“There is a certain pride in your voice when you tell people that you're an IB student. It shows resilience, it shows responsibility. And yeah, it feels superior.” Lin ’26 comes by that pride honestly. She is a sixth year student at Leysin American School, and constantly strives to improve herself.

Though born in Leipzig (Germany), Lin considers China her true home. Following the path of her older siblings, she joined the Leysin American School in seventh grade. “Both my siblings graduated from LAS, so I followed that path and ended up here.” From the start, she immersed herself in what the school has to offer, embracing trips, cultural shifts, and expanding friendships.

“Cultural trips are really fun. My favorites were Amalfi (Italy) in grade 10 and then Malta last year in grade 11.” Lin got a thrill out of seeing a different side of her teachers. “It's nice to interact with the teachers outside of their professional environment. You can see that they're really different. I like that.” In Malta, she and her friends were tanning on the beach and heard the laughter of one of their teachers floating down the beach towards them. It was a big shift in how she thought of her teachers.

Academically, the International Baccalaureate program has taught her an important lesson in time management. She recalls a difficult period of time during her first year of IB when her math classes almost became a breaking point. “I learned that time management is more important than I thought it was going to be. I was studying three hours of math a day for three weeks for my final exam.”

Working through her own challenges with the subject, she discovered that teaching others was a valuable method to help cement her knowledge. She helped tutor a classmate who was also struggling with the subject. “I started tutoring her, and at the same time, I was learning more about the subject. I made mistakes, of course,“ Lin said, “but then we learned together. And then we became very close friends because of it.”

Lin’s Zimbabwe service trip stands out from all the others she took while at LAS.  She and nine other LAS students helped with construction a new classroom block at a school (which they fundraised the money to build), worked with preschool students, went on safaris, and sampled local cuisine. The group stayed one night in a rustic hut.  “There was no electricity, no running water. To shower, we were taking a ladle out of a bucket. I enjoyed it because it was a once in a lifetime experience.” The trip offered more than service work. It provided lessons in resilience, perspective, and adaptability. “I've never doubted my choice of going to Zimbabwe,” Lin said.

Looking ahead, Lin is eager to turn her passions into a future career. She sees herself in business, and would love to enter the world of Formula 1 racing, a sport that she follows closely. “I want to work in the Formula 1 industry. I’d like to be a marketing strategist.” She dreams of a role that matches her social media savvy. “I could see myself being the TikTok admin of an F1 team. I'm very good with social media. I think that suits me. I'm always on my phone.”

Ironically, the Leysin American School’s new “no phones during the school day” policy is not problematic for Lin. She has found the policy helps her to stay focused. “It motivates me to go to the library and do my work. It's not a big issue because I like talking to my friends anyway. The only bummer is that I don't get to record fun moments during school days.”