Here at BWYA, we are extremely proud of all of our graduates and we enjoy keeping a close relationship with our alumni and hearing about all they are doing once they have left BWYA to go to university or have embarked on their career after college. This summer we have been catching up with some of our graduates who are now living all over the world to hear all about what they are currently up to. So in a new series of articles, we'd like to share their stories with you in the BWYA Alumni Insight.

For our first Alumni Insight, we spoke with Tom Zhang who was part of the Class Of 2014 before moving to the US to study Biology. Recently he has graduated from Johns Hopkins University with honors. As an outstanding graduate, he has also got the invitation from Phi Beta Kappa (PBK).

Q: Can you introduce yourself please and tell us what you are doing at the moment?

A: Hi everyone, my name is Tom Zhang. I came to BWYA in 2007 when I was in grade 6 and I graduated in 2014 after finishing DP2, a total of 7 years studying at BWYA!

I have just graduated from Johns Hopkins University this past May with a major in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Right now I'm taking a gap year, doing some research, and at the end of this year, I will be applying to PhD programmes in biology or bioengineering.

Q: How do you think your time at BWYA has helped you get to where you are now?

A: I think the entire IB Programme offered at BWYA really helped me a lot. Unlike the individual AP courses, the IB Programme is a more complete system.

I had to take not only the science courses that I liked, but also other courses including language, literature, humanities, social sciences and arts. These courses allowed me to have more understanding and appreciation for all these other fields and basically prevented me from becoming someone like Sheldon [from the TV show, Big Bang Theory], a science nerd who completely lacks humanitarian care. To be honest, I think it takes just as much systematic and critical thinking skills, if not more, to study Eileen Chang or the history of Mesopotamia than to understand a biology paper. Science students are also required to take courses in humanities and social sciences in college, and the comprehensive training I received at BWYA has helped me substantially in these courses.

Another important thing was my biology Extended Essay on the contribution of trichomes on leaves of Pistia stratiotes on their buoyancy and water repellency. It was my first time doing scientific research in a systematic fashion and the process gave me an idea of the time and persistence biology research takes.

Q: Are there any BWYA staff members that you would say influenced you and your university studies?

A: I was so lucky to have had so many great teachers in my years at BWYA. Our homeroom teacher Ms. April, our Chinese teacher Ms. Shi, our grade 6 humanities teacher the late Mr. Sargis, and the list goes on. But of course, I must mention our beloved biology teacher Mr. Moore. It was his classes that made me pick the path of biology. My passion and determination would never have been so strong if it wasn't for him. I believe anyone who has taken his classes would understand.

Q: And how about some memorable moments?

A: I really enjoyed the time when I was doing my EE experiments. I would stay in the biology classroom after school, shave off the trichomes from pistia leaves with old-fashioned Gillette razor blades and measure their buoyancy. The classroom was usually quiet and you could see the outside slowly getting darker from the windows. It was really nice to have some peaceful and relaxing time like this during the stressful years of DP.

Q: Is there any advice you would like to pass on to BWYA's current students?

A: I think the most important thing I've learnt over the 4 years of college is that everything takes time and effort. If you want to do well in a class, you must put in the time to study, to memorize and to understand. Do not laugh at memorization. It is not dumb. Memorization is the foundation of understanding.

For instance, from the point of view of a bio student, if you can't even remember what each amino acid looks like, how can you possibly understand its chemical properties and roles in a protein? Since there is only limited time for us to allocate, we must learn to make choices and compromises. Of course, this is not at all to say that you should spend all your time studying. In fact, the friends you will meet in college are possibly the most valuable thing college life can bring.

在世青，我们为每一位毕业生感到骄傲。他们从世青启航，迈入大学，踏入职场，开启人生新篇章。世青校友们如今在世界各地生活，我们非常高兴和他们保持紧密联系。这个暑假，我们邀请到其中几位“回家做客”，分享他们的精彩故事。

作为首期采访，我们邀请到2014级校友 Tom Zhang。他今年5月，从美国约翰霍普金斯大学分子细胞生物专业毕业，并获评“约翰霍普金斯大学年度荣誉毕业生”，收到全美杰出毕业生协会（PBK）的入会邀请。

问：你可以介绍一下自己，以及你的近况吗？

答：大家好，我叫 Tom Zhang。2007年，我来到世青，从6年级念到12年级，并在2014年毕业。回头看，整整7年的世青时光！今年5月，我从美国约翰霍普金斯大学分子细胞生物专业毕业。如今，我正开始我的间隔年计划，做一些调研。年底，我将申请生物或生物工程方面的博士项目。

问：这一路走来，你认为世青是如何帮助到你的？

答：我觉得世青所提供的国际文凭大学预科项目，对我帮助真的很大。和美国大学预修课程（AP）的独立选课不同，国际文凭大学预科项目的课程是一个更完整的体系。

除了我喜欢的科学课，我还要修读语言、文学、人文、社会科学及艺术等课程。这些课程让我对其他领域有了更多的理解和认识，而不是和《生活大爆炸》里的谢尔顿一样，精通科学而缺乏人文关怀。在我看来，学习张爱玲的作品或研究两河流域的历史，所需要的系统性及批判性思维一点也不比读生物文献少。在大学，人文类和社科类课程也是必修，而我在世青所接受到的全面化教育，恰好能帮助我更好地学习这些课程。

另一件对我帮助很大的事情，是我的生物拓展论文，研究主题为“大漂叶面绒毛对其浮力与疏水性的作用”。这是我第一次系统性地做科学研究，整个过程让我体会到了做科研所需要的时间和坚持，也让我明白了未来学生物所会面临的挑战。

问：有没有哪一位世青老师，对你产生了巨大的影响，甚至是影响了你的大学专业选择？

答：我很幸运，在世青遇到了这么多好老师。我依然很感谢我们的班主任 Ms. April、中文老师 Ms. Shi、6年级时的人文老师 Mr. Sargis 等等，名单可以一直列下去……不过当然，不得不提的是我们敬爱的生物老师 Mr. Moore。他的课，让我对生物学产生了浓厚的兴趣，并让我下定决心走生物这条路。我相信上过他的课的人都能明白为什么。

问：在世青，你有哪些难忘的时刻？

答：我真的很享受做拓展论文实验时的时光。放学后，我会继续留在生物教室，用老式的吉列刀片，把大漂叶子上的绒毛一点点刮干净，然后测量叶子的浮力。教室里很安静，望向窗外，你会发现天慢慢变黑。在紧张的高中学习期间，能有这样安静放松的时间，分外难得。

问：作为过来人，你对在校的世青学子有什么样的建议？

答：我觉得，我在四年的大学生涯中学到的最重要的一点是——做任何事情，时间和精力的投入必不可少。如果你想在学业上表现出色，你必须花时间去学，去背，去理解。不要觉得背东西很可笑，很愚蠢；熟记是理解的基础。

举我自己的例子来说，作为生物学生，如果你都记不住每个氨基酸的结构，那你又怎能理解它们的化学性质和在蛋白质中的作用呢？因为每个人的时间是有限的，你必须学会做出选择和取舍。当然，这不是说你应该把时间都花在学习上。事实上，你在大学里遇见的朋友，可能会是你这段学习生涯中，最宝贵的财富。