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Ziyou (Milano) Hu ’21

Ningbo, Zhejiang, ChinaBowdoin College
Milano has found that she leads best alongside others.

Is there something at George School that has made a big impact on you?

George School’s idea of equality and community have shaped how I think of leadership. At George School, being a leader does not mean you control others. Instead, it means that you work with other people toward a common goal. George School classes reflect this. Teachers and students work together to seek knowledge and explore truth. In classes, students can challenge the authority—sometimes the teacher, sometimes the textbooks.

I take that principle into practice. For example, I am co-leader of the Biochemistry Club. We involve members in organizing club activities because we believe that everyone is a leader and that everyone’s opinion matters.

I am also an international student mentor, Learning Center tutor (Spanish, Mandarin, chemistry), and a member of SAGE, but instead of thinking of these roles as “leaders,” I think of them as ways that I can give back to the community. Previous leaders really helped my life at George School, and I want to thank them by passing it on. George School offers so many leadership opportunities that everyone can find a way to use their strengths to give back.

What was your most interesting class?

AP US history, taught by Sara Shreve-Price, honed my studying skills and shaped my understanding of history. Because we had a heavy amount of textbook and document reading, intensive test schedules, and so on, I learned how to manage my time and develop a growth mindset. In the class discussions, Sara pushed us to think deeply and to provide answers based on evidence, not based on what “everyone says.”

More about Milano:

An IB Diploma candidate who also takes AP courses, Milano finds her program
“very challenging, but the more challenging the classes, the more I learn.” Outside George School, she is the sponsor and leader of an anti-corporal punishment project and of the Atomic Engineers Project, which aims to eliminate discrimination and bias against women in STEM fields.