By Mark Ma 12A
Our three years of learning in NanMo’s British Columbia program has almost come to an end. Throughout those years of dedication in our academic courses, NanMo students have proven to be very hardworking and successful. The 79 graduates of 2020 received over 509 offers from outstanding universities throughout the world and received over 951,430 Canadian dollars in scholarships. As a part of the NanMo community, I am proud of the achievements of my classmates and peers who have cooperated with me since the very beginning of our high school journey. Although it doesn’t necessarily mean that I have worked in teams with each of the 78 other students during my three years at NanMo, everyone in the school has contributed to the success and future of the school by trying their best to obtain personal achievements. I was very fortunate to interview some of my friends to better understand their three years at NanMo and their perspectives on the university offers they have received.
To begin with, Andy Zhang from 12A earnestly shared his opinion related to his experience at NanMo. When I asked him if he believed that NanMo was a great place for students’ future development, he strongly agreed that three years of learning at our school had taught him a lot and had particularly helped him develop his analytical thinking skills and learn specific knowledge in his areas of interest. To be specific, Andy commented that his interest in history was further supported by NanMo’s AP World History course and Social Studies classes in grade 10 and 11. Abundant class choices enabled him to acquire a better understanding towards different time periods in history. While World History mainly focuses on 1450-1850, Social Studies courses addressed more contemporary issues and 20th century events. Therefore, he is really satisfied with the way classes were organized at NanMo. Andy shared that he is still dreaming of going to Harvard or Stanford University for higher education, but for now, he was admitted into the Art and Science Program of the University of Toronto. It is wonderful to see how ambitious Andy is towards his future and I hope that he will achieve his goals.
Then, I would like to share my personal experience at NanMo. When I entered NanMo for the first time, I had no idea about my future. I did not make careful preparations for the Grade 10 classes, nor did I work really hard at the beginning. Later, I decided that my aim was to apply and receive offers from to the top three universities in Canada: the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Waterloo. I have to admit that I only partially achieved my goal because I didn’t expect the fierce competition that this year brought and because I found it particularly difficult to take several AP courses at the same time. Nevertheless, I will never regret taking the challenging courses I chose in grade 12 because high school and university studies are really only a portion of one’s entire life. Hard work and great efforts will still be required to keep on climbing and learning! Despite the increasing competition around the world to get spots in the best universities, I have no doubt that administrators, teachers, and students at NanMo will keep on innovating to keep making the school better and to keep on getting outstanding offers and scholarships. The ones we have received so far this year definitely show how strong and competitive NanMo students are and we should all be proud of the work that we’ve accomplished together. Let’s go NanMo, let’s go!