Hi, my name is Richard Liong and I am currently a freshman at the British International School in Jakarta, Indonesia. I am an Indonesian and I am multilingual as well. I have many interests and I greatly enjoy immersing myself in activities like playing the clarinet, taking part in history competitions, contributing to the school by joining student government and committing community service. However, what I am greatly interested in and enjoy the most is Mathematics. It is a subject that I have thoroughly enjoyed throughout my school years. The challenge of thinking and the process of logic always attract me to Mathematical problems, however difficult and regardless of the form in which they come. Often, I try to challenge myself beyond the syllabus, taking part in national and international competitions like FOBISIA (Federation of British International Schools in Asia), AMC (American Math Challenge), UKMT (United Kingdom Mathematics Trust) and CMC (Canadian Math Challenge), winning myself a series of awards as I compete. For as long as I can remember, I constantly strive to improve my skills in Mathematics, In addition to my Mathematical classes in school, I would often find the time to commit myself to learn independently from books like Standard Level IB Mathematics, Additional Maths 360, Mathematics for the International Student Standard Level, etc. learning a range of topics like differential and integral calculus and logarithms. I would love to pursue a career in the field of mathematics and I believe my choice of classes in Exeter Summer Program matches my capabilities as well as my aspirations to become a successful mathematician.
I also enjoy playing the clarinet. In elementary school, we had a music class which was unique in the way that you were allowed to select your own personal instrument, which I chose the clarinet. This was where I met the person who helped shape my love for the instrument, Mr Bimo. He always had a smile on his face, asked students about their day, and always knew something special about each individual student. He used books to enhance lessons, and we would often play musical bingo where we had to guess the instrument. His creativity really sparked my passion for music because my elementary school music teacher brought me the most joy throughout my entire school day. I was involved in my school orchestra in 6th and 7th grade, playing as the 1st clarinet. This opened the doors to a really competitive musical environment, and I had to practise for hours weekly to prepare for the ABRSM (The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) exam. Currently, I am a Grade 3 clarinet player, soon to go to Grade 4. Now that I am in 9th Grade, I am now more involved in music than ever before. I participate in 3 audition ensembles, the School Orchestra, the Clarinet Choir and the Chamber Orchestra, requiring me to practise the clarinet outside of school, and taking up a lot of my time. Moreover, I also compete in FOBISIA music, going on trips to cities like Phuket, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. In a way, focusing more on the musical aspect allowed me to appreciate the beauty of music more than I ever had.
As mentioned earlier, one of the things I do in my weekends is community service. I first visited the local school where I regularly volunteer to teach two years ago. The moment I saw the energetic, keen-to-study, knowledge-hungry children at the local school, I knew I’d do whatever I could to help them gain knowledge. I work in North Jakarta, starting in 2016 two years ago. I have been teaching weekly, every Saturday for about four hours’ period. As a volunteer at Saab Shares Foundation, I teach third and fourth graders who struggle in their English skills, particularly grammar, literacy and vocabulary. There are currently 21 students in my class, and as part of my work, I would create practise problems and quizzes and try to connect English to the students’ interests. One of my most memorable classes was when Rivo, a student I had been working with for several weeks, told me he enjoyed one of my particular tasks I had set them about writing about their favourite sports that he asked to help me create problems for other students. Nevertheless, the community service accomplishment that I am most proud of is the work I did to help organise the second annual Awards ceremony and anniversary of the Saab Shares Foundation. My job was to design activities the children and parents could enjoy, as well as picking out the awards for the winners of the ceremony. The ceremony was a success and went well, going on for four hours, including three speeches, four performances by the students themselves, and a short movie screening. Almost all 70 students attended the event with their parents that day. I believe that this event was really important because it gave the parents a chance to connect with the students that day in a way they were not able to. It also made the school seem fun and enjoyable, and we have over 10 students joining Saab Shares foundation, and 2 volunteers to teach at the school since the event. As a result of my community service, I gained hands-on experience in teaching. I learned how to guide children, engage with a diverse group of people, and even improve my skills in public speaking. Teaching at the school could be challenging at times, but it taught me to appreciate the value of hard work and understand how difficult it is for teachers too. I increasingly offer to help out my teacher in school myself because I know from my community service just how much work it is. I also learn to appreciate my school more, and I know how lucky I am to be part of such a prestigious community.
Last year, my mother sent me to New York Military Academy in New York City for the summer, which I honestly did not enjoy, although it had been an enriching and fulfilling experience. It had been brutally physical – everyday was full of intense training with little rest, while I have always wished for a more academic summer course that would help prepare me for college. This, I believed strengthened my will to attend Exeter’s Summer Programme even furthur, and I could not wait to finally turn to 9th Grade to attend the Programme. Truthfully, I have always wanted to be a part of Exeter’s Summer Program since 4th Grade, but my age was never sufficient to attend the programme. I found out about the programme online a few years ago, and the moment I read about the courses and the experience it could supplement me, I knew that this course would match my desires and would be a significant experience in my life, should I be able to attend. Exeter’s Summer Programme would give me the opportunity of choosing what to learn, which in my case would be literacy, and I believe that this is a great way to prepare for college. It would be a great opportunity to learn new things, since my future aspirations strongly bond with the beliefs of this Programme. Although perhaps I will be living in a new place, meeting new people and will be away from the comforts of home, I know that this will help get a good understanding of college life and learn to be a more independent student. Most importantly, I believe that I will be able to contribute to the school as well. Coming from a diverse ethnic background, with a foreign nationality, I know that I have many experiences to share with the school and I will be able to easily socialise with the students. I also hope to be able to encourage many other people I know to apply to the Summer Programme as well for them to reap the benefits of this enriching course. I do hope that I will be able to attend this Summer School because of the wide variety of opportunities provided. I am greatly looking forward to this great opportunity.