Linda

G6, 2014

Boston University  

Media and Screen Studies & Media Art

Despite the concerns of her college entrance adviser, Linda filed applications for admission to film production programs at several universities leading in the field. Despite being a non-art student, Linda’s passion and commitment for film making gained her to Emerson College with a scholarship of USD 32,000 before the early Action deadline. Northeastern University with a scholarship of USD 60,000 and Boston University also admitted here.

Let us share her story

FIRST IMPRESSION

I was particularly impressed by Linda when I first saw her on the football field, where she was competing with the boys. She was a confident dare-devil with great technique. Later, she told me that playing football was the beginning of her life at Shanghai United International School. 

Shy girl grows into winning debater

Linda’s English was weak when she entered SUIS in Grade 6. She was quite shy to speak up in class during the first month—so different from today. Mr Dan, her PE teacher,  encouraged students to talk to each other and saw Linda’s potential. He invited her to join the school football team. Gradually, during the training and interaction, Linda found her confidence. Linda told us that what touched her most in SUIS was the warm and inclusive atmosphere. For instance, in Grade 7, she was to give a speech as a group leader for the first time, She was quite nervous, trembling and stammering all through her English speech, but her classmates’ warm applause encouraged her. Over time, her confidence ad eloquence grew, until in Grade 9, she won a gold medal in the Scholars Cup Debate Competition.

Calm, disciplined but also curious 

Linda is calm and charming on stage, and in class, she is disciplined and self-motivated. While she worked hard to improve her English and Spanish and got excellent grades in all subjects, she also maintained her passion and curiosity for the world. In Grade 7, Linda fell in love with movies. She loved watching movies and the stories behind them. She wanted to become a movie director, but her parents opposed her ambitions out of pragmatic concerns. In December 2019, Linda attended the National Society of High School Scholars Nobel Week in Stockholm, and was deeply moved by the words of Mr. Goodenough. After the ceremony, Linda seriously thought about her passions and strengths. She knew that film making would be a difficult road to follow, but she decided she wanted to pursue what she loved.Dreams are built with passion and perseverance Linda applied for majors in of film production as a non-art student, a tough position to start out from, but her passion for film propelled her forward. Linda had taught herself photography skills through online tutorials and lots of practice, and she had created a personal website to showcase her photography works using her programming skills learned in Grade 7. On Linda’s website, you will find many photos of her and her life at SUIS. Her genuine self-portrayal resonated with college admissions officers, which helped her applications. Around the same time, Linda also wrote a research paper about sitcoms. With feedback and encouragement from our college entrance adviser Mr. MacDonald, she polished a high-quality personal statement, which was instrumental in being accepted by Emerson College by the Early Action deadline and  accepted by Boston University by Early Decision Ⅱ. For a student with decent overall grades and without portfolio training, this offer was a strong validation of her efforts and recognition of her potential.

In conclusion

If I had to choose a color to describe Linda, I would say “red”, the color of passion and power. For, Linda is courageous and confident. She boldly explores new fields and jumps over her own shadow. Linda told me she is aware of the challenging employment prospects in the film production industry. Yet, Ang Lee’s autobiography gives her a lot of inspiration. She will use all the winter and summer holidays to find stints and gigs to learn from—and she plans to produce her first full-length film in the next few years