Two YCIS Secondary students share their goals and plans for this summer:

Looking ahead at her future goals, Da Young, a soon-to-be Year 13 student at YCIS Shanghai Gubei Campus, says she would like to go into sports medicine, with the aspiration of working at the Olympics someday. One of her fellow classmates, Woo Jin, dreams of creating her own fashion brand in the future. Both students have spent more than nine years at YCIS, and had the opportunity to learn in an international setting with world-class teachers, in the IGCSE and IB programmes. And during that time, they have formed some important habits, including the practice of staying focused on their goals, even during the summer holiday.

This summer, Woo Jin, who will spend the holiday at home in South Korea, is getting some practical, related work experience through an internship, and she is also hitting the books to prepare for the SAT entrance exam. She will also continue her artwork and attend some workshops. Da Young will be taking a trip to Japan over the summer, where she plans to use the opportunity as a chance to interact with a new culture, something that will prepare her for working in an international setting, such as the Olympics. She will be taking lots of books on the trip as well, with a focus on test preparation for medical school.

How can students at YCIS Shanghai be able to stay motivated for learning over the summer, when school and teachers are miles away? “Our (YCIS students) hard work motivates everyone to produce and accomplish more,” explains Woo Jin. The incredible academic commitment of these students notwithstanding, Da Young adds that, “Being at YCIS is influential because the environment encourages interaction with our classmates and teachers, which helps build social skills.” Both students agree that, while their studies will be a priority over the summer, they’ll still take plenty of time to relax with friends and family.

Before these two students boarded their flights for summer destinations, they offered a few words of advice for other students who are trying to determine how best to pursue their own goals, “The most important thing is to find what you are interested in, and then to really focus on what you are doing to build those skills,” says Da Young. Once students have determined this, then, according to Woo Jin, they also need to “know how to manage and control their own time, and to practise these skills for university and beyond.”

Wise words from a pair of very dedicated, accomplished students! We wish them luck in their final year of school, and on the quest to achieve their goals. While we have every belief that they will be attending to athletes’ at the summer games, or in a fashion house designing the next new style, we are sure that the education at YCIS, which has honed personal skills like determination and focus, complimented by the ability to interact comfortably with people from around the world, will help them be successful in whatever they do!