HONORS & AWARDS

• Recipient of scholarship from Chinese Association of Professionals in Science and Technology (2024)

• National Merit Commended Scholar (2024)

• President’s Teen Volunteer Service Award – Silver (2023) & Bronze (2022) 

• National Honor Society (inducted 2023)

• Scholastic Art Awards – 2 regional Gold Keys & 1 honorable mention for drawings (2023, 2024)

• Scholastic Writing Awards – 1 regional Gold Key for poetry (2023)

• Evening of the Arts – Multiple paintings & drawings selected for display at school’s community exhibition (2021, 2022, 2023)

• Kotarot – Featured artist in EWS community newsletter (2023)

• Artwork chosen for display in school’s front office & fine arts hallway (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)

• EWS Artist of the Month (2022, 2023)

• EWS Scholar-Athlete Award (2022, 2023, 2024)

• Newcomer Award – Tennis (2022)

• Hertzel Hill Award – Sportsmanship in Tennis (2023)

• Most Improved Player – Volleyball (2022)

• Most Popular Tutor Award – Youstrong Reading Club (2022)

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

• Tikkun Olam (EWS Community Service Club), Houston, TX → events as needed                                                                               

Volunteer Sept. 2021 – Present

Participate in school’s community service club by volunteering for area nonprofits throughout year, including: Evelyn’s Park (Earth Day celebration), Friendship Circle’s Bowling Buddies (program for children with special needs), Run for the Rose (fundraiser for brain cancer research), etc.

• EWS Tennis, Houston, TX →  15 hours/week, 10 weeks/year

Varsity Player (10, 11, 12); JV Player (9) Spring 2022 – Present

Compete in both singles & doubles at tournaments  

Practice time management and demonstrate self-discipline by balancing rigorous practice & game schedule with demanding academic course load

• EWS Volleyball, Houston, TX →  15 hours/week, 12 weeks/year

Outside Hitter & Defensive Specialist Fall 2021 – Winter 2022

Developed teamwork through sport requiring collaboration and effective on-court communication

• Japanese Student, Online → 2-4 hours/week, 52 weeks/year                                                                            

Independent Study June 2023 – Present

Self taught basic Japanese grammar rules and vocabulary using online resources, e.g., Genki textbook, Duolingo, Anki, etc.

Planning to take Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N5 in upcoming year

• Freelance Artist, Houston, TX → 2-4 hours/week, 52 weeks/year                                                                            

Self-Directed Aug. 2021 – Present

Specialize in oil/acrylic painting and colored pencil/graphite drawing

Pieces have been exhibited at community art center, handpicked for display in EWS front office, and sold at charity auction (going for highest price at event of $1,000)

• Clemence Youth Foundation, Houston, TX → 8 hours                                                                               

Volunteer & Featured Artist Oct. 2023

Artwork selected for exhibition at invitational fundraising event that celebrated outstanding young artists

Worked at front desk to greet event attendees and collect ticket revenue

LEADERSHIP 

• Art for a Cause, EWS, Houston, TX → 1 hour/week, 36 weeks/year                                                                          

Co-Founder & Co-President Sept. 2022 – Present

Founded service club with over 150+ members, hosting projects to promote community engagement through visual arts (e.g., card making for children’s hospital and mural painting for Plant It Forward, an urban farm program benefiting refugees relocated to Houston)

Collaborate with other school clubs to support their efforts (e.g., designed logo for Israel club, created posters for political rallies, crafted decorations to celebrate robotics team)

• Leadership Development Campaign Training Institute, Washington, D.C. → full-time for 3-days                                                      

Participant (EWS Representative) Summer 2024

Selected as 1 of 10 high school students to join 80+ top college activists from across the country in the nation’s capital for conference focused upon increasing civic engagement among youth

Attended lectures and workshops about how to meaningfully contribute to political campaigns through lobbying, phone banking, canvassing, etc.

Networked to coordinate events across high school and college campuses following the institute

• Youstrong Reading Club, Beijing, China → 5 hours/week, 25 weeks/year                                                                               

Program Coordinator & ESL Tutor Aug. 2021 – Dec. 2023

Trained 80+ volunteers across Houston to virtually teach English to 500+ low-income Chinese students

Helped train tutors to foster authentic interactions between ESL students and English native speakers

Planned lessons and created instructional materials for different reading levels (K-8th grade) using texts to develop literacy and conversational skills

• Culture Club, EWS, Houston, TX → 1 hour/week, 36 weeks/year                                                                          

Social Media Manager (11); Board Member (9, 10, 12) Sept. 2021 – Present

Help organize meetings and outings to foster cross-cultural understanding amongst EWS student body, such as trips to cultural community centers, museums to view heritage exhibits, and restaurants serving cuisines from across the globe

Managed club Instagram page to promote events and increase membership/participation

• Inspire Potential Foundation (INSPO) Art Auction, Houston, TX → 3 hours/week, 5 weeks/year                                                                       

Event Organizer Dec. 2022 – Present

Coordinate and organize annual auction; auctioned off 30+ youth artists’ pieces and raised $10,000+ for underrepresented youth’s art programs and scholarships

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Chinese Community Center’s Civic Engagement Dept., Houston, TX → 6 hours/week, 16 weeks/year                                                                               

Head Intern July 2024 – Nov. 2024

Informed potential & first time voters about the election process and alternative voting methods to increase election turnout in low-income neighborhoods through phone banking and canvassing

Trained 15+ interns/volunteers; team completed over 20,000+ phone calls and door-knocks in months leading up to 2024 election day

Used Excel and computer programming skills to compile visual maps locating potential voters 

• Ohyan Law Group, Houston, TX → 40 hours/week, 5 weeks/year                                                                               

Intern Summer 2024

Translated legal documents for law firm specializing in serving Chinese-American immigrant clients

Wrote cover letters, created/sent fee schedules, updated case files, and scheduled meetings

• Yaowu Zhang Art Center, Houston, TX → 14 hours/week, 36 weeks/year

Art Teacher Aug. 2023 – June 2024                                                                                               

Planned and taught art lessons to 200+ students in K-12th grades, including instruction in acrylic and watercolor painting and line drawing

Updated parents about their children’s progress

Worked 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday throughout school year, using my bilingual skills to engage with Houston Chinese American community

• Technology Specialist Aug. 2023 – June 2024

Designed online storefront/gallery for center to sell creative work, using coding skills to establish made-to-order art prints system

Maintained center’s primary website by photographing and uploading images of students’ artwork on a weekly basis; renovated website with features such as self-updating class schedules 

Wrote and designed monthly customer newsletter

• Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX → 40 hours for 1-week program                                                                            

Intern Summer 2023

Assisted with Rett’s Syndrome research in neuroscience lab, creating scripts in MatLab coding platform to convert data to graphs that depicted differences in reaction times of control vs. experimental mice

Cared for lab mice by monitoring their vitals, feeding them, and cleaning cages

Shadowed two PhD students to learn more about the field of neurobiology

• 休斯顿华人驾校 (Houston Chinese-American Driving School), Houston, TX → 4 hours/week, 52 weeks/year

Administrative Assistant Aug. 2021 – Present

Help run family business that provides driver training to Chinese Americans and international students ages 18-60 who come from across Texas for provided services

Facilitate and translate communication between driving school and Department of Public Safety, schedule road tests, and trouble-shoot unique situations of clients (e.g., expiring visas)

ADDITIONAL:

• Capstone Project, Houston, TX Aug. 2024 – Present

Completing self-guided project to share immigration stories of Houstonians by conducting interviews with local residents and creating collection of artwork inspired by their voices; end product will be final exhibition sharing their diverse experiences

Selected by faculty committee through rigorous application process, requiring detailed proposal outlining objective, methods, progress checkpoints, and humanitarian purpose 

• Rice University’s Foreign Language Program, Houston, TX Summer 2024

Studied Japanese vocabulary, grammar and culture to gain fluency in fourth language

Sought permission through continuing education department to take course usually restricted to adults who already have graduated high school 

• Texas Tech University K-12, Online Summer 2024

Completed AP Macroeconomics: sought out opportunity to increase academic rigor of social studies curriculum (course not offered at EWS)

• Brown University (ED) - 5.1%