Ranen Miao
April 12, 2020:
Ranen Miao:
“When I started debate my freshman year of high school, I was terrible. At my first tournament I went to, I got 13th place out of 13 people. At my second, I got last place again. My school was not relevant on the debate circuit, and I remember commonly being ignored or told that I should leave debate.
With encouragement and support from my coach and friends, I kept persisting and going above and beyond preparing for each topic I debated. With rigorous daily training, late night calls with my coach, and the support and mentorship of debaters I admired, I was able to find my voice and finally climb my way up from the bottom.
I still remember the first time I placed at a local tournament, getting 2nd out of 19 students in December of my freshman year. Since then, I’ve grown immensely, including winning the Tournament of Champions, Harvard, UPenn, Glenbrooks, Blake, and the New Jersey State Tournament. I was also chosen for the national debate team, where I championed international tournaments in Slovenia, Cornell, Harvard-Westlake, and Greenhill, representing the United States in debate. None of that would’ve been possible if I capitulated after being told to quit — and I wouldn’t have stayed without the encouragement, love, and support of the people I’ve gotten to meet.
More than winning trophies, I’m grateful to have gotten a platform that allowed me to give back and encourage others too. Never forget that your words can change a life!”
Dan Du
April 8, 2020:
“What are you most looking forward to?”
Dan Du:
“I’m waiting for the new moon to go do astrophotography”
** pictured: Dan showing us how he chooses the best places, with low light pollution, to take night photos
Grace Chen
Febuary 14, 2020
Grace:
“Finding someone who has 上进心 (Shang jin xin) is important to me. 上进心 means being driven, trying to be a better person, working hard, being in charge of your life. You know what you are doing, and you are not just handing your life to someone else. ”
Evan
Febuary 14th, 2020:
“What are five words to describe your ideal person?”
Evan:
“Confident, Kind, Compassionate, Ambitious, Active”
Patrick Zhou and Stephanie Zhao
February 5, 2020
“Can you tell us your favorite Lunar New Year memory? “
Stephanie (right):
“Before I came to the states for high school my whole entire family, including our extended family, a total of 15 to 20 people would all go to my dad’s hometown. For lunar new year we would always go back to Zhe Jiang to celebrate. Part of the reason why lunar new year for me is so fun each year is that I really like traveling with the people I love and doing things together, like cooking dumplings and stinky tofu.”
Patrick (left):
“ I don’t have one solid memory. Our family would get together and eat dinner, and sometimes watch the CCTV broadcast; not because it is a good program but for the sake of tradition–One thing that had a bigger impact on me, since I was born and raised in the US, there was never a dedicated lunar new year festival for us. It would always happen on a school night, I was one of those early kids who was crazy about Chinese culture. I started at a young age. I just really wanted that Chinese new year experience that I heard from my parents and relatives. It sounds so great, having fireworks in the street and a week off from school. But the fact that the US doesn’t have that and it always happened on a school day, I was never afforded that experience. Living In the US we have other great experiences, but we don’t have that one.”