Elisa, Y13, Century Park

Out of all the disciplines within the IB Diploma, you’d think completing the ‘Creativity, Activity, Service’ (CAS) project would be the easiest. Naturally, of course, because it’s considered part of the IB Core, the project is nowhere near as easy as it sounds! The CAS project refers to an activity that an IB student must conduct which engages other individuals to take part in the community, get active, or provide service to others.

In my case, I was extremely fortunate to have received an ACAMIS Sports League grant to support my CAS project. With this money, I came up with the Creative Change Project; a project aimed at encouraging students to take part in creative activities, such as taking artistic photos, painting images, or creating jewelry, which would then be sold at a market event for expatriate families. I then donated the money I raised at the market to the Shanghai Healing Home; an orphanage dedicated to helping young Chinese children with medical problems as they wait for their forever homes. Throughout the project, my classmates submitted photos they took as well as jewelry and paintings they produced, which then were sold at a one-day market as well as a silent auction set up on my blog. After six months of hard work, the project generated a total of 12,200 RMB!

The six-month project taught me a lot about myself as a person. I realised that I was willing to work hard to figure out complex things and it showed me the difficulties of being a salesperson. So, to sum it all up; yes, the CAS project will be hard work, but in the end, it’s worth it because it introduces you to a world of commitment and responsibilities. And to end on an encouraging tip; to my fellow upcoming and present IB Students, I leave you a wise piece of advice: If you start early on your CAS project, it will make for a much smoother project pace.