Kristen W Accepted into WUSTL

The content below is provided by a journalist from hatong-shsx

What's your impression of a typical art student? What about a computer expert? You’ll be surprised how a girl can combine art and computers perfectly! She is Kristen W, who recently received an offer to study an interaction design major at Washington University in St. Louis.

According to the latest US news university rankings in 2021, Washington University in St. Louis ranks as the 16th best University in the United States.  Interaction design combines art and computer science and is a relatively cutting-edge major.

It’s a practical design method that involves the interaction process between designers and products. It is used to solve the problem of how people and machines can interact more conveniently and simply in specific scenarios.

Sam fox College of Washington University in St. Louis is a leader in interaction design. This major not only requires students to have artistic abilities but also computing skills, standardized results and a specific GPA. The school is not ordinary, the major is not ordinary, and the student Kristen who can be admitted is quite extraordinary. It all started when she entered Dulwich International High School Suzhou.

Entering Dulwich from a public-school background

The transformation of an introverted girl

Last week, we interviewed Kristen. Different from our stereotypical image of a good student, we saw youth and sunshine in Kristen. Who would have thought that a girl who had never been in deep contact with computers before high school would be admitted to the interaction design major of Washington University in St. Louis?

Kristen attended junior high school at the Experimental Junior Middle School of Suzhou Hi-Tech & New District. She joined Dulwich International High School Suzhou after this. Students who change from the public system to international schools, face different problems from those who have always been in the international school system. There are great differences in both the language environment and curriculum, as well as different learning objectives.

When asked why she chose Dulwich International High School Suzhou, Kristen provided us with a good set of reasons for her choice of school:

"My best friend went to Dulwich International High School Suzhou. She has been studying in Dulwich for four years. Through in-depth understanding, I found that the vision of Dulwich and my dream high school fitted together perfectly.

Dulwich is famous for being one of the top international high schools in Suzhou. The English teaching environment is also more conducive for me to adapt and prepare for my future life of studying abroad. That’s why I chose to study here. "

Yes, this is the way to choose a school. No matter how many official introductions, they are not as good as a living example to tell you: this school is really great!

It is also a good thing for parents, who want to switch their children to international schools, but have little experience to refer to: "In junior high school, I was a little timid and didn't dare to express myself. I didn’t want to participate in any activities. I seldom expressed my views actively. “   Kristen commented. But this timid and shy little girl is obviously different from the confident and generous girl we see today. All these changes are due to the transformation she experience at Dulwich International High School Suzhou.

Cut through the thorns and upgrade

Inspire infinite potential with the encouragement of teachers

Kristen also encountered the problem of changing school systems, because when she came to Dulwich, her language environment suddenly became English, and it took about two months for her to catch up with the teachers.

Of course, she was not alone during this period.

"The teachers speak slowly and help us adapt. The school used to implement English Only Fridays, that is, speaking English all Friday. If teachers and staff see students not speaking English, they would remind us and there were some measures to promote our communication in English. "

In addition to helping students improve their language ability, our school also makes great efforts to cultivate students' critical thinking skills and helps to shape their characters, so that students dare to express themselves and dare to question. This shaped the Kristen we see today. 

"Dulwich cultivates your critical thinking. For example, in math class or chemistry classes, if you have different ideas about experiments or school life, you can raise your hand and communicate directly with the teacher or even the director to express your ideas! “

"In Dulwich, no matter how well you do, as long as you try your best, the teacher will encourage you and say that you have done a great job. For example, when I was in junior high school and primary school, I was always worried that I would be blamed for not doing well. "

Perhaps, it was only in this free atmosphere that promotes critical-thinking, that Kristen could go all the way from a timid little girl to an excellent student who has won an offer from a prestigious university. It can be seen that the school's concept and learning atmosphere have had a great impact.

When we mentioned the major of interaction design, Kristen was very excited:

In the beginning, Kristen got good grades at Dulwich, but it was her first-time studying computing, and her grades in computing were less than ideal. But after four years of study, she was admitted to the interactive major combined with design and computing.  For this, Dulwich International High School Suzhou must take credit.

Dulwich International High School Suzhou’s A-level course allows students to choose three elective subjects from physics, chemistry, biology, art, music, geography, economics, computing and psychology. The professional computing teachers at our school can code as simple as drinking water and encourage students to actively participate in various practical activities!

Kristen, who has been fond of art and painting since she was a child, has been improving her computer skills. It's very suitable to study interaction design.

Founder of AWB club

Loving and enthusiastic

How does Kristen differ from a typical academically strong student? She not only has good grades but is also willing to contribute and realize her values in various activities. When it comes to life at our school, Kristen was beaming as she introduced us to the interesting things that happened to her.

Kristen founded AWB (art without boundaries) during her freshman year in high school. This charitable organization was originally a simple idea. Now the scale of the club has reached more than 100 people and is approved and funded by the school. The club teaches migrant worker’s children art at primary schools over the weekends. With the consent of the children, they made their works into canvas bags and sold them in school. The funds were used to buy the children's painting supplies and equipment.

It's been about three years since Year 10.

Dulwich International High School Suzhou demonstrates the original intention of running a school, letting the children have the courage to express themselves, letting the children find their own value. This is not a school where every student ends up the same, it is a school that offers everything students need to grow and thrive. This is what Dulwich International High School Suzhou is all about.