This year, school began a little earlier for the incoming tenth and eleventh grade scholarship applicants. On August 29th, they reported back to SHSID to prepare for the scholarship selection session.

Many students applied for awards such as the academic award, social activity award, and principal’s list award during the 2018-2019 school year. The academic award requires excellent academic performance; the social activity award is GPA blind and requires avid participation in activities inside as well as outside of school, while the principal’s list award requires both outstanding academic achievements and activities.

On the day of the oral defense, these applicants went to the new Zhentao Building to go through a selection process. Each applicant had to present a speech for 3 minutes in front of numerous teachers, parents, and students, as well as answer questions for 2 minutes. Although a total of 5 minutes for each applicant seemed relatively short, it allowed judges to see the most quintessential and exceptional aspects of each applicant. The judges asked thought-provoking questions such as “what makes you different from others?” and “which activity do you truly love?”.

Regardless of the results of the selections, this was a rewarding and meaningful experience for all of the participants. Having the students reflect on their academic lives and give such important presentations to a room of teachers, students, and parents was undoubtedly a good way to wrap up and reflect on the previous school year, while also preparing for a brand new one. Moreover, student judges also had an opportunity to learn from their peers and be inspired by all the applicants.

The scholarship program ensures that grades will never be students’ Achilles heel. While grades might be the specialty of some students, other students can excel in so many different ways. The scholarship program acknowledges that as long as students can excel in their activities, they can gain the recognition they deserve. To promote comprehensive development of students is the underlying philosophy of the SHSID scholarship program. The academic award motivates students to study hard, the activity award motivates students to pursue excellence in their fields of interest, and the principal’s list encourages students to become more well-rounded individuals.

(Written by Victoria Lan and Jessie Wang Pictures by Yu Zhen Supervised by Xie Junyu)