收到CalArts录取，向迪士尼工作室梦想迈进的Cindy Y.丨Cindy Y. Admitted into CalArts
2019珠海德威优秀毕业生故事
虽然是新学年初始，但我们的学生已经陆续收到大学的条件录取通知书，也是学生们决定大学去向的重要时刻。
Cindy Y. 是珠海德威13年级的学生，截至目前，她已经收到了6个美国大学艺术专业的录取，其中包括她的梦想学校California Institute of the Arts 美国加州艺术学院——动画专业的录取，离她成为迪士尼工作室动画师的梦想又迈进了一步。
美国加州艺术学院
美国加州艺术学院是美国顶尖的艺术学院，是迪士尼动画师的发源地，由华特·迪士尼投资成立，创办于1961年，因此许多迪士尼动画师都是由此校毕业，全美动画专业排名第一。
被洛杉矶时报誉为“动画领域的哈佛商学院”，美国加州艺术学院已经培养了数百名成功的校友，他们在全球票房中创造了数十亿美元，其中包括蒂姆.伯顿，马克.安德鲁斯（皮克斯奥斯卡获奖动画片《勇敢的心》的导演及编剧），埃里克.达内尔（《小蚁雄兵》、《马达加斯加1-3》的联合导演）以及马克.奥斯本（《功夫熊猫》的导演）等。
与动画的结缘
Cindy小时候三、四岁时就很喜欢看迪士尼动画，并萌生了长大了能制作出好看的动画片，给别人带来快乐的梦想。在家人的支持下，Cindy从小就开始画画，练基本功。14岁的暑假，她还一个人去了美国，上了美国纽约视觉艺术（SVA）大学的夏校，这些经历都令她增长了见识，拓宽了视野。怀着这颗“初心”， Cindy 行走的每一个脚步都迈向自己的人生目标。
加入珠海德威大家庭的契机
在入读珠海德威之前，Cindy本计划到美国加州一所高中就读。但当时有一名心理学专业的长辈在参观珠海德威后，建议她高中留在珠海德威就读，理由是：如果孩子很小就远离祖国去留学，跟家人的距离太远，相对的会缺乏爱和安全感。在听了长辈的一番话和了解更多珠海德威的信息后，Cindy和家人都决定先到珠海德威就读高中，再出国进修。
德威学习生活的成长与挫折
当问到在珠海德威的高中生涯有没有什么起伏，Cindy告诉我们：“虽然有明确的目标及热情，但高中四年的生活对我来说并不是一帆风顺的。刚进入英式教育时我对高中生活充满新鲜感，觉得体验和原来在国内学校截然不同。加上10年级和11年级的学校活动特别丰富，我花了更多时间参与到不同活动中。而在12年级开始，我就发现我全部精力都必须专注在升学上，烦恼生活少了一些乐趣，而且当看到身边的同学一个比一个努力，成绩大步提升，我开始出现了厌学情绪，甚至压力过大很焦虑。
在那个难熬的时刻，我主动找老师反映了我的状态和想法，老师和校长们都很重视，为我安排了一次"专家会诊"，校长、副校长、年级组长都与我的父母一起分析情况，并给出一个优化时间表的方案，大大减轻了我的焦虑，让我重新对自己的高中学习生活有了自主权及目标。
德威高中影响最大的几位老师
在访谈的过程中，Cindy也跟我们分享了她觉得对几位老师的印象：“美术老师 —— 她很有自己的想法，而且非常鼓励我们自由创作，所以有空时我很喜欢呆在美术室；数学老师 —— 我数学基础薄弱，他从来没有放弃我，不厌其烦地随时解答我的疑问，我很感动。地理老师 —— 他是个很幽默的人，常常给我们讲很多事例，所以他的课堂生动而有趣。”
能成功考入美国加州艺术学院的主要原因
Cindy还分享了她认为帮助她成功考入美国加州艺术学院的经验：“可能是因为我做了个动画片，这个动画是的每个模板是刻在亚克力板子上的，然后刷上油墨再翻印在纸上。做每张模板大概要用20多分钟，我一共刻了300多张板子，每天下午从2点做到夜里12点，做了3个多月。
做动画的过程给我带来了快乐，我是个注重过程的人，我个人创作过程中经历的开始到挣扎到升华，希望也能给观众带来情感的起伏。这种独特的动画制作模式，以及我不怕困难的做法也许打动了招生老师。”
在德威国际平台上享受到的资源
名牌大学在录取学生时，不仅对学生的学术及专业有高要求，而且也很重视学生的课外实践活动经验。对Cindy来说，学校的多元化项目DIVERSITY经常邀请到各领域的专家到学校举办专业级的讲座，帮助了他们拓展课外知识及视野。此外在学校组织参加的过际活动或赛事中，与德威所有同学一样，她有机会接触高级别活动赛事，和全国、亚太地区乃至全球学生一起参观、讨论、竞赛、参与活动，是非常宝贵的机会。
而当问到对珠海德威印象最深的活动是什么时，Cindy告诉我们参加模拟联合国比赛是让她印象最为深刻的。她说，在比赛过程中，看到那么多优秀的同学能够进入角色，站在各个国家的立场上为这个国家着想发言，让她很震撼。
在访谈最后，Cindy还分享了自己的一些反思，希望能给有同样梦想的学弟学妹作为借鉴：
例如尽早开始专业准备，最好从12年级开始就制作美术作品集；
利用周末或暑假时间去认识更多在美术专业领域有成就的人，并向他们学习；
10年级至11年级时花更多时间在自己的弱势科目上，以免在申请大学时还在为那些学科感到焦虑。
Cindy成功考入理想大学离不开父母对她的支持与鼓励。在此，我们也采访了Cindy的爸爸，他也分享了自己的感想：
“我切实感觉到了Cindy在德威高中四年里的成长和进步，德威高中给孩子的平台，事实证明家长无需把孩子送去国外，这里给孩子的氛围、观念已经非常纯正了。
我认为一个孩子的梦想和发心是很重要的。Cindy的动力就源于小时候要做动画带给别人快乐的梦想。有了梦想，尽早为之努力，就能成功。
德威校友的回访母校也非常重要，让孩子们有了榜样，榜样最好是身边的人而不是遥不可及的人。这点上，也希望Cindy以后有机会能够为学弟学妹们分享心得，回馈母校。
最后，感谢珠海德威校长及老师们的辛勤培育。”
我们祝愿Cindy入读美国加州艺术学院后能度过美好的大学时光，并如愿地在毕业后走进迪士尼工作室。希望多年后在荧幕上，我们能看到Cindy参与制作迪士尼动画电影，那将是对“梦想”二字最好的诠释。
Cindy Y. is a Year 13 student at Dulwich International High School Zhuhai. She already received six American art universities offers, including her dream university, California Institute of the Arts – animation major. With this offer, she is stepping closer to her dream of being a Disney animator.
California Institute of the Arts
Established in 1961 by Walt and Roy Disney and with animation major ranking top in the world, it is home to many Walt Disney Animation Studios animators.
Crowned the “Harvard Business School of Animation” by the Los Angeles Times, California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) has produced hundreds of successful alumni who have generated billions at the box office worldwide. The school lists Mark Andrews (director and screenwriter of Pixar’s Oscar winning animated feature Brave), Eric Darnell (co-director of Antz, Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, Mark Osborne (director of Kung Fu Panda) and none other than Tim Burton among its most famous alumni.
When Cindy was three or four years old she liked to watch Disney and dreamed of making animations for others to enjoy. With the support of her family, Cindy began to draw from an early age. During her a vacation, she went to the United States alone for a summer school attending School of Visual Arts (SVA). This experience inspired her further.
Before joining Dulwich International High School Zhuhai(DHZH), Cindy planned to attend a high school in California. However, a family friend recommended DHZH to her instead after a visit. After finding out more about DHZH, it was decided that Cindy would come to DHZH for her High School education before going abroad for her University study.
When asked if there was any ups and downs in High School life in DHZH, Cindy said: "Although I have clear goals and the enthusiasm for art, I can’t say my study and life in here is always easy. When I first entered DHZH and committed myself into western way of study, I felt everything was new and full of surprise. The experience here was quite different from my Secondary School. There are lots of activities waiting for the Year 10 and Year 11 students, so I played a very active part in attending events back then. However, when I became a Year 12 student, I found out that I should focus more on academic studies and preparing for the university application process. Life was stressful when I saw most of my classmates were working harder and achieving progress in study, I felt very anxious.
At that time, I took the initiative to consult with my teacher and tell her about my difficulties. The Director, Deputy Director, my teacher and my family sat together with me and discussed how to solve my problem. We optimized my study timetable according to my situation, and I felt a great release immediately as I regained control of my life and study.
During the interview, Cindy also shared with us impressions of teachers: “my Art teacher – she always has her own unique ideas and often encourages us to create freely, so I like to stay in the art room to draw when I have time; my Math teacher - I have a weak foundation in mathematics, but he never gave up on me. I feel very touched for he has always been there to help me; my Geography teacher - he was an interesting man and his classes were always full of laughter.
Cindy also shared the experiences that might have helped her get the offer of CalArts:" I made an animated cartoon, of which each template was engraved on an acrylic board first and then painted with ink and pressed on the paper to make a picture. I had spent more than 20 minutes on each template and altogether I made 300 pieces. The process took me about 3 months, every day from 2:00pm till midnight. Although tiring, the process made me happy. I felt ups and downs as the story developed during the process, and I hope my audience could feel the same way too. Maybe it was this unique way of making animation and my insistence that persuaded the admission officer of CalArts.”
When reviewing student candidates’ application, the admission officers of top universities will not only have high requirements for students’ academic performance and professional skills, but also will pay great attention to the students' experience in co-curricular activities.
For Cindy, she thinks she benefits from the Dulwich Diversity program, which is a series of events that brings world-class practitioners from the visual and performing arts to facilitate workshops and master classes at Dulwich International High Schools and Colleges.
By participating in the international events on behalf of the school, she got the opportunity to meet, work with or compete with other students from all over the country, Asia and the world. When asked what her most impressive event was, Cindy told us that it was the time she joined the Model United Nations Competition: “I just felt so surprised when seeing so many excellent students acting as different representatives for other countries and standing to speak for that country.”
At the end of the interview, Cindy also shared some of her own reflections of study and preparation for university application , hoping to help DHZH’s younger brothers and sisters that have the same dream:
Start to prepare the art portfolio as early as possible(like Year 12); make use of weekend and summer vacation to meet more people with achievements in the field of arts and learn from them; spend more time on weak subjects in Year 10 and 11, so as not to feel anxious about those subjects when applying for university in Year 13.
Cindy's success in receiving her dream offer is inseparable from her parents’ support and encouragement. We also had an interview with Cindy's father and he would like to share his thought:
"I really see the progress that Cindy has made at DHZH. The platform and opportunities that DHZH provides prove that there is no need for parents to send their children abroad for International High School education.
I also think that having a dream is very important for a child. Cindy's motivation comes from the dream of making animations to bring people happiness. In pursuing her dream, she is always willing to keep trying.
What’s more, having a role model who is someone you know is a very inspiring thing. The DHZH alumni always encourage students when they returned to school. I hope after graduation, Cindy can often visit DHZH during her vacation in the future.
Finally, I would like to thank DHZH’s Director, Deputy Directors and teachers for their hard work. ”
Cindy shows us a story of dream pursuing and we wish that her dream of being a Disney animator comes true after her university graduation. We also hope that someday we can watch a Disney film with Cindy’s name on the credits in the movie theater. We believe that will be a wonderful moment of a “dream come true”.
珠海德威2019-2020学年招生报名 Dulwich Admissions Application