JIATONG ANNIE HAN

Jiatong (Annie) Han is a lifelong learner and self-reflector who enjoys exploring the intersection of STEM and social sciences through the lens of empathy and logic.    

She spent her fourth through seventh-grade years living and attending school in Yangon, Myanmar. Her global cross-cultural perspective has also been shaped by her experience in Myanmar, bringing her cherished international friendships. During her time living in Yangon, Myanmar, she experienced firsthand the transformative power of cross-cultural influence. Immersed in a diverse community of expat families from about 50 nationalities, she formed lasting friendships with individuals from different cultural backgrounds like US, Japan, Singapore, Myanmar, Sweden, New Zealand, and more, creating a tight-knit network of international connections. Through engaging with her peers, she gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for the diverse perspectives, traditions, and values that shape our global society. She once participated in a choir that brought together students from diverse backgrounds. Collaborating with a British choir, she and her Japanese friend joined with Burmese children from villages, forming an international ensemble. These experiences nurtured her empathy, broadened her worldview, exemplified the power of cross-cultural interactions, and instilled in her the importance of embracing diversity and fostering meaningful connections across cultural boundaries. She then relocated back to Ningbo, China, where she is from, to begin her eighth-grade year at Georgia School Ningbo, where she continues to live now.    

She is detail-oriented, logical, rational, and objective, making her the go-to person in her friend group to discuss issues, organize team members' thoughts in student council, and be STEM-inclined when considering majors. She loves challenging math queries and can spend hours pondering and solving them. Due to her love of numbers and competitive nature, the game 2048 was one of her childhood favorites even till now. Up until this point, she had never encountered a player who was more skilled than she when she played the game. As her interest in STEM subjects grew due to this game, she began working as a Teacher Assistant for her math teacher at school. She developed as a leader and gained teaching-related skills through her work as a Teacher Assistant.  

Furthermore, after learning AP Psychology in her ninth-grade year, she acknowledges the importance of mental health and its profound influence on overall well-being. With a deep passion for logic and rationality, she recognizes the role of logical thinking in promoting mental well-being and emotional stability. She intends to integrate her love of logic and her interest in mental health by helping to develop evidence-based methods that promote overall well-being through rational thinking. 

She envisions herself continuing to satiate her love of logic and enhancing that capacity in others, whether as a professor, lawyer, or humanitarian, with her motivation in hand.