Eric Zhou

法拉古特2024届毕业生，

收获加州大学洛杉矶分校UCLA录取！

—

Eric Zhou,

a graduate of the class of 2024 at Farragut, 

has been admitted to University of California, Los Angeles.

回顾三年法拉古特生活，我想，付出过最大努力和始终的尝试都围绕着一件事：“在坚持自我和突破舒适圈中，找到平衡”。

Reflecting on three years of life at Farragut, I believe that my greatest efforts and continuous attempts have revolved around one thing: "finding a balance between sticking to myself and breaking through my comfort zone."

从原本略显内向的自己，到拥有很多朋友、参加校内活动、竞赛，最终成功收获UCLA、UF等多所全美排名Top30学校的个体，这段三年多的法拉古特之旅鼓舞着我，这些不断自我突破的经历，让我印象深刻。

From being originally somewhat introverted to having many friends, participating in school activities and competitions, and ultimately successfully gaining admission to UCLA, UF, and several other top 30 ranked schools in the United States, this three-year journey at Farragut has inspired me. These experiences of continuous self-breakthrough have left a deep impression on me.

我和家庭其实从来没有特意规划在哪里上学，但因为有小时跟随父母前往美国就读的经历，还是让我们的整体选择，从最初就显得有些与众不同。回到国内后，我感恩在每个阶段的遇见和收获，而来到国际化高中是我最丰富多彩的经历之一。

My family and I have never specifically planned where to study, but because of the experience of following my parents to study in the United States when I was young, our overall choices have always been somewhat different from the beginning. After returning to China, I am grateful for the encounters and gains at every stage, and coming to an international high school is one of my most colorful experiences.

法拉古特给我留下过深刻的第一印象。第一次参加学校开放日，这里的老师和工作人员给我一种十分用心的感觉，与老师们的交流，让我十分放松。我想，一所松弛的学校，舒适的师生关系，应该很适合我的“舒适圈”。

Farragut left a deep first impression on me. The first time I attended the school's open day, the teachers and staff here gave me a very attentive feeling. The communication with the teachers made me very relaxed. I think a relaxed school with a comfortable teacher-student relationship should be very suitable for my "comfort zone."

每一个到校的学生，都是鲜活的个体，他们渴望表达自我，乐于付诸实践。这似乎与最初的我，显得有些不同。

Every student who comes to the school is a vibrant individual, eager to express themselves and willing to put it into practice. This seems to be a bit different from the original me.

我印象很深的有两件事儿：10年级ESOL课，外教老师为我们讲授莎士比亚戏剧课，这段并不是“课本”中的内容让我意识到，这是老师为了挑战我们的学业而提供的一次机会，也能感觉到她希望我们能从课堂上，获得更多知识。

I have a deep impression of two things: in the 10th grade ESOL class, the foreign teacher taught us Shakespeare's drama class. This content that is not in the "textbook" made me realize that this is an opportunity provided by the teacher to challenge our studies, and I can also feel that she hopes we can gain more knowledge from the class.

 11 年级，当我向英语老师Ashley表达我需要更有难度的英语阅读和写作内容时他很快就给我布置附加的单项作业，鼓励我在英语阅读方面挑战自己。

In the 11th grade, when I expressed to my English teacher Ashley that I needed more difficult English reading and writing content, he quickly assigned me additional individual homework, encouraging me to challenge myself in English reading.

这些事情虽然很小，但我想，这验证了我对这所学校的第一印象：老师们总是乐于沟通，他们希望每位学生都能从每堂课中得到最好收获。

These things, although small, I think, have verified my initial impression of this school: the teachers are always willing to communicate, and they hope that every student can get the best out of each class.

10年级，我对班里的同学还不是十分熟悉时，在升学指导老师的帮助下，我们首次联合参加了China Thinks Big全球青年研究创新论坛这项竞赛。回头看，这项比赛的结果并不是十分重要，极为珍贵的是我可以和同学们聚在一起，分享彼此观点和看法。

In the 10th grade, when I was not very familiar with the students in the class, with the help of the college guidance teacher, we participated in the China Thinks Big Global Youth Research Innovation Forum competition for the first time. Looking back, the result of this competition is not very important, and what is extremely precious is that I can gather with my classmates and share each other's views and opinions.

在多次小组讨论中，我有机会了解每个人感兴趣的领域，最终找到大家都愿意参与并为之发展解决方案的主题。最终，我们设定的CTB主题是为老年人开发一种新型运动解决方案，让他们能够了解如何进行而科学有益的体育锻炼方式。这是团队里每个人都感兴趣的主题。在这近一年的时间里，得益于这项比赛，我们通过各种CTB活动，加深彼此的联系和了解。

In many group discussions, I had the opportunity to understand the fields of interest of each person, and finally found a topic that everyone was willing to participate in and develop solutions. In the end, the CTB topic we set was to develop a new sports solution for the elderly, allowing them to understand how to exercise scientifically and beneficially. This is a topic that everyone in the team is interested in. In this nearly one year, thanks to this competition, we have deepened our connections and understanding through various CTB activities.

和CTB小组成员前往老年社区进行市场调研

Going to the elderly community for market research with CTB group members

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产品设计及介绍

Product design and introduction

考完试后精神状态令人担忧的高中生们

High school students with worrying mental state after exams

12年级，我加入音乐社和合唱团；在去年年末音乐会上，我有机会担任双语主持人；今年，我参加过食堂音乐快闪活动...这些都是我从未想过能做到的事情！

In the 12th grade, I joined the music club and choir; at the end of last year's concert, I had the opportunity to serve as a bilingual host; this year, I participated in the canteen music flash mob event... These are all things I never thought I could do!

半年前，当Zach找到我和另外几位想要尝试表演音乐剧的同学时，我得承认，并不是最初就有勇气尝试，但我感谢当时勇敢的自己，鼓起勇气接受挑战的自己，看到被人抛出橄榄枝，接受的自己！得益于我的这些同学和伙伴们，他们的勇敢和才华，他们的信任是我迈出这一步的坚实基础，真是一次次酣畅淋漓的尝试！

Half a year ago, when Zach found me and a few other students who wanted to try performing musicals, I have to admit that I didn't have the courage to try at first, but I am grateful to myself at the time, to myself who had the courage to accept the challenge, to see someone throw out an olive branch, to accept it! Thanks to my classmates and partners, their courage and talent, their trust is the solid foundation for me to take this step, it is a refreshing attempt!

去观赏音乐剧，去学习表达方式

Going to watch musicals, learning expressions

和音乐剧成员们共同完成

Alexander Hamilton&My Shot音乐剧

Complete the musical Alexander Hamilton and My Shot with the musical members

你有那种感觉吗？在犹豫不决时，有人相信你，鼓励你迈出舒适圈。这些人了解我的优势，挖掘出另一个更内在的自我：在一所学校里能遇到这样的朋友，真是非常幸运。

Do you have that feeling? When you are indecisive, someone believes in you and encourages you to step out of your comfort zone. These people understand my strengths and explore another more inner self: to encounter such friends in a school, I am truly very lucky.

这座看起来并不显眼的学校里，藏着这些让我感动的人，这比什么都重要。

This seemingly inconspicuous school hides these people who have moved me, which is more important than anything.

在申请阶段，我理想中的大学环境原本是像佐治亚理工这种以技术和创新为核心的、可以提供比较广泛STEM领域学习和研究机会的大学，或是像北卡罗来纳教堂山分校这种周围环境相对宁静的综合类学术大学。

Oops！收获北卡拒信一封，信很好，心很碎

Oops! Received a rejection letter from UNC, 

the letter is very good, but my heart is very broken.

UCLA给我发来的这份offer可谓十足惊喜。数学专业，可以说是我的深思熟虑过后的专业选择。更重要的原因，那里天气好，适合打网球！

The offer sent to me by UCLA is a complete surprise. Mathematics major, it can be said to be my professional choice after careful consideration. A more important reason is that the weather there is good, suitable for playing tennis!

In terms of school selection, I initially paid more attention to the ranking because that is the most direct reason for the university's reputation. However, as I learned more and more about the application, I found that the ranking is just superficial. For me, the primary factor in school selection is the geographical location and safety. More importantly, whether there are internship and job opportunities in the university's location is also very important. Once in college, internships are the way we experience work before graduation. The more experience you accumulate, the more you can know what you want to do in the future, and there is also the opportunity to meet more people in related fields. UCLA can be said to perfectly match my school selection criteria.

In terms of professional selection, I initially wanted to choose a major like computer science, but after participating in some computer programming competitions and projects, I realized that what I was really interested in was not the programming itself, but the application of technology and mathematical knowledge.

参加机器人自动化科研项目

Participate in robot automation research projects.

So, my family and I agreed to choose a major that has a broader application in the future: mathematics. It is not so specific, but it has a wide range of applications in many fields. Especially applied mathematics, which is less theoretical, can also be studied in depth on how to apply theoretical knowledge to technology, finance, and even art and other fields. I like the feeling of being able to solve problems with equations or other rules. In fact, I really like calculus. Some people may think that calculus is useless in most subjects or most fields, but I have used the knowledge of calculus in physics exams, and it feels great!

Many people have many misunderstandings about the mathematics major, thinking that the employment direction of mathematics is very limited. Little do they know, graduates of mathematics majors have a variety of employment directions in the future: these directions include not only traditional education and scientific research fields, but also finance, information technology, data analysis, pharmaceuticals, architecture, logistics, consulting, and many other industries. The logical thinking and problem-solving skills that will be learned in the applied mathematics major will also be valued by various fields.

"I must admit, 

sometimes I still don't have the courage

to step up as a leader 

and initiate a breakthroughor a new project. 

However, seeing my classmates organizing events 

and taking on projects 

that interest me really motivates me 

to get involved and contribute to these new endeavors."

For Eric, perhaps three years is not enough to completely change all of his personality and let him completely jump out of the "comfort zone." However, the confidence and encouragement given to him by friends, teachers, and this school have already enabled him to face more uncertainties in the future.

He has gained more wisdom and courage. On the basis of adhering to oneself and breaking through oneself, he continues to grow, and continues to search for balance.