#GraduateStory | Martina Ding: Grain Rising with the Wind: Chasing Dreams at Beijing Academy



Part 01

Arriving at Beijing Academy



This is my seventh year at Beijing Academy.

Over seven years, I have studied at Xibahe and Dabanan, Jinzhan and now the new main campus. What I remember most clearly are particular moments that reveal how much has changed.

On my first visit, an older student stood onstage with an iPad, explaining the Experiential Course and community service, camping and the possibilities ahead. He helped me see what education for the whole person could look like in practice. Later, we watched him pursue the future he had hoped for.

Part 02

Learning to Make My Own Choices

In middle school, I consistently earned high grades. Questions about why I studied, what suited me, and where I hoped to go were still waiting for an occasion that would prompt me to explore them.

Entering BAID provided that occasion.

High school offered considerable freedom to choose. A wide range of AP courses and organized English instruction helped me finish preparing for TOEFL and ACT early. With excellent teachers guiding me, I had more time to explore. I entered mathematical modeling competitions and presented my work. Classmates elected me to the Student Council, where I became its youngest Secretary of the Activities Committee and organized dances and New Year celebrations. The GPSI project gave me my first systematic introduction to research. During that year, I increasingly took the initiative in deciding what to pursue.



In Grade 10, I joined a government-supported international exchange program in Egypt. That month became one of my most memorable experiences: celebrating beside the Nile at sunset with peers from fourteen countries, observing community-led organizations in Garbage City and at SEKEM farm, and enjoying the simple, welcoming life of my host family. There was a worn window air conditioner in 50-degree heat and ants biting me in bed, along with family barbecues. The wider world felt more immediate, and I began considering the deeper relationships between individuals and society.

In Grade 11, I continued studying in Elite Scholar. Drawing on my experience with quantitative and qualitative methods, I researched high school student teams and communities while continuing fieldwork in my hometown and Egypt. This work allowed me to deepen my interests and express my concern for people in those communities.



As Student Council President, I led classmates in launching Beijing's first academic forum bringing high school students together across schools. We introduced new approaches to the council's internal management and co-founded BA Speaker, a platform where high school students in our community could share their academic work. Beijing Academy gives students responsibility and trusts them to take initiative. Ideas followed by action receive support, allowing us to connect with others and develop new projects.

Grade 12 involved deep reflection. I often spoke with my College Counselor, Principal Zhou, whose questions encouraged me to reconsider myself: Who am I? What do I care about? How had I made my choices, and why? Working through those questions helped me write my essays and repeatedly reassess my understanding of myself. It was demanding and gradually brought greater clarity.

Part 03

The Moments I Treasure

Alongside those larger experiences are small moments from these seven years that I will always remember.

• My Homeroom Teacher, Ms. Mingminger, feels like an older sister. Every year she gives me a special birthday present; this year's small pine tree carried a wish for me to relax.
• Walking carefree along a hillside by the sea after presenting at HKUST.
• Four girls squeezing onto one bed and chatting late during the Experiential Course.
• Watching Teacher Maomao's almost acrobatic demonstrations in physics class.
• Organizing a seminar in Ms. Xiao's AP Language class.
• Teachers offering comfort one after another in the cafeteria after my early application was deferred.
• Celebrating countless birthdays and sharing dinners, along with karaoke nights, with classmates.
• Feeling proud after defending our football and basketball championships.
• Talking comfortably and relieving stress in Ms. Lyu's counseling room.
• Hearing classmates cheer in reaction videos when early admission decisions arrived.
• Enjoying the almost overwhelmingly sweet little cakes that Michael, our foreign teacher, made himself.

Individually ordinary, these moments accumulated into a deeply affectionate memory of my time here.



Looking back, I recognize how much I have changed. I used to work toward an image of who I ought to become; now I increasingly accept myself as someone who keeps changing and can remain open to new possibilities. I once followed a prescribed plan, and now I am learning to decide my own direction. Beijing Academy's accepting environment supported that development throughout these seven years. It encouraged courageous choices and exploration, lasting commitment to interests, responsibility and practical experience of leadership, and relationships founded on trust and understanding.

Beijing Academy gave me time and space to understand myself gradually, build friendships, and learn how to live alongside others in the wider world.

As we move forward, I hope we can help make the world better.