Henny

On the evening of Sep. 4, the day I got together with 301 at noon, I had a good four-hour chat with Henny, a former student who graduated from NHSH in 2008 and went on to study at NTU majoring in anthropolgy. She just came back days ago from Turkey, where she studied as an exchange student for a year.

Henny told me that in Turkey she once encountered anti-riot police and ran with crowds of people for life. Listening to her, I reviewed the high school Henny. Back then when she was in her junior and senior year, a conscientious student, she worked really hard. In class, she always paid utmost attention, with a contented smile.  In her senior year, after she got back her essay with my feedback on it, she would revise it and hand in a 2nd or even a 3rd version soon.

I didn't assign an English magazine for students to study then; instead, they read whatever magazine they liked. Some subscribed to Studio Classroom, some Ivy League, and some English Digest. Henny chose Studio Classroom. She read the magazine in school, and after she went back home, she listened to the program without the magazine.

She also borrowed English books or readers from me. What impressed me most was that she only asked for simple readers during the two months before the entrance exam. Her reason was that they were easier for her to imitate. She got a 16.5/20 in English writing and a total score above 90 in English on the entrance exam.

During our chat that evening, I got to know more about Henny. With an adventurous spirit, she doesn't want to just stay in the comfort zone. And that was why she got involved in several different activities and chose to go to Turkey instead of the USA or some European countries for her exchange student program. All these have broaden her horizons.

Henny, you have my thumb up for sure.