YIran
Emily chen
Yiran Chen, or Emily, is an enthusiast in the fields of arts and culture as well as urban and regional planning. She envisions a life where she can channel and integrate her passions for art with designing a collective future of sustainability.
My Story
She fell in love with art at a very young age. From doodling to learning different forms of art, art has been her favorite thing. But as she grew up, she learnt more about the world and the things happening beyond her community. Geography taught her more about sustainability and the crisis around the world. Hence she decided to combine the two subjects she mostly enjoys together to do things more meaningful.
She is currently engaging across a wide spectrum of activities to pursue both her professional and personal growth. At school, she is a creative student who enjoys art and geography. She started her own extracurricular club, Art Warming, with her friend. In their club, they encourage students and teachers to create artworks for art sales. The money from the art sales will be donated to charity and support needs of local communities. As someone passionate about inclusive education, she teaches primary students from low income background English vocabulary aiming to enhance their communication skills. She also reads books to kindergarten children at her school helping them with their vocabulary and pronunciation. Lastly, she also volunteers her time managing books in the library and acts as a school ambassador giving tours to potential families.
Outside of school, she is adventurous in building up her knowledge. She completed a course in ballet (still working on Royal academy of dance examination Grade 5) and art. She also contributed to many math competitions (SASMO and UKMT bronze medal earned from both). To address her interest in sustainability, she was accepted into the pre-college program in Columbia studying Urban Planning and Design. In her spare time, she spends it traveling around the world to see and feel the diverse culture across different countries. She also enjoys sport activities such as skiing.
Looking ahead, Emily aims to continue leveling up on both her knowledge and know-how in the real world of urban planning and design by attending global conferences and joining relevant community networks with like-minded individuals. She seeks to paint a future that aligns with the core values of the UN Global Goals while carving out a style which is reflective of her true self.