Before coming to Sendelta, Dale attended a public high school in Yunnan. With its enclosed campus, fixed schedule, and uniform pace, the system required little more than following the school's lead and putting in the work—steady effort all but guaranteed progress.
She ranked near the top of her class and looked successful by any external measure. Yet something felt off. The rigid atmosphere, the relentless pace, the subtle but palpable distance between teachers and students—it left little room for someone like Dale, who thrived on connection and loved learning from those with more experience.
She began to question herself: Is this really the kind of growth I want? Being passively directed, head down, always moving but never choosing the direction?
The turning point came unexpectedly. Through a friend of her parents, Dale learned about international education and the A-Level Division of Sendelta in Shenzhen. The open and inclusive campus culture, the flexible curriculum, and the globally connected pathways to university—everything about it resonated with her.
Driven by the dream of attending a top university and the desire for a richer, more multidimensional education, she left behind her hometown and familiar surroundings, traveling over a thousand kilometers to Shenzhen to start a new chapter in her education.
Having grown accustomed to being told what to do and when to do it, Dale carried her old intensity into the A-Level program at first. She got ready in five minutes, rushed through meals in ten, and arrived at the classroom before anyone else—only to find herself restless and unable to focus. Effort didn't yield immediate results, and frustration crept in.
At the same time, the all-English courses taught by foreign teachers became a major hurdle. She struggled to follow the content and keep up with the pace. Language barriers, different ways of thinking, and the sheer weight of so many changes all at once—it was overwhelming, and for a while, she questioned whether she could make it.
Fortunately, Sendelta's warm, supportive, and open atmosphere gradually eased her tension. Watching her classmates approach their studies with a balanced mix of discipline and ease, she began to let go of her anxiety and learned to slow down and steady herself.
What truly helped her settle in was the genuine, approachable relationships she found with her teachers. They felt more like mentors than authority figures. Sylvia, her English teacher, patiently worked with her on pronunciation and helped her build confidence in the language. April, her homeroom teacher, stayed attuned to her emotional state, offering reassurance and guiding her toward new friendships and a sense of belonging.
With the help of bridging courses, differentiated instruction, and one-on-one guidance from her teachers, Dale gradually found her footing. She stopped grinding for the sake of grinding and started planning strategically: beginning with simpler subjects to ease into study mode, working backward from exam schedules to set realistic goals, and reviewing her performance after each test to identify areas for improvement. Even when she didn't do well in economics, she didn't panic or spiral. She took a step back, analyzed what went wrong, and mapped out her next move with a clear head.
"Now I've learned to forgive myself. I give myself enough time to figure out my own pace, and I waste much less energy on overthinking." That shift in mindset—learning to be kind to herself—has been one of the most valuable gains from her journey of transition.