School & Program: Undecided at Vanderbilt University 
Born: Vancouver, BC
Meadowridge Student Since: Grade 8
House: Alouette

Tell us about your time at Meadowridge. 

I came to Meadowridge from an international school in Shanghai, China. I went from a cohort of 250 students to a very small one! On my first day of school, I entered class late and ended up alone at a table. That’s when one of my classmates moved spots to sit with me at the table. This small act made me feel so welcome. We went on our Week Without Walls (WWOW) trip shortly after. From then on, I had a lot of friends. At Meadowridge, I played on the basketball team and enjoyed Design. Of course, I also joined the school during the pandemic, so I distinctly remember doing PHE classes in my basement for a time.

What’s it like being a student at Meadowridge? 

One of the main things about being a Meadowridge student is that you become well-rounded. You may think you have a specific interest or aren’t good at something, but Meadowridge pushes you to try new things. When I entered the Diploma Programme (DP), I never thought I would like to study chemistry. I knew nothing about it back then. But Ms. Mohoruk had such a unique and humorous way of teaching. Any subject can be fun if the teacher knows how to teach it. My interest in Chemistry went from 0 to 95!

What will you always remember from your time here?

My trebuchet project in Grades 8 and 9 Design. This project really clutches me. I chose a complicated floating arm trebuchet that, at first, didn’t work at all. It actually went backwards, not forwards. After spending a lot of time after school working on the trebuchet with my partner (we were determined!), we broke the record. Design was such an exciting class where I used my hands and brain like never before. It was my favourite class.

Tell us about an experience that shaped you.

Serving on Student Council. I started as a general member, then vice president and later president. At my old school, being on the council meant planning school dances and spirit week. While that’s part of being on the council at Meadowridge, there is also a lot of focus on social justice issues and awareness. I was hesitant at first to take on a leadership position because I didn’t know about these issues. Still, I realized we’re all learning together, and people are open to helping you understand.

Choosing a school and program is quite the journey—tell us yours.   

To be completely honest, when I was applying, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I chose to apply to biological sciences because for most of high school, I’ve been interested in pursuing in the pre-med track. However, in the past year or so, I realized that I have so many other interests—some STEM, and others completely unrelated—that I love just as much as pre-med. Some of those include material sciences and film production. So, when it came down to choosing an institution, the flexibility of being able to explore and having a multitude of options was my top priority—and Vanderbilt University seems like a marvelous fit.

What are you most looking forward to in the year ahead? In the future? 

To move and live in Nashville! One of my friends from my grade is also going to be studying there and it feels awesome to have someone who you know on campus as well. Nashville is also known as the Music City and as I love music composition, I can already see myself thriving there. Through undergrad, I look forward to becoming a holistically educated person and after that, I will perhaps pursue med school. I just know that in the future, I want to become a person who uses all my knowledge to be of service to our society.

What words of wisdom would you pass on to Meadowridge students? 

Most things are simply improbable, not impossible—if you are willing to take a risk.