If you had to describe the summer in just a few words, what would they be?

Sunshine. Sweat. University classrooms. New perspectives. And the final stroke of a race pushed all the way to the finish.

For some students, the summer began with stepping into a university classroom for the first time—moving from having few opinions of their own to setting a personal goal to speak up every day.

For others, it meant climbing into an eight-person shell at MIT or Dartmouth and discovering what it feels like to race international competitors stroke for stroke.

This summer, a group of GHA students followed their curiosity to different corners of the world.

They came back with more than certificates, medals, or new knowledge.

They came back with new questions, new ways of thinking, and a deeper understanding of themselves.

University Summer Programs: Learning Beyond the Classroom

For GHA students, university summer programs offered an early glimpse into college life.

The experience went far beyond accumulating academic knowledge. Students encountered new classroom cultures, challenged their assumptions, experimented with unfamiliar ideas, and learned to turn questions into action.

1. From Following Others’ Ideas to Finding Your Own Voice

Wang — University of Chicago Summer Program

“When I first arrived at the summer program, I felt a little lost. The professors did not follow the kind of clearly structured lectures I was used to. Instead, classes centered around the readings we had been assigned in advance. We were expected to understand the material, consider whether we agreed with the author, and explain what evidence supported our position.

For me, the hardest part was that I did not really have my own opinions yet.

One professor told me that a Chinese-style education can provide a very strong academic foundation, which students can then build upon in college. At the same time, simply encouraging students to express personal opinions without a strong foundation can leave those opinions without sufficient support.

In our summer classes, discussions rarely ended with a single definitive answer. Instead, one question would lead to another, and then another.

So I set myself a daily KPI: I would speak at least once during the morning lecture and once during the afternoon discussion session. I was essentially forcing myself to articulate my own ideas.

I am very grateful that the summer program gave me an unexpected experience of what college-level learning can be like. It gave me a clearer picture of university academics and made me even more excited to continue asking questions and exploring these ideas in college.”

From Individual Ideas to Systems Thinking

Jiang — Brown University Summer Program

Jiang’s experience in Brown’s Game Design and Systems Thinking program fundamentally changed the way she approached both creativity and problem-solving.

“The course made me realize that a meaningful game experience is rooted in an interconnected system. Every rule and every mechanic affects the others, and together they shape what the player experiences.

Through class discussions and group projects, I learned to break down complex systems and evaluate trade-offs in design. Instead of simply pursuing an idea because it looked exciting, I began thinking about the larger logic of a system and anticipating the chain reactions that could result from even a small change.

This experience turned systems thinking into a habit of mind. When I face different kinds of problems now, I try to step beyond the immediate details and understand how the whole system works.

It also gave me a much clearer interest in fields where creativity, technology, and logic come together.”

2. Challenging Assumptions—and Turning Ideas into Something Real

Ni — Berklee College of Music Summer Program

For Ni, the summer became an immersive introduction to music education in an international setting.

“I immersed myself in an overseas music classroom and learned a great deal of music theory. My teachers helped me become more natural and expressive on stage. Through collaborative rehearsals and performance opportunities, I explored a wide range of musical styles and expanded my artistic perspective.

The final performance was a rewarding opportunity to bring everything together.”

The experience allowed her to move from learning concepts to applying them through collaboration and performance.

From Machine Learning to Field Research

Yong — The University of Hong Kong & National University of Singapore Summer Programs

At The University of Hong Kong, Yong studied the foundations of machine learning, including supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and deep learning.

Working as part of a team, Yong also built “Annie,” an AI companion application designed to support emotional well-being, integrating voice journaling, emotional interaction, and motion capture.

At the National University of Singapore, the focus shifted from technology to migration.

Working around the theme of “Migration,” students conducted field research and discovered that their initial assumptions did not always match what they encountered in the real world.

The experience reinforced an important lesson:

Good inquiry does not begin with having the right answer. It begins with being willing to question your assumptions.

3. When a Quiet Personality Finds Connection

For some students, the most meaningful part of a summer program was not an academic breakthrough, but finding a community in which they felt comfortable becoming themselves.

Jiang — Harvard Summit

“I applied to work as a student intern at the Harvard Summit. Everything I did was about supporting the staff, teachers, and students at the conference.

It genuinely felt as though I was doing something for a family. I felt connected to a warm and welcoming community.”

Li described the experience from another perspective:

“It might be fair to say that the interns were among the people who experienced the warmth of the Harvard Summit most directly.

On the final day, one of the teachers asked us how we wanted to ‘design our life.’ I wrote something that was probably a little off-topic:

‘There will be moments in life when you feel out of place. But eventually, all of those experiences will turn into something that gives you even more happiness.’

That was what the experience meant to me.”

For Xu, who describes himself as someone who takes time to warm up socially, the experience was equally meaningful.

“I was always thinking about how to interact with everyone. By the time we presented our final project and said goodbye, everyone was genuinely encouraging us and telling us that it was okay to take things slowly.”

Sometimes, growth does not look like becoming the loudest person in the room.

Sometimes, it means finding the confidence to become part of the room.

Athletics: A Summer of Training, Competition, and Resilience

The summer brought a different kind of classroom to GHA students: the racecourse.

Through competition and intensive training, student-athletes tested their limits, learned from setbacks, and experienced what it means to compete alongside athletes from around the world.

Competition Highlights

GHA students delivered strong performances across several sports this summer.

Cai placed fourth in the A Division at the Ping An Bank “Ping An Wealth Cup” Junior Golf Championship, a high-level national youth golf event.

At the 18th Shanghai Games, Lin competed in fencing and earned a bronze medal in the women’s team sabre event.

At the Tianjin Games, Ni achieved outstanding results in swimming, finishing third in freestyle and fourth in butterfly, while also earning National Level 1 Athlete status in both events.

Each result represented more than a final ranking.

It represented months of training, discipline, and the willingness to keep improving.

Rowing Summer Camps: Racing Beyond Familiar Waters

This summer, members of the GHA rowing team trained at summer rowing camps hosted by Yale University, MIT, Dartmouth College, and the University of Pennsylvania.

For these students, the experience was about much more than improving their technique.

It meant training alongside rowers from different countries, adapting to unfamiliar coaching systems, and discovering new approaches to teamwork and competition.

Li

“This intensive training experience helped me improve my single-scull technique and learn many new skills. I also met rowers from around the world, which allowed me to see how different training systems shape different technical approaches and habits.

When our rhythm became inconsistent during a session, I no longer immediately focused on whose fault it was. Instead, I learned to communicate and make adjustments with my teammates.

That gave me a completely new and deeper understanding of teamwork in rowing.”

And, with a smile, Li added one particularly memorable detail:

“The hamburgers and sandwiches were really good.”

Zhang

At the MIT camp’s final race, Zhang and his partner Louis finished second twice.

But the result was not what stayed with him most.

“Those two losses allowed me to see something I had not experienced before—the intensity and refusal to give up that I saw in the international rowers. The way they raced all the way through the final stroke was more impressive to me than the ranking itself.”

At Dartmouth, Zhang found an entirely different atmosphere.

“The campus is surrounded by mountains, and there were a lot of athletes at the camp. During the opening 4,000-meter relay, everyone gathered around and cheered for each other. That kind of atmosphere is something I rarely experience in China.

I was fortunate enough to catch the attention of the head coach and remained in one of the strongest two eights throughout the camp. The pressure was significant, but I valued the opportunity.

In the final friendly competition, our eight won the three-race, 500-meter series.

At Penn, I continued rowing in an eight and served as the stroke seat. The lightweight assistant coach continued to place a lot of trust in me, and we won the final race there as well.

This trip to the United States gave me a genuine understanding of the passion that rowers bring to the sport. Whether it was the focus during training, the determination during races, or the way coaches and teammates interacted, I came away with a much deeper understanding of rowing.”