This year YK Pao School is excited to welcome Noah McCarthy and Victoria Tang, our Princeton in Asia fellows, to the High School. The Princeton in Asia (PiA) programme is affiliated with Princeton University, USA, and works to send young graduates into service-based fellowship positions across Asia.
Princeton in Asia at Pao School
Princeton in Asia (PiA) and China share a friendship that spans over 120 years – PiA’s first fellowships took place in Tianjin in 1898, when a small group of Princeton University graduates travelled to China to teach English and do relief work. Now, the programme provides fellowships across 21 countries in Asia and is the largest and oldest organization of its kind.
Princeton in Asia (PiA) is a service-oriented fellowship connecting recent university graduates with host institutions, to promote an open cultural and intellectual exchange, to serve communities and to benefit the fellow’s intellectual, professional and personal development.
– Noah
For 120 years, PiA has been promoting cultural exchange between the US and China
Since 2012, Pao School has been home to PiA fellows, who have all worked with the school to promote intercultural understanding and bring new perspectives to the school. The PiA programme aligns perfectly with Pao School’s value of fostering an international outlook and allows students to not only communicate with fellows from abroad but to also receive guidance from recent graduates of some of the best colleges in the world.
Former YK Pao School PiA fellow, Shannon Griffin, took part in the PiA programme between 2016-2018. Shannon originally planned to only stay at Pao School for one year but enjoyed the environment so much she stayed on for another. She is currently based in Shanghai, working as an associate college counselor, guiding students to their best fit schools in the US, “Working at Pao School solidified my interest in education. You witness so many students and families working hard to receive the best education that they can. In such an environment it’s easy to see the transformative power of education.”
Shannon’s favourite YK Pao School memory is taking part in the 2017 Thousand Island Lake Marathon
Shannon reminisces on her time at Pao School, “Working at Pao School is quite dynamic - one of my fondest memories is taking a group of senior secondary girls to run their first road race at Thousand Island Lake – that’s what the Pao family is about. Pushing and encouraging one another to take try new things and take risks in order to grow.”
Following in the footsteps of the YK Pao School PiA fellows who walked before them, the school is excited to welcome our most recent fellows, Noah and Victoria.
Victoria Tang
Victoria is from New Jersey, USA
Victoria recently graduated from Princeton University, with a major in psychology and a minor in neuroscience and humanistic studies.
Tracing Roots
Victoria is a first-generation Chinese American - growing up in a Latino-majority area of New Jersey in the US was a far cry from her family’s origins in Shanghai. As a recent graduate from Princeton University, she is taking the time to not only explore her roots but also gain more experience and skills.
One of the reasons Victoria chose to come to China was to learn more about her heritage. In 2018, she travelled to Hunan to teach English for six weeks and departed with a stronger desire to return. She was eventually drawn to YK Pao School due to an interest in embracing her Shanghainese roots.
In Hunan, co-workers who were also Chinese-American felt that coming back to China gave them this sense of home and identity... but for me, it felt close, but Shanghainese is my first language, not Mandarin. I thought maybe, if I came to Shanghai, I would get more of that feeling.
During her Princeton years she acted as co-chair of the executive board at the Community House and the Pace Center for Civic Engagement. This experience, alongside time spent volunteering at various schools, encouraged her to take part in an education-related fellowship to learn more skills - particularly in Pao School’s unique and progressive environment, “I graduated early and felt like this was my chance to branch out and explore. I think that there are so many important skills to learn - from a resume standpoint - working in a school, you meet so many incredible people, find so many different perspectives, work with inspiring kids, and there are so many different ways to get involved. I really appreciate that and it was something I wanted to experience.”
Victoria brings a number of different experiences to the High School, ranging from her background as an Ivy League graduate to her degree specialisation in psychology. One of her key responsibilities is to supervise IB Diploma level psychology, alongside working with the Student Life Office and to provide university counselling. Recently, she has been given the responsibility of coordinating international exchanges – two-week exchange placements with fellow High School students from across USA, UK, Australia, Singapore and Canada. She also assists with a CCA – bakery.
As a Chinese American and Princeton graduate, Victoria brings a unique perspective that she hopes she can use to guide the students.
I’m grateful that I can bring those perspectives to our students and talk to them about what it means to look, and be, Chinese in the US during college and beyond. What kinds of assumptions might they encounter, and how might people treat them based on that? What expectations might be made of them when it comes to representing their country and culture?
Victoria wants to help the students prepare to face stereotypes that they may have not encountered before.
“There’s the stereotype that Asians are quiet, good at math and nerdy. People assume that Chinese students are really passive, especially the girls, and that they are only focused on academics such as science, math, engineering - that they are not doing analytical thinking or leadership. I think in talking to some of our students here… they’re so well rounded and so comfortable in who they are, what they’re doing, and the goals that they have, that it might actually be a shock to them to encounter some of these stereotypes and prejudices.”
Victoria also feels lucky that she can be honest with her students about her experience at university and that she is in a special position to answer questions students may not be comfortable asking in a more formal environment. As an Ivy League graduate, she is deeply familiar with the pressures the students may face in the future and sincerely hopes she can help them develop the tools to navigate these challenges.
I think it’s important to give a realistic view and emphasise to our students that college is still a place to learn and change and explore, not the end of the road, and there’s so much they can gain from it beyond the name of the school or the academic transcript.
Noah McCarthy
Noah is from Michigan, USA
Noah attended the University of Michigan, focusing on history and international relations. Alongside his work at YK Pao School, Noah has had experience teaching in France, Hungary, Poland and China. These varied teaching experiences have given him a deep appreciation for international education, with a fascination surrounding USA and Chinese relations. In the future, he would like to continue on to study a Master’s degree in International Education or Political Science.
Forging a new path
As someone who grew up in a diverse community and throughout his time working as a tutor for Chinese families, Noah became fascinated with the differences between China and the US.
This interest inspired Noah’s journey to YK Pao school, as he sought a greater understanding of international education and teaching methods - not only to improve teaching but also as a way to share culture. He notes; “If the big goal is to work on cross-cultural, mutual understanding between China and the US, then education is the most human channel of connection.”
At the Pao School, Noah primarily collaborates with the Department of Language Development, with one of his duties being to give English classes to small groups of students. He also works within the Writing Centre, providing one-on-one tutoring for students to support and improve their writing abilities. In addition, he helps teachers develop and deliver workshops to students on topics such as citation and plagiarism. Alongside his English language support, he also leads two CCAs - Public Education, helping students to research and create their own articles, and, on a lighter note, ping pong.
Noah leads two CCAs; Public Education and ping pong
More than just providing his expertise in academics and his support for CCAs, Noah serves a mentor-like role for the students. As a recent graduate and someone closer in age to the students than most staff, he feels he can deeply empathise with them.
“I’ve just applied to university programmes and am preparing to do so again, so when I help students with their university applications I can tap into the same nerves and excitement that they're feeling. This means we can feed off of each other’s passion and enthusiasm to explore the range of opportunities they’ll find in university.”
Noah is excited to not only teach the students but to learn from them as well. A key part of the Princeton Fellow programme is to share and exchange culture. Pao School’s nature as a community with a Chinese heart and global perspective provides the perfect partner to enjoy this with.
Every other day, one student brings me a ‘Geopolitical Question of the Day’ for us to consider, research, and discuss. I teach another student a word in Hebrew every day, and he teaches me a word in Shanghainese. I am also constantly exchanging poetry, short stories, philosophy and music trends with students—both in Chinese and in English.
Becoming part of a community
Since arriving in August, Noah and Victoria have been welcomed into the YK Pao School community, building relationships with students and colleagues alike. They both highlighted how warm and caring their colleagues have been, and that they have been given many opportunities to learn and gain experience. Noah comments, “Staff have been very good about approaching me, reaching out and offering new projects, new ideas or opportunities for me to expand my role. In terms of work and involvement there are no shortage of opportunities. People are very proactive about working with me and offering to collaborate.”
Noah and a student delivering a skit to promote the Writing Centre
One of the things that makes YK Pao School special is its students, who embody a spirit of integrity, compassion and balance. Students at the High School have made an impression on Noah with their ambition and passion,
Pao School students of all levels are ambitious and motivated... the school is filled with all sorts of uniquely creative and passionate characters. I have been especially delighted with the depth and breadth of knowledge that students accumulate inside and outside the classroom, their insatiable curiosity and open-minded desire to study any and every subject, and the readiness and eagerness with which they seek to learn from and share with their peers... as well as teachers!
Victoria also highlighted the kindness and drive of YK Pao School students,
The students are all very sweet... one of the things I am really impressed by is just how much drive they have. They just have so much energy and some of the things they do on the side are just incredible, the range of interests the students have is so impressive to me.
Both Noah and Victoria plan to be at YK Pao School for a year, but they have emphasized that in the future they want to continue with their studies, continue building their relationship with China and continue learning mandarin. Remember to give them a hand – next time you see them on campus, greet them with a ‘ni hao’!
