On Thursday 6 June, Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS Beijing) bid our seniors "bon voyage" during our Year 13 Graduation. It was a wonderful day, filled with pride, joy, and a few tears as teachers, alumni, parents, friends and students all came together to celebrate the achievements of the graduating Class of 2019.

Graduation day at YCIS Beijing this year was quite eventful, with a graduation ceremony, followed by a graduate luncheon, and then capped off by a senior prom in the evening. The day began with the graduation ceremony, which took place in the school auditorium. Year 12 students Sydney Lee and Marco Tong, acting as masters of ceremony, greeted the graduates as they flowed into the room, before introducing Vice-Principal Mrs Farah Sun, to give the welcome address. Mrs Sun was followed by our University Guidance Counsellor, Mr Jonathan Mellen, who shared with the assembled audience the university destinations of the graduating class. (To see the list, scroll down to the end of this article, or click here).

Our assembled guests then witnessed the conferring of diplomas and various awards (for the list of awards, scroll down to the end of this article), interspersed with captivating performances from Year 13 graduates. Chloe Sandifer-Stech provided a cello solo, Robert Hartigan and Kaneda Illes performed a dramatic skit, Seungjun Lee and June Hyup Lee gave a vocal duet, and Kaneda Illes returned to deliver a vocal solo. Vani Gupta and Lydia Qu teamed up for this year’s alumni speech, followed by a message from our Co-Principals, Dr Timothy Gray and Dr Rae Wang, with Dr Wang treating the audience to uplifting words in Chinese. Among her many enlightening words of encouragement a particular pearl (translated into English) was:

“Pursue your success by following your identity and value judgment; be a responsible servant leader to this society and era.”

The ceremony was crowned by an address from YCIS Beijing 2019 Valedictorian, Deborah Qu, who shared motivational words on the value (and costs) of determination, with the attendees.

“Tons of selfless parents up there can be the first to tell you that work is not always easy. In life, to achieve something remarkable like we all have today, we have to experience struggle.

Everyone wants a fulfilling, stable life in whatever form it may take: good grades, qualified credentials, being financially stable enough to take care of a ton of puppies. But the key that separates you –yes you — from everyone else is that everyone else loves success, but only you are willing to undertake the hard work that actually brings you there.”

“So, you and you and you, go into the world and embrace new struggle.”

The morning’s ceremony was closed by our Primary violin students playing out the graduation procession, and then it was off to the graduate luncheon. Warm words of encouragement, sage advice for the future and lots of laughter were shared, as everyone convened at the Hilton for lunch. And later that evening, the graduates bid goodbye to their parents as they enjoyed their prom at the hotel. It was an amazing day, filled with excitement and anticipation as our graduates prepared to dive into the next phase of their lives, adulthood.

University Destinations

United KingdomUniversity College London University of YorkUniversity of DurhamUniversity of ManchesterUniversity of BristolPlymouth College of ArtUniversity of WarwickUniversity of SouthamptonLondon College of Communication

United States of AmericaFordham UniversityUC DavisPennsylvania State University – HarrisburgGeorge MasonFurman UniversityGuilford CollegeElon UniversityChristopher Newport UniversitySavannah College of Art and DesignRingling College of Art and DesignUniversity North Carolina School of ArtsBerkeley School of MusicColumbia College Chicago.California Institute of ArtSchool of the Art Institute of ChicagoSchool of Visual ArtsCalifornia College of the ArtsUniversity of California – BerkeleyPratt Institute

Hong KongHong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong UniversityCanadaUniversity of TorontoUniversity of British Columbia

AustraliaUniversity of QueenslandUniversity of Sydney

ChinaTsing Hua University

Full List of Awards

Highest Achievement Award in English Language & Literature Deborah Qu

Highest Achievement Award in English Language Shiqian Lin

Highest Achievement Award in Mathematics Higher Level Seungjun Lee

Highest Achievement Award in Mathematics Standard Level Deborah Qu

Highest Achievement Award in Mathematical Studies Yidi Lin

Highest Achievement Award in Physics June Hyup Lee

Highest Achievement Award in Chemistry Uijin KIM

Highest Achievement Award in Biology Deborah Qu

Highest Achievement Award in EconomicsKaisa Zheng

Highest Achievement Award in Business Management Teresa Yu Tung LI

Highest Achievement Award in Psychology Deborah Qu

Highest Achievement Award in History Chloe Grace Sandifer-Stech

Highest Achievement Award in Visual Arts Jiwon Baek

Highest Achievement Award in Music Chloe Grace Sandifer-Stech

Highest Achievement Award in Korean Literature Uijin Kim

Highest Achievement Award in Chinese Literature Shiqian Lin

Highest Achievement Award in Chinese Language Kaisa Zheng

Highest Achievement Award in Theory of Knowledge in English Deborah QU

Highest Achievement Award in Theory of Knowledge in Chinese Teresa Yu Tung LI

Highest Academic Achievement Award Deborah QU

Madam Tsang Chor Hang Award Chloe Grace Sandifer-Stech

Sportswoman Award Chloe Grace Sandifer-Stech

Sportsman Award Kaisa Zheng

Honour Roll Teresa Yu Tung Li

Honour Roll Shiqian Lin

Honour Roll Deborah Qu

Honour Roll Chloe Grace Sandifer-Stech

Honour Roll Kaisa Zheng