Spotlights type: Alumni stories

What a reunion after 16 years! Karen Leung, our YCIS Hong Kong alumna from class of 2003, was one of the first groups of students  to go through the tremendous changes Yew Chung had. Recently, she finally had the chance to meet with a former senior management member of ours, Dr Gary Morrison, whom he was the reason for those changes happened in Yew Chung!

It truly was a heart touching moment to see them catch up and talk about what Yew Chung Education really means to them!

Dr Morrison joined Yew Chung in 1997 as the Head of Admission, Promotion and Marketing and later initiated the University Guidance Counsellor programme and served the first three batches of Year 13 graduates, with great success in putting YCIS schools on the global map with a remarkable record of university placements. He then took up the important role in 2004 as the Founding Chairman of the College Governing Council and Supervisor of Yew Chung Community College (YCCC), and later played an instrumental role since 2013 in the development of the new degree-awarding college, Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education (YCCECE).

From Shanghai to Seoul and now in Hong Kong, Ho Jun has settled in various cities. Through Ho Jun’s story, you will be able to know more about the field of finance and the experience of settling in different cities. He showed us with his very own experience on what it’s like to take new risk and what it takes to achieve our goals!

Hi I’m Ho Jun and I graduated from YCIS Shanghai in 2011 after six years of study. After graduation, I returned to Korea for college and finished the military service. Currently, I work at an investment bank in Hong Kong since March this year. What I do is quite straight forward; I work in the investment banking division where I provide solutions to financial problems that various clients may face, usually in relations to risk management, M&A, or financing.

The Work

To be honest, I never thought that I’d become an investment banker. While in college, I majored in international relations, interned at UNESCO and was keen to take an exam to enter the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; all I did was to prepare myself to become a diplomat! But it was only after my military service, when I came to realise that I wanted to work in a more open and fast-paced environment, and banking was a very good fit.

I started to do my own research and joined a corporate finance club in my college, where I had the chance to meet more people in the world of finance. I also had an alumnus from college who was working in a private equity fund and was willing to provide mentorship. He gave me an overview of the industry and introduced me to people who could provide further guidance. Having said that, I have to acknowledge that I was very lucky to have such supportive and inspiring people around me. Although I didn’t really start off wanting to become an investment banker and was quite behind in both knowledge and experience, I was able to pick things up fairly quickly. I think once you have an idea of what you want to do, you should strategize early on to meet the right people and access the right resources.

It’s funny how people easily develop stereotypes about banking or finance in general. Even before I started to prepare for this career, I encountered many people who portray bankers as greedy and unfaithful group of people who would value money above all else, like the movie The Wolf of Wall Street. But in reality, investment banking is not so different from any other jobs, not to mention that the work culture varies significantly across teams, banks and regions. We often work very late hours to provide client services, to approach clients with financial or strategic proposals, and to execute live transactions. Personally, I’ve learnt a lot from the senior bankers in terms of their work ethics, communication skills, as well as analytical mindset. As a junior banker, I’m often pressed for time to meet certain goals, and have to work anytime when the clients or senior bankers make a request. Banking in general is similar to other professional services in the sense that there is a strong focus on client service, which could be stressful sometimes.

If you are planning to pursue this career, you have to be ready to sacrifice a lot of sleep and freedom. Start learning about this career by reaching out to people who know more about this industry. This is the easiest way to gain not only knowledge, but also access to the relevant resources you need. Ironically, you need good internship experience to find good internship positions, but don’t be afraid. Have your resume reviewed by people in the industry and keep improving it. Banking resume is quite standardised, so follow the conventions as you continue to beef it up, until you’re fully satisfied with it.

During your internships, make sure to familiarize yourself with the presentations and spreadsheets that were previously drafted by people at the company. It’s important to leverage on these precedents when you deliver any work. Also, be responsive; there could be constant requests from analysts and associates that may overwhelm you. Let them be aware of your capacity and when you expect to deliver. Effective communication is really important. This is something I’m still working on as well, but try to phrase your thoughts in a succinct and clear manner in both email and verbal communication. Last but not least, be ready to live with sleep deprivation!

The Life

Up to now, I have lived in Seattle, Shanghai, Seoul and Hong Kong. I decided to move to Hong Kong and pursue a career because I felt that Hong Kong, being the financial hub of Asia, would provide me with broader exposure to cross-border transactions and would allow me to work with a more diverse pool of colleagues. I can confidently say that most entry-level bankers in the Asia-Pacific region would prefer working in Hong Kong than in anywhere else.

It is always exciting to move into a new environment. Frankly speaking, Hong Kong isn’t completely new to me given its vicinity to both mainland China and Korea. But it is always great to explore new cities, make new friends and experience something different from what I’m used to.

Admittedly, it is not always easy to adapt to a completely new environment. To me, the most important thing is to build good personal relationships when stepping into a new environment. It is important to build a sense of belonging by making good friends and spending quality time with them and be part of a local community. Hong Kong itself is great in the sense that there is a large pool of expats to hang out with.

Living in a city is definitely different from travelling to a city;it is important that you create your own daily routine in your new environment, although you could also simply immerse yourself in work. What I like to do is to constantly meet new people. I love hanging out for a drink and enjoying nice food with interesting people. Due to the nature of my work, I tend to dislike spending too much energy on physical activities; being able to relax over the weekends is very important

Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone! It just takes a bit of time to get used to things. Once you start to find reasons to be fond of the new environment, there is going to be that moment when you return to your new home from a short trip and feel a sense of relief. I think that’s when you know that you’ve really settled in.

Ho Jun took the risk, not only changing his career plan but also settling in a completely new environment. He showed us with his very own experience that nothing is impossible. If you decide on something, start planning and acting, and trust me your hard work will be paid off just like Ho Jun!

Joyce Chen
Yew Chung/Yew Wah Chief Information Officer
First Staff Donor of YCCECE, and funded a scholarship for Student Teachers specializing in Special Education Needs (SEN)

I have joined this Foundation for more than 6 years now, and feel a strong sense of belonging and shared identity, because I know how difficult it is to find an organization that is so well aligned with my own values. I readily witness how Dr Betty Chan, who is of similar age tomy mother, and Professor Paul Yip, fully devoting their lives to education, which is deeply touching. So naturally, I wondered how I could contribute too?

Each of one us comes into this world with mission and purpose, and if you have the ability to help others and contribute to the community, using your life to impact other lives, it is a real blessing. In these years, I have been engaged in philanthropy as an orphanage volunteer, sponsored a few children, and mentored some teenagers, during which I gained new understandings and perspectives.

My decision to donate to YCCECE was made very swiftly, almost instantaneous. A colleague kindly remarked that my donation was a very generous one, but I simply replied that all our lives are fleeting, and we will ultimately depart this world taking nothing with us. God has provided sufficiently for me, and He has given me the ability to share my blessings with others too, so why would I not do so?

As for why I had decided to specifically support Student Teachers specialising in SEN, the answer is very simple: I strongly believe that SEN teacher training is critically important. This had immediately caught my eye when I read the YCCECE fundraising brochure. I know that young children with SEN are often neglected in society, and there is a lack of high quality SEN teachers too, so I believe that YCCECE’s SEN specialisation in their Bachelor degree programme is highly valuable. I therefore asked if I could direct my gift to this specific area, and was very pleased when I received the College’s positive response. I thought that if my donation could support these particular Student Teachers in their professional studies, it would be a worthwhile contribution.

I see a bright future for YCCECE, and I hope that its impact on the Early Childhood profession will continue to spread in the years to come.

Aaron Shea
Executive Director of Ken Yuan Knitting Factory Limited
YCCECE Fundraising Committee Member
YCIS Hong Kong Alumnus

I studied at YCIS-HK for 13 years, enrolling at age two-and-a-half in Kindergarten and stayed until Form 5 (IGCSE completion), which was our highest grade level back then. Yew Chung, as my dear alma mater, will forever be a part of me, evoking deep emotions. My two sons are now also enrolled at YCIS-HK, in the Early Childhood section, so we are truly a Yew Chung Family.

Many have asked what attracts me the most to Yew Chung.I guess it is our unique culture and values. The long history of YC has created something special, something truly unique to us, which sometimes cannot be described in words, similar to that of human emotions and love.

For example, I recently when attending my son’s Sports Day, and was astonished and deeply moved to see my former school bus driver from over 20years ago, who is still serving YCIS to this day. There are many other familiar faces, like my former teachers who have now become Coordinators or Principals. For an organization to have so many long-serving and dedicated staff, it must be very special, and enjoys a high level of stability and trust.

In addition, Yew Chung has another uniqueness as compared to other international schools, namely its ability to blend and balance Eastern and Western cultures and values, and still placing due emphasis on Chinese language and culture, which I greatly appreciate and admire. As a parent, I hope that my children will never forget their heritage and roots, regardless of where they may be in the future.

When I left YCIS in 1998, I went to the UK for further education, and later returned to Hong Kong and Fujian, joining my family business. I have also been actively engaged in various community groups, serving in the Y. Elite Association, Hong Kong United Youth Association, HKCPPCC Fujian Members Association Foundation, Fujian Youth Federation, and the Hong Kong Chinese Culture Development Association, etc.

Despite my departure from the school, I have still kept abreast of the latest developments of Yew Chung. I was very excited to learn of Dr Betty Chan’s founding of YCCECE, realizing the “B to B” (Baby to Bachelor) cycle. For a long time, I have greatly admired her educational philosophy and vision, and so I readily accepted her kind invitation to join the YCCECE Fundraising Committee, hoping to utilize my network and resources to contribute to Yew Chung’s development.

Having joined the Fundraising Committee, I have had the opportunity to meet people from various sectors, and realized that many are still unaware of the importance of Early Childhood Education. This may be that in our culture, we can be too results-oriented, focusing too heavily on traditional academic excellence in the upper years, and ECE can seem to be remotely relevant to ultimate success. However, a wealth of research has shown that this is a massive misunderstanding. Another major realization for me has been that the market demand for high quality Early Childhood educators is huge, not just in Hong Kong, mainland China, but also in Southeast Asia.

I have met some ambitious YCCECE graduates who aspire to establish kindergartens in their homecountries, likethe Philippines or other Southeast Asian countries. I wonder whether we can perhaps provide them with some financial resources and practical support, enabling them to realise their dreams sooner? If possible, once successful, such inspirational stories will be a great encouragement to us all, not to mention expanding the influence ofYCCECE.

Having said that, we must be patient when working in the education sector, and we have to give ourselves – and our students – a bit more time. We will continue toiling the soil, and patiently wait for the flowers to bloom.

KAUR Jaswinder Pal
Higher Diploma in Early Childhood Education Year 2, YCCECE
from India

Editor’s note: Kaur is one of the twenty scholarship recipients of the Drs. Richard Charles and Esther Yewpick Lee Charitable Foundation Scholarship for Non-Chinese Speaking Students. The scholarship requires recipients to actively engage with community service and to give back to society.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to the Drs. Richard Charles and Esther Yewpick Lee Charitable Foundation for providing me with scholarship, which has gone a long way to relieve the financial stress on my family and I, especially my mother. It has not been easy for my mother to support two children on her own. This scholarship has allowed me to concentrate on my studies and be more actively involved in College life without a heavy burden hanging over me.

Community service and the celebration of diversity are also vital parts of our learning journey at YCCECE. For example, during the College’s Information Day, we created a multicultural booth to offer henna tattoos to visitors, which encouraged many to ask a lot of questions about Indian and Pakistani culture. It was a wonderful platform to promote Hong Kong’s cultural diversity, to make new friends, and to display my artistic talent. Thank you for everything!

Celebrating the 2019 YCEF Founder’s Day in joy and laughter, members of the Yew Chung Yew Wah Alumni Advisory Board, together with our alumni from all over the world, sent their good wishes and blessings to their alma mater. We would also like to take this opportunity to introduce the work of the alumni network to our Yew Chung Yew Wah community! Let us celebrate this momentous occasion in unity and send the warmest regards to our schools!

Sign up now on Yewtopia (www.ycefconnect.com) to read more about our YCYW alumni!

David Beckham, one of the most talented football players is a role model for many of us; Perry is no exception. Though not a lot of us have what it takes to become a professional football player, Perry has his first step into the professional league, and he hopes to take sports to a whole new level and to bring more awareness of sports to Hong Kong!

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From Interests to Professional

Perry graduated from YCIS Hong Kong in 2016, and will be pursuing his postgraduate programme in University of Warwick next year in Sports Management. Like most teenage boys, Perry has a lot of energy in his body, and he releases them through sports. Football being one of his favourite sports has now become his career when he signed his first professional contract at the age of 16.

People often think that sports could distract students from academics endeavour and should only be treated as an interest, but it wasn’t the case for Perry. Football was definitely the best way for him to release all the stress from IB study. And look at him now: he is potentially the next football star in Hong Kong!

“Being a professional football player was my childhood dream,” said Perry. He was fortunate to have a chance to sign his first professional contract during Year 12. Though it is for sure quite tough to balance between professional football and IB, Perry quickly realised the importance in time management. Being young and new to the team, he wasn’t featured in the team a lot which he felt lucky to have time for his study.

“Personally, my professional debut was the most meaningful game I’ve ever played! I’ll never get bored telling this story to people. It was in 2016 when we were playing against the Hong Kong Premier League Champion, Kitchee in a cup game. As a sub, I wasn’t expecting much, until coach shouted my name while I was warming-up at the sideline. I knew this was my chance to shine, and despite all the predictions against us, we won the game by 2-0!”

Being a good player to Perry does not necessarily means how talented you are or how much skills you have; these features can be improved through trainings. Being able to accept criticism and “coachable” is what took Perry to this level today. It might sound easy to listen and follow coaches’ instructions, but to really execute them is harder than you think. You’ll always need to be open for new things and willing to learn from everyone, even your opponents.

“I remember David Beckham once said ‘The secret to my success is practice.’” People may know David for his skillful freekicks, but to Perry, it is David’s attitude on and off the pitch that influenced him. As a player, David was very committed and passionate to his role and this is exactly what Perry is trying to achieve.

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Perry’s Words about Sports

Perry wants to inspire and encourage more people in Hong Kong to participate in sport activities and increase the awareness of sports in Hong Kong!

“I felt like there’s a lack of awareness of sports in Hong Kong,” said Perry. You don’t need to be good to play. Sports or physical activities are essential to us for many reasons. It is entertaining but most importantly keeps you healthy. Many people think that sports are only for professionals, but the truth is, physical activities can reduce risks such as heart attack and obesity. So, in order to gain more knowledge and explore in depth about sports, Perry decided to pursue a degree in Sports Management.

It is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle through sports, but not a lot of people can continue doing sports. Perry suggested we set targets, which can be anything from losing weight, gaining muscle to releasing stress. Don’t be scared of failure; it is a step by step process and it will definitely take time, so setting targets will keep you motivated and hopefully help you continue doing sports!

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The Future

“As a player, I hope to play in a foreign country. I realised it is very different from playing in Hong Kong while I was in university. The standards are higher, and the competitions are greater, so it is definitely the best way to improve myself! But as a person, I want to become a role model to children, inspire them to play sports and help them develop the good habit while they are young. I also want to change the image of sports, and tell everyone that sports aren’t just for professionals, and it certainly doesn’t affect study. I want to promote the benefits of sports and hopefully can see a bigger impact on people’s lifestyle made by sports!”

Sports management on the other hand gave Perry a better understanding towards sports. Perry said,“A team doesn’t only involve players and the coach, but in fact, there are hundreds of other people such as medic, trainers, nutritionists, etc. to support the team!” Spotlights are given to players and coaches, but the credit goes to the whole team including all backstage workers. Perry certainly improved in skills while he was in UK, and these knowledges he learntand saw gave him a broader vision towards sports and will definitely help him achieve his goal not only in becoming a more skillful professional, but also an icon and an inspiration!

In the future after graduating from college, Perry will continue his professional journey in Hong Kong, but it certainly does not end here. “Realistically speaking, I hope to play in China’s league or a lower division intheUK.While accepting training to become a professional player, I will also start promoting the importance of sports in Hong Kong. Maybe starting with Yew Chung, through the alumni network I can come back and talk to the students and share my thoughts to them. It will be my first step in becoming an inspiration!”

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Step by step, Perry is moving closer towards his childhood dream and his role model David Beckham. We don’t need to be like Perry to play in the professional league but just like what he said, we need to start increasing the awareness ofsports, and become a better self in the future! Let’s wish Perry all the best and maybe one day, we will be able to see him in the Premier League!

We all have two eyes to explore the world, but Jelly Guo, our YCIS Beijing alumna uses her third eye to capture the world! She gives meaning to the world and creates connection between her, the audience and the world.

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Hi everyone, I’m Jelly. I’m from YCIS Beijing Class of 2015, currently a 4th Year BFA student at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver B.C. majoring in Photography.

Photographer is a very diverse job in my opinion. Personally, I like to use my art to express my inner feelings and convey messages to a greater group of audience as a fine art photographer. But there are a lot more to photography, you can become a freelance photographer, photo journalist, fashion photographer and many more. But I think the instinct of photographer or an artist is to discover the unpredictable things around us through our “third eye” (our lens). We then use our technical expertise, creativity and knowledge to produce successful pictures and tell stories to our audience.

Jelly Guo - 'Epiphany#4'

Jelly Guo - 'Epiphany#5'

I plan to create a diverse art studio/ art integration salon in Vancouver in the next few years, and I hope to commit to providing independent artists with a full range of communication demonstration and experimental space.

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Jelly’s Yew Chung Story

I remember I got my first camera from my parents when I was in Year 11. With this camera, I’ve learnt a lot of basics and foundations while being assigned as the photographer for Sports Day and being a member in the Performing Arts Council. These were all great opportunities for me to pick up the skill and interests!

But I think what Yew Chung did for me as a person was to help me shape a positive global vision. My parents always emphasise we become a global citizen, and this is exactly what Yew Chung taught us in school. I was able to broaden my global perspective and formed a positive mindset in Yew Chung while I found my passion and learnt how to dedicate myself to the passion! I think these are some key features to becoming a part of this world, and these are what I cherish the most from the Yew Chung education.

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The Magic of Photography

It was during my foundation year at college, when I had this project in the multi- disciplinary core studio. I was curious about art but did not know what I wanted to do with art, so my professor told me to do something I had never done before. It was back then when I first thought about trying photography as a medium and did my first ever installation piece: “Binding, constraint, limitation”

Jelly Guo - 'Binding, Constraint, Limitation, 2017'

Well, this is certainly not an easy job, especially for a girl. There are a lot of things we need to handle by ourselves. We need to work on planning, equipment, location, model and photo shooting all by ourselves and most of the time we go home exhausted. But I slowly got used to it, and though it could be quite painful sometimes, the rewards were very appealing!

I would arrive home with excitements during midnight, quickly upload all the photos on my computer and start admiring them, though there might still be things I was not quite satisfied with, but at that moment, I would stay up all night in pure joy and happiness while looking at the photos.

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Different Forms of Art: Painting vs Photography

In my opinions, I believe there’s no certain boundary in the world of art. Therefore no matter what medium you choose in your practice it becomes part of you.

I always enjoy doing fusions between painting and photography or pictures and art with poetic quality. To me, painting and photography are similar but different. They both are used to capture pictures, but while photography is to record what’s real in life, and capture light and shadow, painting on the other hand can be limitless!

There’s this one series I did, a combination between Chinese calligraphy and character, photography and painting. I did both the painting and the photo shooting for this series. Well, the reason why I particularly like this piece is because, I grew up in China but then moved to Canada later on, and I take this as an absolute advantage so I like to explore the connection between Chinese and Western cultures with different art elements in my personal work. I want to understand the trend of Eastern art culture and hope to present them in my future work!

Jelly Guo - 'Untitled #1'

Jelly Guo - 'Untitled #2'

Jelly Guo - 'Untitled #3'

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Mentors on the Path of Art

My parents are the biggest influence on me in the field of art. My dad used to do painting and my mom were a photographer once. Though they are not in this field anymore, but it is them who influenced me in art. I also like to visit various artists and learn from them. I still keep in touch with some artists I’ve met during my days at China Academy of Art (CAA) for exchange. There are also a few photographers I’d like to share with you who I admire a lot:

Cindy Sherman (US) - 'Untitled #153'

Ho Fan (HK) - 'Approaching Shadow'

Jeff Wall (Canada) - 'Invisible Man'

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How to Capture the World with Our Third eye?

First of all, congratulations! On your first step towards success! And secondly, this is not an easy job, but you need to believe in yourself! Bring your camera wherever you go, especially when you are travelling and shoot whenever you can!

Jelly Guo - 'Gam Leon Hou Nov 14 2018'

It is also very important to build a good portfolio. I recommend working in series. Students often are misdirected and put one piece per page. What I did back then was I created a book; instead of a piece per page, it was a series per page. This not only makes you more professional, but also helps you create a better template and a more organised portfolio.

Be confident is also the key to success. There are no bad photographs or bad photographers. Though it is a very competitive world now, but as photography is more widely used, everyone can become a photographer. Giving your work the most energy is probably the greatest ability of a photographer.

Jelly Guo - 'Man’s Craft Boutique World Nov 14 2018'

I also recommend going out and participating in competitions and different talks. Participation is the first step to becoming professional. During the process you’ll also be able to meet a lot of people, and it will be a great help for you to get in touch with them! It can only be good but no harm for you to participate and seize your chances, no matter if it is work, internship or exchange!

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The Power of Alumni

Connection and network are the key to success! I feel like alumni network is a life-long treasure. We are a big family no matter which school you graduated from.

Alumni network has created the platform for us to share experience in life. We can also use this opportunity to learn about the stories of other alumni. I believe these are all important and valuable factors that broaden my vision.

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Everyone has the ability to discover beauty, and everyone has the right to discover and record every moment of our life. Let’s hold on to all opportunities to spread the beauty of the world and give a meaning to it.

Website: http://jellyguo.com/

Instagram: jelly0829

We have welcomed our old friend Emily Eldridge back to share about her stories with us!

“I’d like to use art and graphic design to impact and improve a space,” said Emily. She is an artist, illustrator, muralist and a graphic designer travelling around the world to create images on big walls and through small drawings. Let’s listen to what she has to share!

• What work have you done as an artist or a muralist recently?

I have a big illustration installation at the IFC Mall Roof Terrace right now. There are some big stickers with different characters that were placed on the ceiling of the Rooftop walkway to Shake Shack. You can even go take a selfie with the wall sticker nearby, or pick up some small free stickers at stands around the mall.

Art at IFC Terrace (Credit: http://www.emilyeldridge.com)

Art at IFC Terrace (Credit: http://www.emilyeldridge.com)

Earlier this summer, I also painted a big mural for ArtLane at Sai Ying Pun MTR. It’s called “Love Is All You Need” and you can find it outside Exit B3.

Art at Sai Ying Pun Artlane

During this past year, I have also painted large murals in the Czech Republic, China, Spain, and Germany.

• Can you introduce and share with us the artwork you did on the wall of the art room in Yew Chung?

The title of the artwork is “Art & Design Hide-and-Seek”. It aims to show iconic artworks and design classics from the 20th century. Throughout the mural, students are encouraged to find out and learn about art and design history. Some of the icons might seem a bit strange at first glance, but all of them have a strong significance and really changed history in the art and design worlds! So, I encourage students to research and learn more about what is depicted.

This project actually took a long time to develop. Initially I started with sketches that I created in Photoshop. Over a few months’ time, I worked on various sketches and ideas for the space, and this was the one that was chosen by the school as the final choice.

"Art & Design Hide-and-Seek" at YCIS Hong Kong Secondary Campus

The actual painting process took about a week and a half, and I had the help of Years 12 and 13 IB students to paint a lot of the walls and background colours. But during the week we painted, it was raining on and off! We struggled a lot with the weather and had some walls that started dripping because the paint wasn’t dry when the rain started. After the rain stopped, we had to repaint them again. It was a bit time-consuming.

• So, what’s your story with Yew Chung?

I started working at YCIS in 2005 as one of the school’s first Artists-in-Residence. Together with my colleagues, Gabe Ostley and Haruka Ostley, we helped to build the AIR programme from zero. From the beginning, we figured out ways to use our art and design backgrounds to work with and inspire students, using our specialties to share and collaborate with students through a variety of special projects – mural painting, set design, short films, comic books, illustration projects, art installations, exhibitions, and more. I worked in the Artist-in-Residence Department from 2005-2016, with students from ECE, Primary and Secondary schools. Over the years I have met a LOT of students!

• What do you want to reflect with your art?

For my personal work, it’s a bit different than my client work. But when I paint for myself, I often create female characters. I imagine them in their own little world, and think of them as telling stories or reflecting aspects of my life.

"Girl Talk" , mural in Netherlands done by Emily

Being an artist allows me to think and express myself in creative ways, and to share this with others. It’s great to be able to impact and change a space, or improve someone’s day through what I make and create. I especially love when people enjoy my murals, or like to take photos in front of them. It’s amazing how a little bit of paint can transform a space and someone’s day.

• Do you have any tips you would like to share to our alumni who plans to pursue in the same field as you?

I’m sure many students often hear that it’s difficult to make a living as an artist, and yes, I think this is true, but it’s also not impossible. It’s certainly different to work as an artist (where you work for yourself) rather than having a company offer you a daily office job. But that being said, there are many ways to work as an artist or designer, and what I do as a freelancer is just one option among many. You can work in an office as a fashion designer, furniture designer, graphic designer, or any number of things.

I think if you plan on being an illustrator or muralist specifically, it’s great to seek out people who work in the field! It’s good to talk to them first to understand how to develop a career in that path.

But I think art and design in general is a very important and perhaps under-looked field to work in. Design is important and improves many facets of our lives – it doesn’t necessarily mean being a painter or a “starving artist”, and in fact I think this is a myth we should avoid. Don’t think it’s impossible to find a good job in the art and design field – there are many, many businesses that work with and hire designers, and many areas you can go into. I have many friends and colleagues around the world who are artists and designers, and they truly love what they do.

The best advice I can give is to practise, practise,and practise! The more you do, the more you grow. Give yourself assignments if you don’t have anyone giving them to you. Find what you’re interested in, and pursue it. In my opinion, being able to successfully create something beautiful is greater than any negative aspects you may face!

This is certainly not an easy path to pursue in, but with faith and trust and the continuous practice and learning, Emily is able to leave a footprint around the world and add a touch of colour to the world. Emily is more than happy to offer experience and help to our alumni, so if you want to know more about Emily and this field, you can reach out to her by visiting her website and Instagram!

Website： http://www.emilyeldridge.com/

Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/emily_eldridge_art/

Adapting to a new environment, a new culture can be difficult, nevertheless it is a situation so common that each and every one of us may encounter in life.

We are glad to have YCIS Shanghai alumnus, Kevin Rabe, share with us how he adjusted his mindset and how he overcame the difficulties!

“Community is important, it gathers people from different cultural backgrounds but with the same mindset to support each other.” – Kevin Rabe, YCIS Shanghai Class of 2017