一步，它们之间的距离就更近一点，我相信它们终将相遇。”协和教育一直秉承着中西融合之路，“和而不同，协力创新”的理念，致力于培养具有世界胸怀的合格公民。在万源，不仅仅有学术成就，还有多彩多元的人文素养；文韬武略，尽展英姿。人人有才华，期期有精彩！

Learning is far beyond classroom teaching and is intrinsic to our lives. The series of  “Versatile XieHe” reports aim to help discover a diverse life in school education from different perspectives. “Whilst Mr. East and Ms. West move one step towards to each other, the gap between the two will be getting ever smaller, and I believe they would finally meet up.” Sticking to the value that “unity in diversity, innovation through collaboration”, XieHe is always dedicated to cultivate world citizenship with a great open vision, where east meets west. In Wanyuan, lives are enriched with colorful and versatile elements, which are huge enrichment to the academic achievements. In XieHe, we do have gifted pupils with their fantastic performance.

在这个为期一年左右的项目中，我学习了基因工程的相关知识，和组员与指导老师一起尝试设计一段帮助微藻生长的基因序列，并去武汉中科院水生生物研究所讨论改进我们的设计，也在暑假里参与了部分实验。去年十月，我随团队去波士顿参加了比赛的大会，了解到许多来自世界一流大学学生的研究，也向别人展示了我们学校的研究思路和实验成果。通过这次经历，我对生物的认知不止停留在课本知识上，而是更多地了解到生物技术当前的运用和前景，参与到了实际的发现问题、解决问题中，并接触了来自不同国家对生物充满热情的人。

During this year-long project, I learned about genetic engineering. Our team designed a biobrick to enhance microalgal growth. I went with the team to the Institute of hydrobiology, Chinese academy of sciences in Wuhan to improve our proposal. In the last October, I went to attend the giant jamboree in Boston, presenting our research and experimental results while learning about researches of world-class universities. Through this experience, my understanding of biology is no longer limited to textbook knowledge. I get to know more about the current application and prospect of biotechnology, involve in the process of identifying and solving real-life problems, and met people who are passionate about biology.

除了生物之外，我也参与了学校的诗社。自己写诗和读自己的诗。有过在校内校外交流诗、在杂志上发表诗的经历。这也让我对文学和生活有一种新的理解。我以前以为写诗的门槛很高，但渐渐感受到诗这种形式和其中的韵律能够更自由地表达内心感受和对生活的观察。我性格比较内向，在分享自己的诗时不免会紧张，但台下听众时常会以打响指的方式回应某一句他们喜欢的句子，这让我感受到被理解、与人联结。

Besides biology, I also participated in our school’s Slam poetry club to write and perform my poems. I shared my poems in and out of school. Some of my poems also got published. I used to think it’s difficult to compose poems, but through writing, I felt this form of literature enables me to express my feelings and observations of life more freely. I am introversive and tended to be nervous when I share my poems. Yet, the moments when the audiences snapping their fingers in response to a line they like encouraged me and made me feel understood and connected. 

在十二年级前的暑假，我规划了三个多礼拜的访校之行。从美国东部，亚特兰大到加州，我选了二十所左右我感兴趣的大学和文理学院，参加了学校官方的介绍会和校园导览，也有向招生办的人和在校生提问。比起浏览网页上白底黑字的文字，这种最直观的方式让我对每个大学的环境以及学术、文化特点有更深入的感受。

In the summer vacation before twelfth grade, I planned a three-week campus visit. I chose about twenty schools across the east coast, Atlanta and California to attend their official information sessions and communicate with admission officers and undergraduates. Comparing to reading websites, this first-hand experience gave me a direct feeling of each university’s characteristics.

更重要的是，在这个过程中，我意识到申请大学是一次对自己未来的主动选择。只有自己最了解自己，知道自己与哪一个大学的环境和课程设置最匹配。就像我申请布兰迪斯大学作为我的ED1学校。我知道我内向的性格容易淹没在大学校的人群中而我希望更充分地与教授和同学交流，并且我还没决定我的专业，所以布兰迪斯作为注重本科教育和跨学科研究的小型综合大学，能够提供给我这种我想要的学术环境。我很幸运，可以直接被想去的学校录取，但我觉得这份幸运中也包含着我对大学和自己匹配度的把握。

More importantly, I realized college application is a process of actively choosing my future direction. No one understands me better than myself. I know which university’s environment and curriculum best matches my needs and ability. Personally, I worry I will be overwhelmed by the crowd of a big university since I want to fully engage in the discussions with professors and other students. Together with the fact that I haven’t decided my major, I chose to apply for Brandeis University as my ED1 school. With its focus on interdisciplinary studies and undergraduate education with small classes, I think it will fit me. I am lucky enough to be admitted by my top-choice school, yet I think the match between myself and the university contributes to this luck. 

申请的过程不止是规划未来的过程，也是一个很好的梳理以往人生经历的过程。它迫使我回顾自己做了什么、收获了什么，让我思考自己是谁、有什么特点。这是一个充满压力的过程，我在其中不断质问自己、自我怀疑，但只有深刻地认识到自己和自己的过去，才能更好地跨出迈向未来的步伐。

College application is a process of planning the future, but also a process of reflecting the past life experience. It forces me to look back on what I have done and gained while thinking who I am and what characteristics I have. I continually questioned and doubted myself through this stressful process. However, only when we have a deep understanding of ourselves and our past, can we make progress towards the future.