Introduce yourself in one sentence, please.
My name is Grace, I’ve been at AAS for 9 years now, and I am a Senior this year.

Can you tell us a little bit about your experience at AAS and what you love most about the school?
I have seen the school change quite a bit over the years but the attributes about AAS that have stuck with me the most over the years are its incredible diversity and sense of community. I have always felt like I have had a place at AAS no matter what, and no matter how difficult school or my personal life got, I’ve always felt that there were teachers and students here who were looking out for me and how I was doing. That sense of community is hard to find, but I really feel it at AAS.

What do you think is the most important thing one has to learn at school?
Personally, I’ve always believed the social skills one learns at school is important above all. Learning to be a good communicator and getting the chance to work collaboratively are invaluable skills that I think everyone should have the chance to learn at school.

What have you found to be most surprising/unexpected about AAS?
For me, the most surprising thing about AAS has been its commitment to improvement. Since first joining the AAS community, I have seen new buildings and facilities built almost every single year, and I feel that AAS has constantly tried to receive feedback and improve even the smallest details about the school. I wasn’t expecting to be part of such an adaptive and resilient community and school.

What are your plans? Do you feel prepared to face new challenges?
Well, my biggest goal in life is to pursue visual arts as a career. I want to go to university in Asia, like my brother, and art is something I hope to pursue in university and build my career in. I feel that the IB program and AAS as a whole has prepared me for a lot of this and that I’ve gained a lot of life skills being here, but I guess I won’t know how prepared I am until I move into the next phase of my life. Overall, I feel that the skills I’ve gained here have been invaluable in preparing me for this next phase.