Keystone Magazine The_Keystone-07 | Page 23

Graduate Profile Steven Shi Embodying a Spirit of Service at Keystone Bridging Cultures: cultural heritage. The life-changing decision to From Public School to Keystone attend Keystone proved to be a perfect fit for Steven. A native Beijinger and member of one of Keystone’s “The biggest change for me coming from public founding families, Steven Shi began his tenure at school was the boarding environment,” Steven the Academy when he was in Grade 8. As a young said. “When I was in public school, the school day child, his inquisitive nature about the world around hours were much longer. In boarding school, I was him grew into a zest for all things related to the initially overwhelmed with the amount of free time pursuit of knowledge. It also fostered in young I had, but Keystone gradually taught me how to Steven an appreciation and humbleness of spirit manage my time and use a planner for instance to that encouraged him to share his budding scholar- schedule events, homework, and extracurricular ship with family members and peers. activities. The weekend activities program was also quite new to me, and Keystone allowed me to Before his journey to Keystone, Steven found explore more meaningful activities that I was never himself in the throes of life in a Chinese public exposed to before.” school. At public school, there were limited oppor- tunities and support to explore his passions and connect with fellow peers, leading Steven and his In Residence: Global Ambassador family to look for other opportunities to expand his life experiences. His calm demeanor and desire to Since leaving public school in 2014 and joining the cultivate a more wholesome academic and personal ranks of other curious peers at Keystone, Steven has life led him to Keystone, where he was attracted grown to be a student role model not only for his to the school’s unique educational infrastructure, peers but also for his teachers and other members mission statement, and bilingual environment, of the faculty and staff at the school. His natural allowing him to exercise his linguistic skills while disposition is cheery yet pensive, and always retaining and learning more about his Chinese accompanied by an eagerness to help a classmate The Keystone Magazine 19