Flora W: Art Scholar
On Friday 1st of April 2022, we were delighted to have a short interview with Flora W. Flora is a year 13 student at Dulwich International High School Suzhou who has recently received a stunning series of six offers from top international Art schools (including Pratt and Parsons) in America and the UK, with scholarships totaling an incredible $240,000.
Flora is passionate about 3D design and creating designs that can be brought to life in the real world. It is no surprise then, that her major is 3D Printed Product Design.
“I can make something in my mind and turn it into a real object.”
Flora’s path toward this major was a long one, that she started when she was just a small child:
"I really like art. I found out that I had a talent for it when I was young. When my mom found out that I enjoyed art so much, she encouraged me and sent me to art classes when I was just three years old. I learned a lot over many years and achieved the highest possible grade level in the sketching examinations.”
Flora continued to find intense pleasure in art and animation at middle school and decided to apply to Dulwich because of the excellent reputation of our art department. Flora explained that:
“Dulwich has provided me with the platform I needed to get into an excellent art college. Dulwich helped me to understand the direction I wanted to take. Initially, I thought I wanted to study illustration, because of my love of drawing. But while I’m good at observational drawing, I’m not good at creating things in that medium. I’m more focused on real things in the physical world.”
Flora’s Mother was a thorough source of inspiration for her decision to study 3D Product Design. Her mother was able to find a mentor for Flora, who had industry experience in 3D product design, who explained in detail the program she followed at university.
“She did some product design for Disney, which I found fascinating.”
Yearbook CCA
Flora found the CCA program at Dulwich helpful when it came to her university applications:
“When I was in Year 11, I joined the Yearbook CCA. In the first year, I was the team photographer. The following year, I was much more involved with the design of the Yearbook. ”
The school Yearbook is a Dulwich tradition that takes a huge amount of work to complete. The Yearbook is a wonderful way for staff and students to reflect on the year that has passed and consider both the highs and the lows they have been through together. It creates an enduring snapshot of activities and experiences at our school.
Flora was also involved with Video Challenge and was responsible for taking photographs to promote the event.
In terms of hobbies and interests, Flora loves music and deeply enjoys both listening to, and playing music. She is an accomplished piano player who enjoys composing her own music. However, Flora explained that she had never considered pursuing music at university, due to her intense focus on 3D product design.
Flora is a major fan of Marvel Movies, but “The Ancient One” in Doctor Strange is her absolute favorite character in the franchise. She loves the creativity of the incredible CGI graphics in these movies.
Flora told us exactly how she thought Dulwich had helped her to be a better university applicant. She believes that the key is the way that our school helped her to develop confidence in her own abilities.
Mrs. Gibson, Flora’s Graphic Design Teacher
Flora was full of praise for Mrs. Gibson, her graphic design teacher. She explained that Mrs. Gibson consistently provided her with valuable feedback on her work, feedback that often directed her toward higher standards of creative achievement. Flora finds the art and design department at Dulwich incredibly supportive.
“I appreciate that Mrs. Gibson really helps me a lot! When I’m trying to do something, she really encourages me to develop my ideas. We all start at the same point but produce quite different outcomes!”
This is what Mrs. Gibson had to say about Flora:
"Flora has that rare combination of natural ability, creative intelligence and a passion for design’. She is thirsty for challenge and the first to complete her homework assignments. My job as her teacher was to extend her experiences and set the right extension tasks that would challenge her and help her strengthen her skill set. Flora is a good all round design student. She particularly excels in digital design and can quickly visualize her ideas using traditional and digital drawing techniques. Flora has worked extremely hard to reach the level of success she has achieved. I have no doubt she will carry this enthusiasm and magnificent work ethic through to university and beyond."
Support from the Counselling Department
Flora’s university counsellor is Mr. Coffey (who also runs Application essay writing and Counselling Life Skills classes).
“Mr. Coffey always supported me through every step of the application process. If I had any questions he always responded quickly and positively. I had to write a lot of different applications because I applied to universities in both the US and the UK. Mr. Coffey was always there to help me and made the entire process less stressful for me.”
Advice for Younger Students
Given that Flora has done so well, gaining six offers from some of the finest art schools in the world, earning nearly a quarter of a million dollars of scholarships in the process, she is ideally placed to give advice for younger students can emulate.
“If you know want to apply to art college in the future, start building your skills now. The soon you made the decision the study art, you can start focusing on your portfolio. Even in Year 10, you can start planning for it, so it’s not so stressful in the future! Research artists, find out what you are interested in and immerse yourself in the subject.”
One of the wonderful things about interviewing our students is how incredibly diverse their skills and interests are, each one of them is unique with their own remarkable talents. We can’t wait to see what Flora does in the future.
