Flashbacks of High School – 3 Alumni Speaking About Their Past Lives at SMIC
We often think of a moment as a snapshot captured by our memories. Indeed – they reflect how we feel about ourselves and the current world around us. It can be difficult, though, to remember all the remarkable moments of high school due to its sheer number. For three SMIC graduates, high school is a time of self-discovery and exploration. They share their nostalgic memories of high school and the important lessons they learned over the past four years.
Jessica Hung (SMIC 21’)
Alumnus Jessica Hung (SMIC 21′) is currently a junior at UC San Diego. When talking about her past life at SMIC, she asserts that being at SMIC definitely prepared her for the transition to college-level courses and environment. “Because SMIC is a very close-knit community where most students have some connection to alumni, it’s easier to jump right into college life if you know someone from the same high school,” Jessica states. It makes her college life a little less intimidating at first because she had to interact with people from different cultural backgrounds. Plus, she often remembers the methods she learned back then when struggling with academics, especially math. “I still miss Mr. Luo’s lectures when I took Precalculus and AP Calculus BC here. Those were my favorite classes and they helped me a lot now.”
In addition to the academic benefits, Jessica points out that high school brings so many notable memories. “From participating in competitions with my friends to playing team sports after school to eating lunch with friends in the classroom every day… I miss every bit of it!” And as for extracurricular activities, she states that participating in the World Scholar’s Cup and IGEM were very valuable experiences. These ECs have helped her develop critical thinking skills that are applicable in many fields and figure out what academic paths she wants to pursue in college. “I am grateful that SMIC offers us a variety of activities, and I am still benefiting from them,” Jessica says.
When asked about the most important thing she learned in her four years of high school, Jessica advises, “Do not waste time on things that do not interest you just because you saw someone else is doing it.” She believes the most important thing is to find the courses/activities that best suit one’s interest. She also offers sage advice for underclassmen, “cherish the time with your friends and enjoy every moment! Life in college will be very different (maybe even harder) because you’ll have to juggle academics, social, and many other little things at the same time.”
Sarah Lin (SMIC 21’)
Alumnus Sarah Lin (SMIC 21′) is currently a junior at the University of Southern California. As for the academic aspect, Sarah addresses the course that has best prepared her for college is AP Seminar. “Mr. Sanders used the Toulmin Method to teach us critical thinking, writing and presentation skills, which are very useful in daily life.” The Socratic seminars have also prepared her for college discussion groups, where students and professor sit together to have academic conversations. Meanwhile, Sarah mentions that her fondest memories of SMIC were the cornerstone project for her sophomore literature class with her friends Nina Liao and Elizabeth. “We did a modern adaptation of Julius Caesar about an imaginary World War III. Each character was represented by a country. Thanks to Elizabeth’s and Nina’s love of MUN, we were able to portray the conflict and compromise of nation-states in the form of reader’s theater,” she adds.
In terms of meaningful extracurricular activities that she has participated in at SMIC, Sarah shared her experience as the vice president of the Spanish Club. She worked with the club president and Spanish Club members to organize her club’s first “Dia de Los Muertos” exhibit, which consisted of art galleries, performances, and traditional pastries. “The exhibit was so successful that we were invited to exhibit at the Shanghai Life-Hub Mall, where they opened DIY workshops in the Shanghai community and taught children to make marigold flowers out of paper that symbolized loved ones.” In addition to the success in her position as vice president of the Spanish club, Sarah adds that the experience she gained at the World Scholar’s Cup was also valuable. “Not only did I improve my debating and creative writing skills, but I also broadened my horizons by meeting other people and learning about different cultures,” she says. As the first-place winner of the East Asian teams during the Global Round, Sarah and her teammates founded the WSC Club to teach underclassmen how to improve their debating, writing, and academic skills.
The most important thing Sarah has learned from SMIC is to share and listen to innovative ideas. She points out that SMIC teachers always encourage students to think from different perspectives, present opinions, discuss with each other, and give constructive feedback. “Activities like TedxSMIC really provide a platform to communicate and disseminate ideas.” Her advice for underclassmen, especially rising seniors and juniors: “It’s really important to network in college. Do not be afraid to reach out to your professors and get to know them. Go to professors’ office hours, ask questions, or stay a few minutes after class to chat with the professor.” Certainly, networking is critical to one’s development, “when you need letters of recommendation or internship opportunities, professors know you better and are more likely to help you,” she advises.
Samantha Cheng (SMIC 21’)
Alumnus Samantha Cheng (SMIC 21′) is currently a junior at Rutgers University. According to Samantha, the AP courses that offered at SMIC and the teaching method that most of the teachers used are good preparations for her college studies. “I did not feel like there was too much difference between high school and college life, other than the relatively greater freedom we get.” Her favorite courses at SMIC were AP Statistics and AP Seminar because “Mr. Zimmer and Mr. Sanders are both great teachers who are inspiring and teach the material in an engaging way,” and the knowledge she has learned are extremely useful for college. “Knowing how to interpret statistics has helped me in the biology lab, while the experience in writing research papers and giving presentations has made writing courses much easier,” Samantha suggests.
Apart from academics, her time on the badminton team made up her fondest memories at SMIC. “It brought back my passion for badminton and allowed me to become friends with some of the best people I’ve known so far.” Furthermore, Samantha mentions the Lighthouse program that SMIC used to offer as the most meaningful extracurricular activity she had participated in at SMIC. “It provided me the chance to intern with companies over the summer of my sophomore year. Although the position I interned for was pure interest and has nothing to do with my current major, it still helped me to gain a sense of what kind of environment I would like to work in in the future. Plus, it would look good on your resume.”
Samantha believes that growing connections will make our lives easier in every way. Whether it’s upperclassmen, underclassmen, people our age, teachers, or other school staff, try to get to know them and maintain good relationships with them. We never know when they may be able to help you, but they definitely will at some point. Her advice to underclassmen is to “focus on yourself, do your best, and sleep well.” Of course, there will be many moments when we have to compete and are under pressure, and we will not necessarily win every time. “It may be frustrating, but I would say as long as you did your best, at least you will not regret it. The only thing you can really do is sleep well, eat well and make sure you are physically and mentally healthy. Pulling all-nighters and not eating is not cool, but going to bed before midnight every night and exercising every day is.”