Written by Daniel Chen

Lola is a student in Luwan Senior High School. She always does well in her studies and she is also very ambitious.

Lola decided to study in the BC program instead of going to a domestic school because she doesn’t like to compete with other students in China. She thought English is a language that people use all over the world. And if she learns English well, she can choose any college she likes in any country.

In her spare time, what she usually does is read an AP Psychology textbook. Her mother is a counseling psychologist, so she is very interested in learning psychology. With the help of her mother’s patience and her hard work from last summer’s vacation, she not only built a great interest in psychology, but also got into the habit of learning that. She has learned the structure of the human brain and the biological basis of behavior. This is not easy for a grade 11 student. “If the homework really stresses me out a lot, I will sometimes watch a movie to relax,” she adds.

On the weekends, she also takes IELTS classes. The six hours every class is a challenge for her because she needs to really concentrate on what teachers say. “If you want to get a satisfying mark for this kind of test, you must listen very carefully in class,” said Lola. “What’s more, after class you should also get into the habit of going over the lessons. The amount of information teachers tell you in a six-hour lesson huge. If you don’t review, after some time, you won’t remember the key points. In a word, always go over the lessons, or you will waste your own time!”

At school, I always see her studying in the classroom. But when we are having Frisbee club, she is always energetic. I always see her give a nice throw or run very fast to catch a Frisbee. When the teacher tells her that she needs to improve at some technical action, she is always very patient. Even in this little activity we can see her great attitude towards work and learning.

When I asked which college she’d like to enter, she said a college which is famous for it’s psychology courses in Canada. Canada is a cultural mosaic, so she prefers Canada to the melting pot of America. She has a very clear future.

When I finished the interview with the question “What’s your own quote?” she answered very simply, “When you study, you must only study; when you play, just enjoy yourself; when you are doing something, just keep doing only this one thing, don’t let other facts disturb you.” I think it is very right because we should only focus on one thing when we are doing work or studying. This will help us to do this thing better.

Lola truly deserves to be a star student because of her smart brain, great attitude and clear goals.