新学年首次国旗下演讲，师生们都说了什么？

Thank you very much for that warm SAIE welcome. It is an incredible privilege to greet the students, faculty, and staff of SAIE this September – the month of Teacher’s Day in China, the month of the fall equinox (finally the weather will be nicer), the month of my birthday, and last but most importantly, the month of school opening.Like many of you, I’m also new to this campus, having started as an AP and A-Level Physics and Design & Technology teacher just last month. And I say this as someone who has experienced a bit of change once or twice in life: beginnings are always exciting, messy, and beautifully chaotic.

非常感谢SAIE的热情欢迎。非常荣幸能在今年九月——中国的教师节月份、秋分时节（天气终于要变好了）、我的生日月份，以及最重要的开学月——向SAIE的全体师生致以问候。和你们许多人一样，我也是校园新人——上个月刚以AP/A-Level物理与设计技术教师的身份加入这个大家庭。作为在人生中经历过几次转变的人，我想说：每一次开端总是令人兴奋、略带混乱，却又充满美妙的混沌感。

The theme for this month is “Dream Big – Moonshot.” A moonshot means a huge, impossible-seeming goal. Some even call it audacious, that's your SAT term—something that pushes us to do what once seemed unattainable. Let me share how I figured that out in my own life.Just like you, I was once standing in an open high-school auditorium, thinking to myself: “What the heck am I going to do with my life?”Well, I knew I was not going to be a teacher first of all, that’s too much work. I liked sports but I was nowhere near professional level, so that was a no-go. I was very good at math, physics, and English, but come on—how was I going to get a job afterwards? Remember, I didn’t want to become a teacher. I was very passionate about drawing and animation, but my dad said I would live a poor life if I chose that path. So, I was very lost.

本月的主题是「敢于追梦——登月计划」。Moonshot意指看似遥不可及的宏伟目标，甚至可称之为"胆大包天"（这可是你们的SAT词汇）——它推动我们实现曾认为不可能的事。请允许我分享自己的人生感悟。曾经我也像你们一样站在高中礼堂里暗自思索："我的人生到底该何去何从？"首先我确定自己绝不会当老师，这工作太辛苦了。虽然热爱运动但远未达到专业水平，那条路行不通。我的数理化和英语成绩优异，可这些专业毕业后能找什么工作？别忘了，我当时坚决不想教书。虽然对绘画和动画充满热情，但父亲警告说选择这条路将穷困潦倒——那时的我确实非常迷茫。

But one thing I knew for sure: I wanted to do something interesting and challenging because I did not want to live a boring life. And that led me to architecture—a beautiful blend of art, humanities, and science. But getting there was no straight path.I had only a couple of months to figure out how to apply to colleges with an architecture major. Apparently you need a decent science background, so my AP Calc and Physics scores should do; your SATs can’t be too bad, but since vocabulary was my weak spot, I took the ACT instead—quite a curveball! And then you need a portfolio. What even is a portfolio? I had to ask Google and piece together something to the best of my knowledge: a couple of paintings, pictures of a 3D project I did in art class, plus some really badly proportioned photographs that I threw in just to make the portfolio thicker. It was nothing like the fancy portfolios you guys have nowadays.

但有一点我很确定：我要从事有趣且充满挑战的事业，因为不愿度过索然无味的人生。正是这个念头引领我走向建筑学——一个融合艺术、人文与科学的完美领域。但通往梦想的道路从未平坦。当时我只有几个月时间准备建筑专业的大学申请。既需要扎实的理科基础（我的AP微积分和物理成绩尚可），标准化考试也不能太差（因词汇是弱项我选择了ACT考试——这步棋走得很妙！），还需要作品集。什么是作品集？我求助谷歌后凭理解拼凑出些内容：几幅画作、艺术课的立体模型照片，以及一些比例失调的摄影作品——只是为了充厚度。远不如你们现在精心准备的作品集那么专业。

Architecture was new to me, new to my family and friends, and new to my school. I had to figure out a lot by myself. The process consisted of lots of late-night research and Grammarly-checking of my personal statement. Back in my day, we didn’t have AI—can you imagine that?After all that hard work—and a rejection letter from MIT—I had no choice but to go to one of the few schools that did accepted me: RPI, which I later found out was also the alma mater of SAIE’s first U.S.-bound graduate, Donny Xie from the Class of 2016. What a small world! RPI’s school motto is “Why not change the world?” One of its alumni, George Low, was responsible for the design of Apollo 11 spaceship, which sent Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin to the moon on July 20, 1969. If architecture didn’t seem like a moonshot before, that became the spark.

建筑学对我、我的亲友和母校都是全新领域。无数个深夜我独自研究资料，用Grammarly反复修改个人陈述。那个年代还没有人工智能——你们能想象吗？历经艰辛后（包括收到MIT的拒信），我别无选择地入读了RPI——后来才发现这竟是SAIE2016届首届留美毕业生Donny Xie的母校！世界真小啊！RPI的校训是"为何不改变世界？"其校友乔治·劳曾主持设计阿波罗11号飞船，在1969年7月20日将阿姆斯特朗和奥尔德林送上月球。若说之前建筑梦还不算 moonshot，这一刻它真正被点燃了。

So—what did I actually learn from that journey? Here are a few things I’d like to pass on as a graduated student to another.

Dream big, but set small, actionable, incremental goals—and act decisively. In doing so, your energy will attract the right kind of people toward you, helping you achieve your dream.

Have faith in the process of adapting. Learn to adjust to new situations, relationships, and cultural differences. It is mind-opening to meet people who think differently from you, who were raised in a different context, and who see the world in a different way. At first it may feel awkward and uncomfortable—and that is perfectly fine. That’s exactly what it feels like when you go to a new school, a new college, a new graduate school, or your first day of work. But that discomfort is growth—that’s how we as humans make progress.

这段旅程教会了我什么？作为学姐，我想分享几点心得：

敢于树立远大梦想，但更要设定具体可行的小目标——并果断行动。在这个过程中，你的能量会吸引志同道合者助你圆梦。

相信适应过程的力量。学会适应新环境、新关系和文化差异。接触不同思维模式、成长背景和世界观的人会让你视野开阔。初始的尴尬与不适完全正常——这正是踏入新学校、初入职场时的真实体验。但这种不适意味着成长——人类正是这样进步的。

Invest in friendships. Build relationships with your teachers. Delve deeply into the world of ideas. For me, figuring things out in high school meant leaning on classmates and teachers, since I was all by myself in America. And by the way, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to call your parents and loved ones from time to time, just to let them know how you’re doing. Even if they don’t tell you, I promise you, they love it. 

Stand on the shoulders of giants. If you have an idea, discuss it with your friends, classmates, seniors, your teachers. Read books and websites with reliable sources. Consult ChatGPT and DeepSeek (with caution—we all know how nonsensical AI can be sometimes). Then analyze that information with your own perspective.

用心经营友谊。与师长建立深厚情谊。深入探索思想世界。当年我在美国孤身求学时，正是依靠同学和老师的帮助才突破重围。顺便提醒：经常给父母和爱人打电话报平安绝不是坏事——尽管他们从不明说，但我保证他们对此欣喜万分。

站在巨人的肩膀上。有任何想法时，不妨与朋友、同学、学长和老师探讨。阅读权威书籍和网站资料。咨询ChatGPT和DeepSeek（但需谨慎——我们都知道AI有时会胡说八道）。最后用自己视角分析这些信息。

Now, let’s reconnect this moonshot theme to where we are right now—Shenzhen. I love the saying: “来了就是深圳人.” Once you come here, you are a Shenzhener. This city embodies the spirit of the moonshot. Just like George Low at RPI helped send humans to the real moon, Shenzhen’s visionaries didn’t settle—they shot for the moon in tech, creating world-renowned companies like DJI, Huawei, Tencent, Anker, Insta360, Bamboo Lab, and many more.

So—what’s your moonshot? What big dream will you start building today?Thank you.

Good morning everyone,When you hear the word moonshot, what do you think of? Perhaps rockets blasting into the sky, astronauts stepping onto the moon, or maybe just that glowing silver circle we all see at night. To me, a moonshot is more than space travel—it is the courage to aim for something so big, so wild, that people might call it impossible. 

Think about the moon itself. For thousands of years, humans looked up at it and dreamed. Poets wrote about it, sailors used it to guide their way, and lovers whispered under its light. But in 1969, that dream became real when NeilArmstrong took his first step on the moon. That wasn’t just a scientific victory—it was proof that ambition can carry us beyond what we think are limits. So, what does this mean for us today? The moon is still there, but maybe our “moon” looks different. Maybe it’s becoming a doctor, building a company, writing a book, or even solving the climate crisis. Each of us carries our own moon in ourhearts,something so high it feels unreachable. But that is exactly why it matters. 

想想月球本身吧。数千年来，人类仰望月球并心怀梦想。诗人为之吟咏，水手借它指引航向，恋人在月光下低语。而1969年，当尼尔·阿姆斯特朗在月球迈出第一步时，梦想照进了现实。那不仅是科学的胜利，更证明了雄心能带我们突破认知的极限。

那么，这对今天的我们意味着什么？月球依旧高悬，但我们的“月球”或许已不同——可能是成为医生、创办企业、写一本书，甚至是解决气候危机。每个人心中都藏着属于自己的“月球”，一个高远到仿佛无法触及的目标。但正因如此，它才意义非凡。

Aiming for a moonshot doesn’t mean we will land perfectly on the first try. Rockets fail, plans change, people doubt us. But aiming high pushes us further than aiming small ever could.As President John F. Kennedy once said, “We choose to go to the moon not because it is easy, but because it is hard.” The difficulty is what gives meaning to the journey. 

追求“登月计划”不意味着一次就能完美成功。火箭会失败，计划需调整，世人会质疑。但正如约翰·F·肯尼迪总统所言：“我们选择登月，不是因为它容易，而是因为它艰难。”正是困难赋予征程以意义。

And maybe that’s the secret: even if we don’t quite reach our moon, we will still find ourselves among the stars—closer to greatness than if we had never tried at all. 

或许这就是奥秘所在：即便未能真正抵达“月球”，我们依然会置身星河——比安于现状时更接近伟大。

Think of the inventors who created electricity, the pioneers of the internet, or the scientists working on cures for diseases.All of them were once dreamers who dared to take their own moonshots. If they had played it safe, our world would be smaller, darker, and slower. Their courage shows us that chasing impossible dreams is not only about personal success—it’s about lifting up society as a whole. 

想想发明电力的先驱、互联网的开拓者、攻克疾病的科学家。他们都曾是敢于实践“登月计划”的追梦人。若他们选择安稳，世界将更狭小、黯淡而迟缓。他们的勇气告诉我们：追逐不可能之梦不仅为了个人成功，更是为了推动整个社会前进。

So I want to ask you: What is your moonshot? What dream feels so ambitious that it almost scares you? Don’t run from it—chase it. Because the world doesn’t move forward when we play safe. It moves forward when people dare to launch themselves toward impossible goals. 

所以我想问各位：你的“登月计划”是什么？哪个梦想宏大得令你心生畏惧？别逃避，去追逐它。因为世界从不因安稳守旧而进步，唯有敢于挑战不可能目标的人，才能推动时代向前。

The moon will always be there, shining above us as a reminder: aim higher, dream wilder, and never be afraid of reaching beyond the sky. Thank you. 

月球始终悬于天际，以清辉提醒我们：瞄准更高，梦想更广，永远别害怕伸手触碰苍穹。

谢谢大家！