Over Arching Reflection

I still remember my first day at Collingwood, when I had just moved to this country, and was struggling to fit into a new culture with a different language. During these three and a half years, Collingwood has not only let me pursue my academic interests, but also encouraged me to develop other strands. I feel lucky to have such supportive teachers and friends at Collingwood. Because of them, I not only grew as a student, but also matured as a person.

My Grade 10 year was hard yet rewarding. Although I was struggling with English, I decided to challenge myself by taking Socials 10 AP. Ms. Hobson recognized the difficulties I faced, and gave me a lot of help. I also decided to take Math 12, since it was one of my stronger subjects. These decisions made me realize that I learn better under pressure, because I put in extra effort into those classes, and they really paid off.

Grade 10 was also when I discovered my interest in art. I learned how to use acrylic paint, and started to love painting. When Ms. Walsh assigned us sketchbook assignments, and told us to do homework for art class, I realized that I didn’t mind them at all. I also spent some time drawing and painting on my own, and did a piece for the Spring Fair art sale.

In Grade 11, I challenged myself by taking AP Economics and AP European History.  I couldn't take AP Calculus ab at school due to course conflicts, but I taught the course to myself by reading an AP study guide, and took the AP exam. In retrospect, one of the most important skills that I learned in high school was writing research papers. I wrote my first formal research paper in Economics, on microeconomics, and got some great advice from Ms. Karcz. As many teachers have told me, writing research papers and citing sources properly are important skills required in college, which professors usually don’t teach. I feel grateful that I had the chance to practice these skills in high school, and got help from many teachers.

Grade 11 was also when I decided to go into Architecture. After going to that after school Architecture class, and listening to architects and urban planners talk about their work, I was fascinated. Architects define Architecture as a study that combines arts, humanity, and science and engineering; since I was interested in all these aspects, I wanted to learn more about the subject. I chose to apply for the summer program at Columbia University, because I thought New York City would be an exciting place to spend my summer, and learn more about architecture. It turned out to be a great experience, and I finally made up my mind to major in Architecture.

Grade 12 has been amazing in every way. There have been so many academic challenges, that this feels like the most rewarding year ever. The beginning of the year was very hard, with all the SAT tests, university application essays, and AP courses happening at the same time. Writing ten essays on why I was applying to each school to which I applied was no fun at all, but I got a chance to reflect on what I had done in all these high school years, and think about what I wanted to do with my future. In the process of university application, the University Guidance has been a lot of help. Although Mr. McDonald admits that he is innately evil, and incapable of comforting people, he is incredibly helpful when it comes to university application. Because of his help and my hard work, I got offers from some of my dream schools, including Washington University in St. Louis (or WUSTL, or Wash U), and Carnegie Mellon.

Next year, I will be majoring in Architecture at WUSTL. I’m also considering double majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I chose WUSTL over Carnegie Mellon because it has better food and dorms (one of the best in the States I may say). More importantly, WUSTL has a four-year Architecture program, instead of a five-year program as Carnegie Mellon offers. After I finish my undergrad studies, I would most likely to go into graduate school, since working as an architect requires at least a master’s degree and a certificate.

I have to admit that I haven’t been working as hard after mid-year, and have experienced terrible symptoms of senioritis, “a crippling disease that strikes high school seniors”. Symptoms include “laziness, lack of studying, and a dismissive attitude”. The symptoms kept getting worse after I wrote all my AP exams, which left me with only English and Multimedia. We still have to go to Physics and Chemistry because we need to write the school exams, but no one is trying as hard since we have all gone through the AP exams.

To make these symptoms better and stop myself from procrastinating, I reminded myself that learning is not for getting a good grade, but for preparing myself for the future challenges. I still go to all my classes because they are related to what I want to study in university. I also started learning French and Japanese on my own; I have been interested in these cultures for very long, and I will travel to, and have study abroad opportunities in France and Japan.

Three years ago, I would never have imagined the experience at Collingwood to be such an amazing one. Collingwood has become my second home, thousands of miles away from my real home. I cannot wait for the next chapter of my life to unfold, but I feel so sad having to say goodbye to my friends and teachers here. The memories at Collinwood will be unduplicated and forever cherished. 

Grade 12 Academics

Highlight #1

Our first project for AP Human Geography this year is a geographic scavenger hunt. As a group, we had to take pictures at 20 places, collect facts about these places, and fabricate a storyline to connect all the pictures. I went to many interesting places in Vancouver and Richmond that I had never been before. Our group decided to use Prezi instead of PowerPoint, and it was a really interesting and creative way to present out story.

Highlight #2

After getting offers from some of my dream universities, I found myself less motivated than I was at the beginning of the year. I realized my marks were dropping, and I was wasting a lot of time. After my epiphany, I decided to put in more effort. I got 97% and 95% on the last two AP Chemistry tests (scaled, of course), and managed to maintain my average after several excruciatingly disastrous quizzes.

Reflection

This has been an academically rigorous year for me. I took AP Physics b and AP Chemistry because I like sciences, AP Human Geography because it is an interesting subject, and AP Calculus bc because I wanted to challenge myself.

I really enjoyed AP Physics this year, even though we were practically studying on our own. Ms. Vo would give us an 80-page package on each chapter for homework, and we would discuss the questions we have difficulties with in class. I love Ms. Vo because she never checks homework, and this is a much more efficient way for me to study. Out of the hundreds of questions she gives us for each chapter, I can choose to do only the challenging ones.

AP Chemistry was more difficult than I could have imagined. Despite all the confusing labs and excruciatingly painful tests, it was still an exiting and enjoyable course. I learned how to write proper lab reports, and use Excel to collect and graph complex data. As I mentioned in my Academic Highlight, I did well on the last few Chemistry tests, which could mean I love Chemistry.

AP Human Geography has been fun as well. as I talked about in my highlights, there were a few research assignments that I liked. Writing research papers would be a valuable skill in university, and I appreciate the chance to practice it in high school. 

AP Calculus bc, on the other hand, turned out to be an outright disaster. I confess that I could have put more effort into this course and got a much better mark, but I decided to hate it and stop trying, and retake it in university. I am confident that I did well on the AP exam, but I need to reinforce the basics of Calculus before I take any higher-level Calculus course.

This academic year has been challenging and rewarding. I am proud to say that I challenged myself, and kept going till the end (almost). I think, in Grade 12, it was really important to choose the courses that interest me, because I wouldn't have kept learning after March. I regret for not trying in Calculus, but generally, I am still happy with the results I got.

Grade 12 Service

Highlight

This was the first time I've ever been to soup kitchen. I was in charge of serving coffee. It was intimidating at first, because there were so many people, and some of them look very impatient. But there was really no need to worry, because most of the people there are easy to get along with, and they were nice to us. Some people asked where we were from, because they were impressed by our service. They even gave us a round of applause. Although it was tiring, I felt very rewarded.

Reflection

This year, I continued working at Kerrisdale Academy, as well as finding some other service opportunities. Since I've become very close with some teachers and university guidance counsellors at Kerrisdale Academy, I learned more from them. A SAT teacher asked me to help her type some good writing samples into Word documents, and I learned a lot while doing that. I also got some advice on university application from the counsellors. 

Another great service opportunity is the Soup Kitchen. I had no experience related to serving food and drinks, or greeting and humouring customers, so I was a little nervous. After the service started, however, all of my fear disappeared. I am glad that I had a chance to see how homeless people live their lives, and learned to treat everyone with respect and dignity. These homeless people may have made some wrong decisions at some point in their lives, but they deserve care and respect, as they try to improve their lives.

Grade 12 Art

Highlight

As I did more digital paintings for my AP Studio Art portfolio, I learned more techniques and started to love this media. The display window painting is one of twelve pieces in my Concentration on the theme of windows.

Reflection

One of the most significant accomplishments for me this year was finishing my AP Drawing portfolio. Having to finish 18 pieces in nine months, I have been very productive in class, and have spent quite some time at home. Although all the pieces could have been more detailed, I’m quite satisfied with this portfolio, considering the limit in time.

This year, I finished 6 of the 12 pieces in the Breadth section, and 12 pieces in the Concentration section. In the Breadth part, I explored a wide range of media, including charcoal, oil pastel, acrylic, watercolor, collage, ink, and digital painting. I’m especially happy that I got the chance to improve my digital painting skills, because they will be useful in my future study of Architecture.

The central idea of my concentration was windows as a metaphor for human experience. The first part of the concentration explores how different windows shape our views, while the second part looks into a more abstract interpretation of windows.

This portfolio has helped a lot in my university applications, even though I didn’t apply to any art school. Many of the schools that admitted me, including Washington Univ. in St. Louis, Carnegie Mellon, and USC, all reviewed my portfolio for their Architecture programs. This has been a really productive and rewarding year for me.

Grade 12 Athletics

Highlight

This year, I discovered the magic of running. Whenever I feel tired or stressed, I just go outside and run in park. Sometimes I get up early on weekends and go out for a run. Running gives me some time to think, and calms me down when I feel frustrated. 

Reflection

As I mentioned in my athletics highlight, I have recently discovered the magic of running. In the beginning of Grade 12, I used the intensive academic curriculum, dreadful SAT tests and university application process as excuses for slacking in exercising. Because of my lack of physical activities, I felt tired all the time, and did not have energy to study. Especially after I had been admitted to my dream university, yet still had to finish the excruciatingly painful AP courses, I realized that I had to keep myself fit to cope with the most miserable part of Grade 12.

I tried to get up early on weekends, and go for a jog or walk in the park. The refreshing morning breeze cheered me up, and energized me. While I was running, I got more time to think about my plan of the day, and stay more focused on studying. I have learned that some exercise everyday can really make a difference in productivity and efficiency. Next year, I plan to keep the good habit of running, and join the tennis team at Wash U. I won't be the best player, but it's the effort that counts...

Grade 12 Choices

Choice #1

Besides the regular drawing and paintings that I did in Studio Art class, I started experimenting with digital drawing. This piece is done with Corel Painter and Photoshop. I like digital drawing because it helps accomplish the effects of painting, but less messy than painting.

Choice #2

This was a AP Human Geography research assignment on natural hazards, which required us to research on a catastrophe, and write a narrative to give information on the event. My story was about a boy who lost his grandparents, his friends, and his teacher in the 2008 SiChuan Earthquake. It was my first time writing a 6-page narrative paper, and using Chicago style citation. I got 100% on the written part of this project, but made some mistakes in citation, which brought me down to a 96%.

Choice #3


This is an art gallery model that I built in the summer Architecture program at Columbia University. The professors took our class to Roosevelt Island to choose a site for our final project. My site has the view of Manhattan on one side, and Queens on another. My first draft of this art gallery was almost symmetrical, with the idea that the windows not only allow visitors to see the art work from outside, but also allow the views to see the Manhattan skyline from the inside. At our first group critique, the professor suggested that I could expand my window idea, and make different uses of the windows. I put some thought into this, and decided to design a two-floor window that allows a better view of the Manhattan skyline. On the opposite side, there is a small window that focuses the view on the Queensboro Bridge, which was the only significant landscape on the side facing Queens. The windows on the other side serve as display windows. At our final group critique, we not only got feedbacks from our professors, but also had some architects as guests. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget.

Grade 11 Academics

Highlight #1

One academic achievement that I'm very proud of this year is the Microeconomics research paper on "social business". Social business is a new way of doing business, which focus on solving social issues rather than making profit. Because this new concept had brought up a lot of debate and argument, Ms. Karcz wanted us to do some research and decide whether it's an utopia or a future way of doing business. Because it was my first time writing a research paper, I had some problem with the in-text citation. I got a 90% on the project, which made me very happy.

Highlight #2

This Spanish project is to write a storybook for kids in Spanish, with illustrations. My story is about a street artist who painted a purple dragon on a wall, but didn’t paint the eyes of the dragon. One day, another painter painted the eyes on the dragon, the wall then cracked and a real dragon crawled out of the ruin.

Reflection

Grade 11 is a very intensive year for me. Deciding to take AP European History was not a good idea for me, because history is my weakest subject. I spent a lot of time on this course, but still didn't manage to get an A. I was going to take AP Calculus AB, but it couldn't fit into my schedule, so I ended up doing the course on my own. 

My favorite class this year is AP Economics, which I found interesting and easier than other AP courses. Another class that I like is Law 12. Although Mr. McDonald gives ten-page-long quizzes, his classes are very fun.

I also liked Chemistry and Physics this year. We did some interesting labs in both courses.  I'm going to take AP Chemistry and AP Physics next year.

I also showed some improvement in English this year. Most of the essays I wrote got A’s, and my speech this year was so much better than last year. Mr. Streit is a very nice teacher, and he gave me a lot of help.