At SSIS, we believe that gaining knowledge is the first step to building wisdom, but sharing knowledge is the first step to building community.
When our students returned with extraordinary experiences from their summer break, our faculty wanted to make sure that the growth of the students could be shared throughout our community.
To this end, High School Counselor Deviyani Pathak and High School Librarian Amy Coquillard created the Student Series initiative.
A lunchtime platform to elevate student voice, the first installment of the Student Series featured an online entrepreneur, insights into interning at Vinfast, and a group of students who ran an English-language camp during the summer!
Navigating Vinfast: A Hanoi Internship
In his presentation, Maxim (Grade 11) what it was like to intern in the electrical engineering department at Vinfast, an opportunity that took him all the way to Hanoi to live by himself during the month-long experience. He learned about the corporate world and how to make professional connections while having the chance to engage with the automotive industry’s systems and practices.
Insights included the best way to get an internship at a major corporation like Vinfast, including common pitfalls to avoid, and what Maxim did to get the most out of his internship experience.
Entrepreneurial Spirit to Promote Literacy
Stemming from a family of avid readers, Justin (Grade 11), was inspired by the large volume of books he had at home when he built his very own nonprofit library website, Booktio with the aim of making English language books more accessible in Vietnam. Besides exhibiting a keen sense of UX/UI, Justin spent just as much time crafting a business plan, and already, Booktio has 800 titles, soon to be 1,000, available!
During his presentation, Justin shared that having a good purpose, a thorough roadmap, and sufficient self-belief to convince others to join their cause are all helpful when you consider launching your own philanthropic online projects. Grade 4 students were among the attendees and they were certainly eager to learn more.
Two-Week English Camp to Share the Gift of Language
Another group of students who were eager to share the meaningful experience they had during summer break, were four representatives from the Saigon South English Camp (SSEC) team of 14 students who spent months planning a high-quality 2-week English summer camp for underprivileged children at Soc Trang school. In addition to tailored lesson plans, the SSIS students planned three field trips and lots of fun and engaging activities for 90 students!
The SECC team representatives outlined the steps they used to go from conception to execution, giving advice to fellow students who want to follow in their footsteps and conduct Dedicated Service projects of their own.
Sharing the Wisdom Schoolwide
We’re grateful for the speakers of this first Student Series who took the time to prepare presentations and share their experiences with other students, faculty, and admin. In this way, any one Dragon’s personal growth can benefit our whole community!