Fan Gao (Helen)

Hi there! My name is Helen Fan Gao, I am a senior at Renmin University high school in Beijing. I am passionate about social justice, community service, and learning new things. Thank you for taking the time to get to know me.

I was elected president of my class since 10th grade. My job mostly involves around organizing school events. I also hold office hours, which consists of providing an ear for my classmates.

One of my passion is education. I establish a program where high school students go to local elementary schools to teach English and math to children of migrant workers. We also cook food and take them on field trips. I have learned more from my students than I have taught them.

I really enjoy playing tennis. I've been playing tennis since 2009. I am also a competitive Go player. Go is an ancient Chinese board game with black and white pieces. I am a third dan amateur Go master, and I compete in various tournaments around Beijing. I plan to continue both sports in college.

As Vice President, I've helped with activities and magazines about literature and increased my understanding in it. Words are used daily; yet their beauty is lost in overwhelming social media. It's a duty to preserve the classic, such as Chinese characters, and to develop other aspects like debates.

I acted as the Screenwriter and one of the Vice Directors of a student movie, Once Again, thus spending more than a year filming and editing, before it finally attended a well-known student-based regional Movie Festival. The process was exhilarating and indelible with numerous stories to tell.

I had the opportunity to study at the University of Chicago this summer. It gave me a taste of what studying in America is like. I've also learned how to make Chicago style deep dish pizza, which I have replicated with various success.

The club encourages ambitious teenagers to think about big things, like global economics or social media. As an initiator, I've set up talks with leaders in different fields, which helped me and other members assess the future trend in ten years. In a scant two years, our group has greatly enlarged.

In the drama club that I joined in college, I acted as stage manager for our 2-hour Fall 2015 Production and as producer for Spring 2016 Production. I also had the chance to perform in Berkeley Spring Festival Gala in February. It was huge fun!