“No, no anything but that” Scar shouts to ZaZu
when he begins to sing “It’s a small world after all” in the film version of The Lion King. It is a great comic
moment. It makes fun of a Disney cliché with a world weary Scar unwilling to
hear what some think to be a trite sentiment. And yet there are times when I
still find myself thinking how small the world is and how the cliche still has
some meaning worth contemplating.
What follows should convince you that a senior
in high school living in Taiwan has some exceptionally helpful advice
for students living in California, New York or just about anywhere else around
the globe. More importantly, her willingness to learn across cultures and time
zones may be something more students should think about doing.
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| Jasmine |
Can you tell us a bit about you and your family? Where are you from, are you
oldest, youngest, only child?
My parents are both Taiwanese, but my
older sister and I were born in the U.S., so we have dual citizenship. My dad
owns a law firm and is a professor as well, and my mom is an accounting
professor at a university.
You will be a part of the first graduating
class at your secondary school. First of all can you describe your school? What
is it like in terms of teachers, facilities, pressure and competition?
What do you like most about it and what would you change?
Morrison Academy Kaohsiung is a small
K-12 (grade 12 opening this upcoming year) Christian international school, and
it's not very well known in Kaohsiung, unfortunately. Since the school is so
small, the teachers really get to know you and vice versa. The teachers at my
school are incredibly kind and compassionate - they're always willing to sit
down and talk to you if you're feeling overwhelmed or even if you need to just
chat. We have mentor groups that meet pretty much every week to talk about
various life questions, and the mentors check in with you from time to time.
It's great!
Our campus is quite small compared to
other schools, but we have most of the facilities (gym, track, basketball and
tennis courts, soccer field, etc.) you would find in a regular high
school.
As for competition, my class is
pretty academic, I would say. We strive to do the best possible, but getting
the perfect 4.0 GPA is not always an easy process. What I like about our school
is how close knit of a community we are. Everybody knows everybody, and it's
quite easy to talk to people.
In 2012-2013 you attended Northwood High, in
Irvine, California. Why did you decide to do this?
My parents thought that it would be a
good idea to experience an actual American high school, so we decided on Irvine
because we had relatives there. Northwood High is a relatively new high school
in Irvine with a strong music department. It's pretty much the opposite of
Morrison — MAK is a Christian international school in Taiwan, Northwood is a
public high school in the States. One major difference is the size - Morrison
only has approximately 200 students from K-11 (12 this upcoming year), and
Northwood has way more.
Did you go through culture shock? Was it hard
to transition to a new country and culture? Was it easy to make friends and be
a part of activities etc.? When you went back to Taiwan did people say you were
different? How did this year change you?
There was some culture shock, but I'm
glad that my English was good enough so I was able to fit in. It was hard at
first, and I was pretty homesick in the first few weeks, but it got better as
the year went by. It's not too hard to make friends, especially freshman year,
when everyone's still new to everything. I'm not sure if I changed a lot, but I
did gain more experience regarding how an actual high school feels like, and it
served as a good basis for comparison when I went back to MAK. I think this
also helped me in StuCo, because I had a reference that I could reflect back
on. It was really cool to get such a different experience and to meet so
many new people for a change.
You are a leader in your school. You
currently serve as the president of the student council. What makes a good
leader? What are your goals for this upcoming year?
In my opinion, a good leader needs to
be committed, hardworking, and organized. Even if you have excellent people or
public speaking skills, they don't mean anything if you don't commit to your
promises and carry them through, which is difficult if you're not hardworking
nor organized. Some of my goals for this upcoming year is to plan more
activities for the high school, especially small field trips, because a lot of
the students enjoyed those last year.
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| Morrison Academy Senior Class Service Trip |
Your school highlights that it provides
opportunities for students to learn media skills. You have founded and served
as the editor of the Morrison SharkPost. What exactly is this and have you
learned a lot from the experience?
The Morrison SharkPost is actually
the school newspaper. Last year, we had about 20 people in the staff, which is
really good for a club at a school of our size. I definitely learned a lot more
from this experience, especially in handling staff and working on
deadlines.
This summer you are enrolled in the Medill–Northwestern
Journalism Institute. Can you describe the program. Did your previous
experiences with journalism prepare you for what you have been expected to do
there? What has been the best thing about the program so far?
It's a selective program of about 84
cherubs from 20+ states and many other countries. We go through a series of
workshops and lectures that teach us the many forms of journalism. I actually
never had any formal training with journalism, so this was an eye-opening
experience. The best thing about the program are the people! The staff and the
other cherubs (what the students are called) are fantastic. The guest speakers
are amazing as well. We've had Richard Stolley, Michael Wilbon, Roxana Saberi,
Bret Begun, and many others come speak to us.
Are you fairly certain you wish to pursue
journalism at university and as a career? If so, why? What role would you hope
to play as a journalist in Taiwan? Do you want to share any stories you have
written?
I'm not certain yet if I want to pursue
journalism as a career, but I'm definitely more interested in journalism now
that I've gone through this camp. I think listening to other people's stories
is really intriguing. If I become a journalist in Taiwan, I want to do
something like Roxana Saberi does, and report on social justice issues.
Roxana Saberi
As a rising senior you are now facing the stress
of applying to universities. How are you coping with deciding where to apply,
what tests to take, what things to write about on your essays etc.? Do
you feel like you have a good sense of what schools are looking for and do feel
you have a good sense of what you are looking for in a university?
So far, I think I have a pretty
complete list of where I want to apply to. I visited some colleges this summer
and got a better sense of what they're like. I'm finished with my standardized
tests, so now I just have essays to worry about. I really enjoyed most of the
colleges that I visited, because they're all have gorgeous campuses. I am
looking at schools that are generally in an urban/suburban area, though.
I'm quite open to colleges, and each
college I've picked has had a distinct quality that stood out to me. I'm not
too strict in the qualities that each school absolutely must have, but
generally the ones on my list are the ones I've visited and I believe are a
good fit for me. Cliché, I know, but I need to be able to see myself on the
campus; otherwise, why bother applying? I have 10 colleges, so far.
You and I have talked a bit about an issue that
has started to get more press this year: discrimination against Asians applying
to highly selective schools. Do most parents and students at your school think
it is harder to get in to some universities if you are Asian? Do you
think there is bias against Asians and if so do you have any support, either
personal experience or data that supports this belief?
I think most people at my school do
believe that it's harder, because our test scores have to be that much better.
I'm not sure if there is bias per se, but I'm aware of the different standards
that we are held to.
Are certain stereotypes that many in US hold
about Asians (the model minority, the hard working nerd, the non creative STEM
major etc.) something you talk about in your school at home or at the program
this summer?
We don't talk about it in class that
much (I wish we did), but most students are aware of the stereotype. Sometimes
we joke about it, but I think the stereotype becomes somewhat internalized
because it's so prevalent on the Internet especially and some of us do adhere
to the stereotype (not that falling into a stereotype is a bad thing).
In the summer program, we had a
workshop about journalism across races and cultures, and it brought up
questions about the necessity of mentioning race/ethnicity when reporting. It
was interesting to debate, because there is a wider diversity of people at this
camp than there are at my school or in Taiwan, unsurprisingly.
You have already demonstrated that you are a
risk taker by doing a year away from home. You have already taken on leadership
roles in your schools and now have enrolled in a program to develop a passion
you have for journalism. Did you decide to do these things yourself or were you
encouraged to do them by your family or others?
I think it's a little bit of both. I
always bring up these decisions with my family and discuss the responsibility
with them, and if the pros outweigh the cons and I'm interested, I go ahead
with it.
Do you have any heroes or role models who have
inspired you?
My parents and my older sister would be my role models, I think. My parents inspire me in their patience and I love how independent my sister is. Also, Roxana Saberi's lecture inspired me to look deeper into journalism and social justice.
If you could be doing anything 10 years
from now what would it be and why?
I hope to be a lawyer or to be doing
something involved in social justice. Ethics and justice are fascinating topics
for me.
Do you have any advice for students starting
secondary school about how to become a leader and how to develop a passion?
Try to involve yourself in a lot of
activities, but don't overwhelm yourself. Be open to new things! Once you've
decided what you're interested, go deeper into that activity and try to find
leadership positions to go for. You really have to involve yourself in the
activity to develop a passion for it.
Is there anything else you want to add?
Not at the moment!
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| Jasmine with friends from Medill-Northwestern program |
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Jasmine already embodies many of the
character traits that College Presidents say they want to instill in their
students. She is a global citizen in ways few of us are. She has the ability to
do well, academically and socially, in her own culture and in others too. She
has learned to be a leader and an active learner. And she has already been an
innovative risk taker. Many of the phrases I have just used to describe Jasmine
might well elicit a few “anything but thats” from people who have heard these
grand abstractions hundreds of times and read them in viewbooks and branding initiatives
from schools around the world. But it is one thing to mouth abstractions. It is
something else to live in ways that define what the abstractions mean:
There are very few in the US who
chose to leave home to do an exchange program while in high school. There are
few in the US who chose to do an academic summer program in another country
while still in high school. There are few high school students in the US who
look to jailed journalists like Roxana Saberi as a hero.
If Jasmine serves as concrete proof
that global citizens exist in the real world, she also serves to call into
question some of the less than flattering stereotypes I read and hear about all
too often from educators and others who should know better. For example, I have
read quite a few comments in the last several months from educators who believe
that anyone who travels abroad is doing
so just to look good for college admission officers. Others say that enrollment
in summer programs at prestigious schools is a sign of privilege and that the experience
is not valuable to the student and should not be used by the colleges for an
admission plus. I think anyone reading
Jasmine’s words (and anyone who took the time to actually talk to her) would
find that she has been altered significantly by her experiences both in California
and at Northwestern. She has gained a broader perspective and learned things
that will help her in school and in life. In addition, Jasmine certainly understands what matters most when selecting a college. her words about fit are music to the ears of anyone who cares about students and education.
At the same time, Jasmine undercuts some stereotypes
about Asians students. She is a proactive leader who is willing to take chances and reach out to
people. I know this from experience. Because I write a lot on this blog about issues related
to stereotypes and Asians and because I have been interviewed by some high profile media,
Jasmine reached out to me to interview me about a story she was working on about
discriminations against Asians. I was so impressed with her questions, her experiences
and her commitment to learning that I followed up and asked to interview her. She said yes and I grateful. I
would like to thank Jasmine for teaching me about her own experiences but also
letting us all know about approaches to education that should serve to inspire
others. Whatever college is lucky enough to enroll her will benefit from her
presence. I look forward to following her continued success in the coming
years.
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| Jasmine walking with classmates on a science fieldtrip |
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