Community Service
TA Shanghai
I grew up in Shanghai, where COVID-19 led many people to abandon pets, and public awareness of stray-animal welfare remains limited despite expanding rescue efforts. During the summer after my freshman year, supported by a $200 Deerfield CSGC summer grant, I collaborated with TA Shanghai, a local nonprofit I’ve worked with since sixth grade, to document rescues and educate the public through photography and social media videos. Using grant-funded filming equipment, I joined volunteer activities, worked alongside rescuers, and began editing my first video.
Wetland
Over the summer after my sophomore year, I received the Deerfield CSGC summer grant, a budget of 300$, to travel to Chongming Dongtan and document the wetland’s beauty, and the pollution threatening it, which pushed me from simply observing to joining hands-on cleanup efforts. Wanting to turn awareness into action, I partnered with a local school art club to run workshops where children responded to my photos through drawing and painting, making conservation feel personal. I then presented my work and reflections back to my school community.
