Yeonkyung Irene Lee ’19 (South Korea) will study Materials Science and Engineering at Imperial College London after four outstanding years at TASIS that culminated with 36 points on her IB Diploma Programme^® assessment, an induction into the TASIS Chapter of the Cum Laude Society, and the honor of receiving the Jan Opsahl Service Award at the 2019 Commencement Ceremony.

Irene, who scored a perfect 5 on the AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC exams prior to starting the IB Diploma Programme^® in 11th grade, also received offers from University College London, King’s College London, University of Edinburgh, University of Toronto, and University of British Columbia. She is grateful to the College Counseling Office for “helping me a lot with every step of the application process—from planning to submitting—and especially with my personal statement” and credits her teachers for always encouraging her to challenge herself and for pushing her to exceed even her own expectations.

“I have loved the bond between the students and the teachers,” she said. “I will definitely remember the IB Programme^® and my IB teachers—Mr. Hughes, Mr. Ogilvie, Mr. Shields, Ms. Kavalauskas, Mr. Alvarez, Mr. Aeschliman, and Mr. Walker—Ms. Venchus for her amazing math and kickboxing classes, and Mr. Fredericksen for being the most reliable advisor. I will also remember all my dorm parents, who gave me lots of mental support.”

One highlight of Irene’s tenure as a boarding student was earning a Dorm Proctor position in each of her final two years of High School.“Proctorship has been one of my most meaningful activities at TASIS,” she said. “It has taught me independence, responsibility, and leadership, and through this position, I was also able to meet many more students in different grades.”

I am going to miss the strong community TASIS has. I am lucky to have beautiful memories with beautiful people.

Meeting students from a wide range of backgrounds also influenced Irene greatly. “I have found the internationality of TASIS to be most inspiring,” she said. “This indeed taught me a lot and helped me grow internally. I am going to miss the strong community TASIS has. I am lucky to have beautiful memories with beautiful people.”