MEIQI AMBER YUAN

Meiqi Yuan, or Amber, demonstrates great enthusiasm for understanding global issues through diverse perspectives. She is currently at Keystone Academy in Beijing. With 5 years of active participation and leadership in activities such as academic debate and Model United Nations in both regional and international contexts, she showcases her commitment to delving into the complexities of global affairs and social sciences. Amber's dedication to fostering a comprehensive understanding of international matters, demonstrates her drive to engage meaningfully with global issues at an academic and practical level.

Currently, Amber is self-studying AP Comparative Government and Politics and AP US Government and Politics, alongside high-level history and English language & literature classes at school. Given her interest in international affairs and public policy, Amber is ranked 3rd in the Chinese national debate rankings while leading the debate club and Model United Nations team at school. To satisfy her creative side, Amber actively participates in school musical productions and operates a WeChat official account with friends, focusing on posting articles related to global affairs and social sciences.

She has also been initiating and leading a service activity that teaches students Chinese sign language and is dedicated to communicating with hard-of-hearing teenagers in her local community. Last year, Amber founded a Sign Language Club at her school where she taught basic CSL on a weekly basis, with each session having more than 30 students attending. She and the students translated ancient Chinese poetry into CSL and shared those poems with hearing impaired teenagers at the local recovery center through regular online meetings. With this work, Amber hopes to give this population access to a beautiful and unique artform and unique aspect of Chinese culture. To build personal connections and better understand their challenges, she also led the students to visit the recovery center every month to learn more about their individual backgrounds and stories.
 
By teaching sign language and interacting with hard of hearing individuals, she is determined to create a platform for better understanding of these individuals, to expand the influence of this project to promote public awareness and encourage connection between hearing impaired individuals and hearing communities on a national level and perhaps even serve as a model for similar programs elsewhere.