to new fields and theories and discourses, I became acutely aware that I found both psychology and Classical Chinese fascinating and challenging.” Larissa ultimately completed a double major in Psychology and Chinese, graduating in 2007.

MARRYING PASSIONS

Larissa’s professional life has blended her linguistic ex-pertise with her commitment to making a difference.

“After graduating from college, I served in the Peace Corps in Togo, West Africa, where I learned French and Kabye (a local dialect),” she says. “I taught Chinese to several high school students in my village who were interested in learning it. It was quite an experience teaching Chinese via French (which I had just started learning myself)!” Later, in the Human Development and Psychology program at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Larissa conducted research using the latest findings in the field of neuropsychology to analyze and create developmentally appropriate methods of literacy instruction.

Today she puts her studies into practice in her work at Taipei American School, where she finds teaching ex-tremely rewarding. “In addition to knowing that at least one of my students is certain to make me laugh that day, what makes me get up every day is a personal challenge I set to myself: to ensure that each of my students learns at least one thing/skill or gains a deeper understand-ing of something they already knew. I also love how as a teacher, I truly am learning along with my students.”

TASTING SWEET SUCCESS

In addition to her prodigious language achievements, Larissa rounds out her repertoire by expanding her “culinary vocabulary” as well. She scored a triumph with specialty cupcakes she baked for a recent ShowCAIS auction (“dark chocolate cakettes with a jasmine-infused creme fraiche topping and a framboise center”). Another of Larissa’s personal goals is “to become better at work-ing with pâte à choux and learn how to make chocolate custard eclairs.” With her CAIS experience a foundation for her future endeavors, it’s clear that whatever goals Larissa decides to accomplish, the world is surely a bet-ter (and tastier) place as a result.

“One memory that will always stick with me, and that I think also embodies what the CAIS experience is like, is how my second grade Chinese teacher, Mr. Wang, would tell us these elaborate stories about a tiger and a not-so-bright man. I distinctly remember the feeling of anticipation when I knew he was about to start a story. As Wang Laoshi would tell us these “sagas,” he’d draw each scene on the chalkboard and act out the man, the tiger, and the narrator. Each story would be different, but usually, the man would end up nearly escaping from being eaten by the tiger. Looking back, and especially through the lens as a teacher now myself, I’m pretty sure he was using specific vocabulary/sentence patterns that we had just learned in his stories. What I remember clearly though is how our whole class would just be DYING with laughter throughout the tale. It really made us love Chinese so much and we would always beg him to tell us another story.” —Larissa Hsia-Wong (1999)

The new vision for CAIS is not mere blue-sky thinking. It is grounded in the real stories and accomplishments of CAIS faculty, students and alumni. A prime example is Larissa Hsia-Wong (1999), who feels she blossomed while at CAIS and learned how to build a life in which she can thrive and help others do the same.

Whether it is in her own academic achievements, in service to others or even in baking the perfect pastry, Larissa has cracked the code. In help-ing others to grow and find self-fulfillment, she shows determination and an openness to new ideas - all while making sure to balance work with fun, just as Chou Laoshi taught her! Now a fourth and fifth grade ESL teacher at Taipei American School, Larissa looks back on her years at CAIS as formative of her identity and values today.

FINDING STRENGTHS

Reflecting on her preparation for the rigors of University High School and Georgetown University, Larissa recalls lessons learned from compe-titions at CAIS.

“I learned, early on, not to equate my performance in a competition with my self-worth,” she says. “These competitions also taught me how to be a reflective ‘loser’ and graceful ‘winner.’”

At CAIS, Larissa also discovered a passion for the study of language. “CAIS inspired in me a deep interest in learning other languages,” she says. “And also, I firmly believe, facilitated an aptitude in acquiring for-eign languages. In high school, I studied Spanish through the AP litera-ture level. In college, I studied Japanese and Chinese and spent a year studying at Nanjing University where I directly enrolled as a student and took regular courses in Chinese.”

EXPLORING INTERESTS

Upon matriculating at Georgetown University, Larissa decided to take her academic explorations a step further. “I entered college with the mindset that there was so much in academia that I didn’t know about, and it was important to explore before deciding upon a major,” she remembers. “I also knew that demonstrating an aptitude in a certain subject did not necessarily correlate to a genuine personal interest in said subject.” Though she had always been good in math, she realized in college that she wasn’t genuinely interested in it. “As I was exposed

校友聚光灯: 陆迢燕ALUMNA SPOTLIGHT:LARISSA HSIA-WONG

A Life Changing, World Changing

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“I learned, early on, not to equate my performance in a competition with my self-worth.”

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