aic newsletter issue 1

7/31/2019 AIC Newsletter Issue 1

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or those who dont

know me, my name is

Johnny Lee ( ). Ijoined AIC in the sum-

mer of 2010 and cur-

rently serve as the COO.

As is the tradion here

at AIC, I also serve as a

teacher. Having had theprivilege to mentor stu-

dents in both applicaon

seasons so far, I must

say, even if all AICs fu-

ture ambions does not

pan out, witnessing the growth of a studentwhen the clicks of self-discovery goes off

in their brains of why they chose to engage in certain acvies, or the sense of pride when

theyve worked day and night to write essays and improve skills while their friends put inonly a fracon of the effort, or when in college they realize that they are beer equipped

to persevere because of what they learned throughout the Scholars of the Future process

or internshipin and of itself is meaningful enough to make my job worthwhile.

We are proud of each and every one of you because amid an environment making it

increasingly easier to cut corners, you were the brave minority that chose to challenge

yourselves by asking challenging quesons about your identy and working relessly to

express it in the most personal way (clocking in up to 400 hours of work!). It is this courage,

and the skills youve gained as a result, that have made you special and no one can take

this away from you.

As many of you probably know by now, understanding who you are, your character,

strengths, and weaknesses, is actually a mul-year process. Before college, I was the typ-

ical Asian high school studentliving only to fulfill parental and societal expectaons.

Today, I consider myself one of the fortunate few to have found my dream career. When

I try to discern why I was so fortunate compared to my peers who all aended great

schools and worked at the most coveted jobs, I could only find one difference. It certainly

wasnt that I was smarter or more hardworking. I was paent. I entered college deter-

mined to find my passion and at every major juncture in life I never neglected consulng

Dear Beloved AIC Alumni,

F


12/22

my inner self to inform my life decisions. Also, I explored, and stepped out of my comfort

zone, over and over again. So keep the faith--only those who connue to probe for answers

will eventually find them.

As you guys connue to probe your identy and consider how to spend your me,

what majors, acvies, and career to pursue, I believe the most important queson to ask

yourselves is, What is my purpose in life? I know the queson can be inmidang, but Ihink the answer is actually quite simple. I believe we all have the same purposeto max-

mize our unique, individual potenal in service of the collecve (you guys should recognize

his as it is AICs key objecve :). Thus, there are two key components to answering this

quesonWhat is my passion? and How do I serve others? The paradox is that the

ormer could be considered a rather selfish queson, whereas the laer is a more self-

ess queson.

In a way I think tradional Asian philosophy is quite selflesswere constantly tryingo please others. So for those of you who feel this way, I want to stressbe selfishbe-

cause it is only by being selfish do we have a shot at being selfless. Now obviously, I am

not taking about being selfish in a material sense or being greedy, buying material goods,

hoarding food. I refer to being selfish about taking care of your emoonal and intellectual

needs, pursuing your interests and passions, using your educaon for yourself, not to gain

he recognion of others. I certainly do not mean do what is comfortable by staying in your

room and doing what you want playing video games with your friends 24/7.

Once you gain such understanding and develop your talents, then you can share them

generously with the collecve. A happy servant is a much beer service-provider than a

grumpy or bier one.

I have utmost confidence that if you stay conscious of your inner compass, have the

courage to act upon it, and be paent, you will soon also find yourself among the fortunate

ew that have made a career out of doing what you love! In fact, you being an AIC alumnus

already speaks volumes about your values and character.

Remember, your successes and failures are our successes and failures. More important

han where you aend school is who you are as an individual and what you do with the

opportunies available to you. We are here to help in any way we can, so give us a shout

f you have ideas, needs, or just someone to talk to! Wed love to hear from you about all

your adventures. We can only be as great as our students!

All the best in the New Year! Happy Year of the Dragon!

We miss you guys!!

With AIC love,

Johnny


13/22

ry everything at least once, I told my-

self, for you are in a land brimming with too

much opportunity to miss out on. Entering

college, I commied myself to an atude of

absolute open-mindedness. Incidentally, I

found myself revising the issue of educa-

onal inequality. Through tutoring low-in-

come Oakland students with substandard

reading levels or even strolling through seedy

parts of downtown San Francisco, I began to

think about lack of educaonal access and its

societal ramificaons. Inside my Polical Econ-

omy classes, I studied educaon on a global

scale, dissecng educaonal opportunies in

developing countries. Meanwhile, eager to un-

derstand the complex socioeconomic and po-

lical makeup of my motherland, I spentsummers working in Chinese organizaons.

From there, I started to see my experiences

and interests meld together at an intersecon.

Like the rest of us, I came to college to

learn. Strangely enough, I found myself at the

conclusion of my college career, wanng sll

to learn more than all of the knowledge I

amassed during college. This is precisely what

I find so charming about educaon: its like adrug. Give someone a taste, and that person

is sure to come crawling back, desperate for

more. The key, however, lies in how to use it

wisely.

Time with AIC in months: 7AIC Office: HangzhouCollege: University of California, BerkeleyMajor in College: Political Economy and Public Policy minorDescribe yourself in 3 words: Emphatic Exploratory IdealistFavorite Fictional Character:Dr. John Prentice (played by Sidney

Poitierin Guess Whos Coming to Dinner, 1967)Greatest Invention of All Time:Spoken languageFavorite Book:Pride and PrejudiceFavorite Movie:Before SunriseFavorite Source of Inspiration:A refreshing jog along a scenicpath, whether the Southern California Coastline, the UCBerkeley Fire Trails, or West Lake in HangzhouFavorite Word:SomnambulantMost underrated superhero:Elastigirl from The Incredibles(2004)

Your favorite line from a movie or book: How does a girl like youget to be a girl like you? Lucky, I guess... (North by North-west, 1959)

Q: What do you think people who know you would be sur-

prised to learn about you?

A: I played a semester of lacrosse in high school.

Q: What is your favorite ride at the amusement park? How

does thisreflect your approach to life?

A: I love Its a Small World After All a small boat takes each

group through a tunnel and in 15 minutes, youve traveled allaround the world, watching children, from the North Pole toSouth America to Great Britain to Asia, join together to sing the

same tuneof global unity and world peace. The boat ride itself,a calm, serene cruise around all parts of the world, reflect my

own long-term goal for life working to inspire a painless, uni-lateral effort towards international cooperation for upward social

mobility.

Q: Spanish poet Antonio Machado wrote, "Between living and

dreaming thereis a third thing. Guess it." Give us your guess.

A: Between living and dreaming, we sense. If to live is to simplyfunction and exist, and to dream is to meditate (whether con-

sciously or subconsciously) upon any circumstance or situationthat one is presently not being subjected to, then the third thing

would be sensing everything in between: seeing, hearing, feel-ing, tasting, smelling, and generally making yourself aware of

the wonderful treasure chest of life that awaits your discovery.

Q: What's your latest discovery? What do you hope to learn

next?

A: Being new to China, my life has proved itself timeand again to beconstant cycle of new discoveries, whether theyare culinary, behavioral, geographical, or linguistic. Im tryingto assume the role of a cultural spider web, catching every

morsel of new information possible.

Usteacher profile

Cecilia Xia

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Time with AIC in months:

AIC Office:

College:

Major in College:Describe yourself in 3 words:Favorite Fictional Character: Sherlock HolmesGreatest Invention of All Time:Favorite Book: DublinersFavorite Movie: A Walk in the Clouds/Black SwanFavorite Source of Inspiration:Favorite Word: Delicious!Most underrated superhero: John Watson

Your favorite line from a movie or book:

Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself a crea-

ture driven and derided by vanity, and my eyes burn

with anguish and anger.

Dubliners-Araby by James Joyce

Identify and describe a personal habit oridiosyncrasy - of any nature - that helpsdefine you.

What do you think people whoknow you would be surprised tolearn about you?

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What is your favorite ride at theamusement park? How does this re-

flect your approach to life?

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Chineseteacher profileZoe Xie


15/22

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Description: I worked as the vice pres-

ident of the Student Union. My interestsbuild up a large part of my life: painng,

music, books, Sponge Bob, table tennis,

and of course, basketball. Ive played

basketball for almost a decade. Captain-

ing the school basketball team, I learned

about friendship and team spirit. Since I

aended boarding school, I enjoy being

a member of a big family. So now, realiz-

ing that Im a member of the whole so-ciety, I decide to learn about the huge

family I belong to and try my best to

make it beer and brighter.

Name: Lia Hu U City: Chengdu

High School: Chengdu No.7 High School

Alumni Leader

Favorite Quote:

Follow your own course and let people talk

Dant

Worst Fear : Snake = =

Childhood Role Model: David Beckham

Name: Michael Zheng City: Na

High School: Nanjing Foreign Language Sch

Favorite Quote:

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.

Do my level best and leave the rest to

God's will.

Worst Fear: Caterpillar!

Childhood Role Model:

Ultra Seven (It's Japanese Superman)

Name: Freddy Zhu N City: Nanjing

High School: Jinling High School


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2016 Profles

Favorite Quote: I love waking up

in the morning not knowing what's

gonna happen or, who I'm gonna

meet, where I'm gonna wind up.

Jack Dawson, Titanic

Worst Fear: Sirius Blacks situaon

in Harry Poer. He was prisoned in

Azkaban for twelve years for the

crime he never commied.

Childhood Role Model: Sherlock

HolmesName: Caroline Lu )F City: Shanghai

High School: Cambridge Internaonal Center of SNU

g

Favorite Quote:

"I don't think of work as work and

play as play. It's all living"

Richard Branson

Worst Fear : Time flies too fast


I really don't remember! But at pres-ent, one that I appreciate the most is

Richard Branson. (Have no idea who

this awesome guy is? Wikipedia him

and you will get impressed!)

Name: Siyu Chen E City: ShenzhenHigh School: Shenzhen Experimental School


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Favorite Quote: R(

Worst Fear: losing loved ones

Childhood Role Model: Batman

Name: Susan Zha City: Beijing

High School: High school affiliated to Renmin

University of China

Favorite Quote:

Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense

of living is joy enough.

Worst Fear: Insects always. But

now...denials from schools = (


Albert Einstein. (I don't know wh

either= =)

Name: Veronica Che


20/22

Name: Zora Yang p; City: Beijing

High School: Beijing 101 Middle School

Favorite Quote:

Dream as if you'll live forever, live

as if you'll die today.

Worst Fear : fear of being wrong

Childhood Role Model: My father

Name: Veronica Zhao LT

City: Hangzhou

High School:

Hangzhou Xuejun

Favorite Quote:

Love all; trust some; do wrong tonone.

Worst Fear : people's suffering/

spots (Trypophobia)/ lies


Che Guevara

to be

"

ms (PC)

Wuhan

l

2016 Alumni Leaders for Xi'an and Dalian tobe announced in next issue with pictures!

*


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Suggestions from Students/Readers

Contact a with suggestions.Please include a proper subject title in your email, other-

wise the email may be lost.

Pick a supplement topic of your interest and address

it to a specific US teacher to answer for the next issue.

What word (any, noun or adjective) comes to your mind

when you think of your US teacher?

Are you a current AIC student/AIC alumni? Do you

want to share your stories with us? If you want your voice

to be heard, please send us an email at

. We will voice you in our next issue.

RoomforDebate!

Dearreaders, we'd love to listen to yourfeedback!

1. What's your favorite session in this issue?

2. For future AIC newsletters, do you prefer to receive

PDF version or online version?3. Any further suggestions for us?

Thank you!

Here is a short questionnaire for our readers

Career-oriented Education Liberal Arts EducationVSWhich one do you prefer? Email your Chinese name, English name, college graduation year, AIC office

city and your answer to . Please include the subject "ROOM FOR DEBATE" in

your email or your submission may be lost!

FACES:Albert Zhang

(Zhang Chen's son)Hi,I am Albert!

Email to sub-

mit the funniest caption to describe the fa-

cial expression of Albert above!Please

include subject "FACES

Please include subject title "FEEDBACK*


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To be Continued

Ideas/Creativity

Sherry He

Beibei Li

Lynda Yang

Jessie Zeng

Editors in Chief

Kam Yan

Alan Hu

Design/Layout

Elliot Huang

June LiangDavid Guo

Project Manager

Pei Yen

aic newsletter issue 1

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