When Angela Wei '19 arrived at Leysin American School in Switzerland, she was searching for the right academic foundation to pursue her ambitions. She found much more: a community, a worldview, and a sense of purpose that has shaped every chapter of her journey since arriving on the Magic Mountain.

Originally from China and previously enrolled at Institut auf dem Rosenberg, Angela transferred to LAS with a clear goal—a stronger pathway to US university admissions. She graduated from LAS in 2019 with the IB Diploma, but the education she carries with her extends well beyond the classroom.

A Mountain That Changed Everything
Ask Angela about her years at LAS and she lights up with memories of skiing on powder-fresh afternoons, wandering through snow between classes, the sweeping Alpine views, weekend trips to Geneva, and evenings with friends chatting over traditional Swiss fondue. "LAS was incredibly international and eye-opening," she recalls. It was also where her understanding of the world fundamentally shifted. Surrounded by classmates from every corner of the globe, Angela began to see cultural difference not as a barrier, but as a bridge. That insight would become the thread running through her entire career.


Building a Life of Compassion and Consequence
True to the LAS mission of developing compassionate and responsible citizens of the world, Angela's first professional step after university was joining a non-profit in China dedicated to supporting women facing domestic violence. Rising quickly to Social Media Manager, she recruited and led a team while amplifying the organization's reach and impact, demonstrating her belief that leadership means using your platform in service of others.

Her academic path was equally purposeful—at Colorado College she earned a BA in Anthropology with a minor in Environmental Studies. Graduating in just three years, in part thanks to credits earned through her IB Diploma, Angela studied the very forces of culture and environment her experience at LAS made visible to her. She later went on to Duke University, completing both a Master of Public Policy and an MBA, and was the only international student in the class pursuing both an MBA and Master of Public Policy.

Pursuing a Field That Reflects LAS Values
Recently, Angela moved from Texas and is now based in Washington DC as a Senior Associate, Investor Relations at the Opportunity Finance Network where she embodies the LAS ethos of innovation, responsibility, and global awareness. Her career path, winding from the Swiss Alps to Duke to the boardroom to Washington DC, reflects exactly the kind of adaptable, globally-minded professional that LAS aspires to develop.

The intercultural communication skills she honed at LAS, she says, became among her greatest professional assets—especially navigating the US academic and corporate world as an international student and professional. Bridging her Swiss, Chinese, and American perspectives has become her competitive advantage.

Always Part of the Community
One of the unexpected joys of life after LAS has been discovering just how far the alumni network reaches. Angela has reconnected with fellow LAS graduates through Duke and in Texas, and she is very enthusiastic about deepening those ties—she is actively exploring ways to become more involved in LAS alumni initiatives.

For Angela, LAS was far more than a school. It was the beginning of a lifelong commitment to thinking beyond borders, acting with intention, and investing, in every sense of the word, in a better world.