Gathered up in the office, three guests from Global Views — Commonwealth Publishing Group, six PAS students, and Ms. Pamela discussed the instrumental role education plays in nurturing positive contributors to society. 

The general manager, editor-in-chief, and associate marketing director of the company arrived at PAS on a Friday morning to chat with Ms. Pamela about the school’s guiding principles and emphasis on interdisciplinary education and project-based learning. On top of that, six students from the junior and senior classes sat down with the guests to share their experiences at PAS and how the school has fostered their growth.

After briefly greeting the students, Ms. Esther Lin, the general manager of Global Views, initiated the hour-long conversation by asking students what aspect of PAS education they cherish the most. Students unanimously suggested that they value the way PAS exposes them to various academic disciplines and advocates them to explore their interests — the “buffet” approach to learning, as described by Ms. Pamela. Ben Tsai (12) explained that unlike local schools, PAS pushes students to become experts in their own fields of interest, “permitting students to demonstrate what they enjoy doing and are really good at.” Chi-Wei Tai (11) and Sidney Liu (12) fully agreed with Tsai, both communicating that the school has encouraged them to pursue their true passion. 

While all students concurred that PAS has enriched them academically, some also manifested how PAS has fundamentally changed their attitudes toward learning. 

Alice Wang (11) expressed that the school system compelled her to better budget her time: “Since a lot of events here at PAS are student-led, I learned how to juggle extracurricular activities and academics while remaining committed to STUCO and the musical production.” 

“It is a mixture of happiness and hard work,” revealed Anngu Chang (11), who has been studying at PAS since third grade. “I used to feel apprehensive about failing to ‘catch up,’ but the flexibility of the school curriculum has enabled me to slowly build my foundation as I advance forward, regardless of how fast or slow others are moving.” 

Apart from helping students cultivate self-discipline and assisting them throughout their academic journeys, the school, as Catherine Chow (11) highlighted, has allowed her to become a more confident person. She remarked that knowing she has “supportive teachers to count on” has made her feel less restrained in experimenting with different things and just being herself. 

As the discussion gradually came to a close, Ms. Jessica Lee, the editor-in-chief, left a final note advising students to remember what role they want to play in society as they march forward in life. Hopefully, as school resumes in the fall, students would continually strive for intellectual character growth, making the most out of their education.