Yew Chung International School of Shanghai (YCIS Shanghai) has received a generous gift from alumnus Clark Wu to create a seeding fund for the YCIS Puxi robotics programme that will further strengthen the school’s STEAM programme and inspire other students to reach their full potential.

Clark and his parents offered their incredibly kind donation as a way to express their gratitude to the faculty and community of YCIS for building such a strong foundation for his academic goals, as he sets off to the United States to study at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire this autumn.

Clark entered YCIS at six years old, having studied previously at a local kindergarten. “I genuinely feel that I learned all of my English at YCIS. At first, I found it challenging, but the year I spent in the English as an Additional Language programme was fantastic and helped me so much to progress in my learning,” he said of his beginnings at the school, during a recent visit to campus to discuss his donation. Starting in the YCIS Puxi Primary programme, he later moved on to the YCIS Puxi Secondary programme during his seven years at the school.

Clark’s mother, Ms Shen, highlighted that one of the main reasons they chose YCIS for Clark was that they wanted to further enhance his already high level of Chinese language skills, whilst also studying in an international environment.

Clark found his teachers very supportive and shared particularly wonderful memories with Ms Gu and Ms Hua, his Chinese language teachers. He also said that the music programme at the school helped him develop a true passion for music. During his time in the YCIS Puxi Secondary programme, Clark was selected as a Prefect and was also part of the Student Council. Clark also reminisced about the fantastic friendships he had with his classmates and noted that another main highlight of his time at YCIS was his involvement in the Robotics Co-Curricular programme, with three very good friends – Frank, Emma, and Gabe.

Clark’s donation will be allocated to support the Robotics programme, providing even more opportunities for the robotics and engineering activities which will take place starting next year in the new Innovation Incubator Space in the YCIS Puxi Secondary ‘C Building’. The renovation project for the ‘C Building’ starts this month and is scheduled to open in August 2020. Designed by Fielding Nair International, Yew Chung’s partner in providing exceptional, world-class learning spaces, the new building will feature a robotics space, project and design studios, a fabrication shop, an A.R.T. ideation suite, and specialty equipment rooms that feature the latest technologies, and will provide an enhanced, ‘Learning Community’ environment for YCIS students.

Ms Isabel Xu, Co-Principal at YCIS Puxi Secondary was delighted to welcome Clark back during his visit and was thrilled and very moved to hear of his donation, saying, “Clark has the heart and spirit that we aim to instil in our students. We are delighted to see how generous he is, and we are certain that he will make a change and impact the future of the world.”

Beyond his donation, YCIS Puxi is looking forward to welcoming Clark back to the school in the future to talk to students and inspire them with his message about giving back. As an alumnus of YCIS, Clark is also part of Yewtopia, the Yew Chung Education Foundation’s global alumni community. To learn more about Yewtopia, please visit https://ycefconnect.com/.