I was enrolled at SIS from 2017-2019, junior and senior year. When I graduated, I was unsure what to pursue, so I enrolled in a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) as it provided broad exposure to different fields. From there, I applied to EU business schools (Bocconi, ESADE, IE, ESSEC) and chose ESADE as it had a good business school and was in Barcelona. Nowadays, I'm pursuing an MSc in Finance & Economics at HEC Paris and will graduate in June 2024.  

My objective in junior year of my undergraduate studies was to break into investment banking in Europe. Hence, the most logical approach was to study a graduate degree relevant to this field (Finance, Economics, Statistics).

I will start working in investment banking in Paris right after I graduate from an American investment bank in June, so I'm satisfied with my professional success thus far.  

In terms of impact, I want to work in a collaborative environment, especially since this industry is known for having tough working hours, so the need to work with people who are social and communicative was an absolute necessity for me upon choosing which firm to work for.  

Besides that, I want to make a decent living in a major metropolitan area like Paris, Madrid, or London and have a steady family life.  

In terms of courses, I had Economics and Business HL, which helped spark my interest in finance. Profs at SIS for these classes were great. Shoutout to Mr. Tetreault and Mr. V ( Daiju Vithayathil). 

But besides that, I don't think I was significantly impacted in terms of career projections in high school. It was specifically the environment and the people in my undergrad that affected my decision towards a professional orientation. 

I remember these constant talks from other students about how the IBDP was rigorous and would prepare us for university and that since we had already undergone such a challenging degree, the future would not surprise us in that sense. This was not my experience; university proved to be much more complex, and doing the IB did not give me an edge over other students who had pursued other high school diplomas (French, Abitur, Spanish, A-Levels, AP). 

The unique advantage of doing the IB in a school like SIS in China is my mindset. It's an incredibly international environment with many nationalities, and living in Shenzhen allows high schoolers to experience near complete autonomy regarding socializing, events, and extracurriculars. When I got to university, it was very clear who had done a local high school diploma and who had done the IB. IB students were much more open-minded, social, and talkative as opposed to local students if you did not speak their native languages at least. French would hang out with French, Spanish with Spanish, and so on, except for the IB students, who would be friends with multiple people from various backgrounds. My friend group nowadays is very diverse, making it much more interesting.   

English: IB and SIS allow students to improve their English level. It is crucial during interviews when native speakers do not expect a French student to speak English without a thick accent. "Finally, someone that can speak English" - final round interview, Morgan Stanley, Paris in February 2024 with an American Director.  

Social skills: It's much easier for me to make small talk or become friends with people from a wide array of backgrounds than non-IB people. It is especially helpful in university, where you meet many people from many nationalities and have multiple groups of friends. You're not "stuck in your bubble".

I think the most important thing I would have loved to realize back in high school is how your passport, languages and salaries vary between the USA and the EU/UK and what that means for the degree you might pursue a career in the banking and consulting industries. I have done a lot of research on this and found that distinct variables can help students be informed in their choices to optimize the outcome of their educational investment.

我于2017年至2019年就读于深圳市蛇口外籍人员子女学校（SIS），当时是初中和高中时期。毕业后，我对自己想追求的方向并不确定，所以我决定报考工商管理学士学位（BBA），因为这个专业能让我广泛接触不同的领域。之后，我申请了欧盟的商学院（博科尼大学、ESADE商学院、IE商学院、ESSEC商学院），最终选择了ESADE，因为它拥有优秀的商学院，且位于巴塞罗那。现在，我正在巴黎高等商学院攻读金融与经济学硕士学位，预计将于2024年6月毕业。

在我本科学习的第三年，我的目标是进入欧洲的投资银行业。因此，最符合逻辑的做法是攻读与该领域相关的研究生学位（金融、经济、统计学）。

我将于6月毕业后，立即加入巴黎的一家美国投资银行，开启我的投资银行业务生涯。迄今为止，我对自己的职业道路感到十分满意。

在职业影响方面，我希望在一个注重协作的环境中工作。鉴于这个行业的工作强度大、时间长的特点，在选择哪家公司工作时，与社交能力强、善于沟通的人一起工作的需求对我来说是不可或缺的重要条件。

除此之外，我只想在巴黎、马德里或伦敦这样的大都市里过上体面的生活，并拥有稳定的家庭生活。

在学术层面，我修了经济学和高级商业课程，这些课程激发了我对金融的兴趣。SIS的这些课程的教授都很棒，我尤其感激Tetreault先生和V先生（Daiju Vithayathil）。

除此之外，我认为高中时期的学习经历对我的职业规划并没有产生深远的影响。真正影响我决策和职业方向的是我在本科期间所处的环境和结识的人。

我记得其他学生经常谈论IBDP课程多么严谨，能为我们上大学做好准备，而且因为我们已经完成了这样具有挑战性的学位，未来在学术方面就不会再让我们感到畏惧。然而，这并不是我的体验，事实上，大学的学习难度更具挑战性，完成IB课程并没有给我带来比其他持有不同高中文凭（法国、德国、西班牙、A-Levels、AP）的学生更多的优势。

在中国像在SIS这样的学校学习IB的一个独特优势是我所获得的心态。这是一个极其国际化的环境，汇聚了许多不同的国家的学生，生活在深圳的高中生可以在社交、活动和课外活动方面体验到充分的自主。当我进入大学时，很明显谁持有本地高中文凭，谁完成了IB课程。如果你不会说他们的母语，那么与本地学生相比，IB学生通常更加开放、善于社交和健谈。法国人通常会和法国人聚在一起，西班牙人则和西班牙人在一起，以此类推，但IB学生会与来自不同背景的人成为朋友。如今，我的朋友圈非常多元化，这在我看来更有趣。

英语：IB课程和SIS可以使学生提高英语水平，这在面试中是一个关键点，因为母语者通常不期望法国学生能说一口不带纯正口音的英语。“终于有人能真正说英语了”——摩根士丹利巴黎分公司2024年2月终面，与美国籍主管的对话。

社交技能：与没有IB学习经历的人相比，我更容易与来自不同背景的人进行闲聊或成为朋友。这一技能在大学里尤其有用，因为你会遇到许多来自不同国家的人，并能拥有多个朋友圈。你不会“困在自己的小圈子里”。

我认为在高中时期，我最希望能意识到的是，在美国和欧盟/英国之间，护照、语言和薪资等方面的差异，以及这些差异对你在银行和咨询行业职业道路上追求的学位的意义。我对此进行了大量研究，发现存在一些独特的变量，可以帮助学生更明智地做出选择，从而优化教育投资的结果。