毕业生| 刘峥：自驱男孩圆梦帝国理工，向卓越建筑师的理想再进一步！

视觉艺术教室的桌子上至今都有几个圆形的褐色印记。那是刘峥准备自己的IBDP艺术展作品《47号避难所》时候，在这里打磨木头留下的。

“他在这里做了好多天，好长时间，老是满头大汗的……”视觉艺术老师朱宁说。

目标明确，自我驱动，做事认真，虚心受教，是大家对刘峥的一致印象。

这样有天赋而努力的学生，在今年的大学申请中，不出意料地拿到了帝国理工学院和伦敦大学学院土木工程专业、爱丁堡大学和曼彻斯特大学的建筑学专业等一系列知名大学优秀专业的录取通知书。

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受到一位设计课老师的启发，刘峥几年前就确定了学习建筑设计的方向：“他总会带我们做一些木凳子、勺子、戒指……”动手的快乐，让刘峥很享受，也暗合了他长久以来对艺术和建筑的向往。

“做个建筑设计师吧”，他发现这样的方向可能是自己的“真爱”，就开始留意。

把自己放在“对”的地方，事情就会向“对”的方向发展，也包括他面对疫情影响，综合考虑之后加入启明星的决定。

刘峥衡量多种因素，最终选择在各方面都适合自己的启明星继续完成中学学业。“我觉得启明星的大学升学辅导计划和我想要的大学申请方向是一致的。”

一加入启明星，刘峥就赶上了学校为中学高年级推出的实习计划。那是专为学生探索大学专业方向和职业兴趣设置的暑期项目。

大学升学顾问对刘峥在专业和人际交往各个方面都进行评估之后，清晰感受到他学习建筑设计的兴趣和为进入实习做好了准备，就在业内前沿的设计公司Robarts Spaces为他精心安排了为期2周的密集实习。

他先是在公关部门帮忙做竞品调查；再前往材料部门，学习材料的分类，了解各种不同材料的特点和功用；接着下工地，实地了解建筑是如何从图纸上“站”起来的；最后来到设计部门学习、帮忙，收获很多！

最后一个环节最他兴奋，也最有成就感：不但和资深设计师一起设计项目，还小小发挥了一下：“当时，设计总监正在为客户设计从停车场到4层的室内空间。原本的色调是灰白的冷色，但客户想要暖色的风格。总监让我找一下替代的方案，我就想到木头的颜色，木纹的褐色……还得到了总监的认可！”

后来，他又赶上了学校在社会创新项启目中设立的诸多“第一次”，比如他和小伙伴们在力求改变的路演中推广的、倡导负责任消费和人性化屠宰牲畜的HUE项目，比如艾毅幼儿园三里屯校区请他设计图书室……

这些经历丰富着刘峥的经历，开阔了他的视野。他曾不无感慨地告诉大家这些尝试对自己的弥足珍贵：“不开启这段旅程，你永远不知道自己会到达哪里……”

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“走在正确的方向上”也包含选择了和自己价值观契合的环境。

卓越和服务是启明星的重要核心价值观。自我驱动的刘峥也期待为身边社区带来积极的改变。

《47号避难所》是刘峥的IBDP视觉艺术课作品。这幅大尺寸的木作是刘峥花了2个星期设计、采买木料，之后在木工坊亲手磨出来的。

“有一年我回到老家内蒙，住在牧民的家里。那里几十公里内都没有第二户人家，但这些牧民无论是对亲戚还是我这样的陌生人都很友好。在我住下的这段日子里，杀了3只羊来款待我。但另一方面我也亲眼在北京看到，上下班时人潮汹涌的地铁里，人们尽管挤在一起却各自低头看手机，人和人离得这么近，彼此的距离却有那么大。”刘峥说，“所以我想通过《47号避难所》启发人们思考、甚至模糊彼此之间的物理界限，在繁忙的都市生活中寻回那些丢失的亲密关系，不再孤独。”

《47号避难所》的立意很有现实意义，实现的也很巧妙。刘峥发现，有研究显示，47公分是我们社交距离的临界值。小于47公分是亲密关系的距离；大于47公分是陌生关系的距离。根据他的设计，观众站在《47号避难所》里，通过调整手柄降低或升高伞顶来体验与周围事物距离远近对自身心理感受带来的变化。

这部作品在IBDP艺术展上亮相，体现着这个年龄段的少年人少有的对身边世界的敏感和思索。

“他的好奇心一直非常强，对身边世界很有兴趣。我记得他刚来启明星的第一周就问我，能不能推荐他一些艺术家的书，说他想读。我就把一本关于后现代艺术的书推荐给他。那是我大学时读的书，有难度。2周以后他把书还给我了，还写了一篇总结的文章，写的还不错。我能感到他发自内心的驱动力。”朱宁老师说。

2021年刘峥主动参加了京郊的“小小卫士基金2021秋季公益植树”活动，这是一个关爱环境，为环保事业服务的志愿者活动。刘峥不只自己去了，还发动几个同学一起去。

“他不只自己去做这些回馈社会的事情，还组织同学一起去，体现了他的领导意识和领导力，很难得。”启明星大学升学顾问主管Melissa Warehall说。

启明星很幸运也很欣慰，能够成为刘峥成长经历中重要的一环，支持这样自我驱动又有理想的少年成为更好的自己。

这个夏天，刘峥就要远赴欧洲求学了，我们祝愿这个目标明确的孩子一步步走近自己的理想！

To this day, circular brown marks remain on the table in the visual arts classroom. These marks were left by David Liu, from polishing the wood when he was preparing his IBDP art exhibition work Refuge No. 47.

“He was working in here for many days, for a long time. His face was always drenched with sweat...” said Visual Arts teacher Anna Zhu.

Everyone agrees that David Liu has clear goals and internal drive and he is conscientious in his work and open to receiving instruction.

As an gifted, hard-working student, it was unsurprising that David received admissions offers from a number of renowned universities, including the architecture programs at the Universities of Edinburgh and Manchester and the civil engineering programs at University College London (UCL) and Imperial College.

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David had already decided several years ago to pursue architectural design. While he was studying in the UK in middle school, at a boarding school, he was inspired by a design teacher. “He showed us how to make wooden stools, spoons, rings...” David found joy in this hands-on work, which coincided with his longing for art and architecture.

“I could be an architectural designer.” He realized that this direction might be his true love, so he began to focus on this path.

When the pandemic struck, uncertainty abroad led him to return to China. He chose to continue his high school studies at Daystar because it offered everything he was looking for. “I think the college counseling program at Daystar is in line with my goals for university application.”

Put yourself in the right position, and things will proceed in the right direction.

Soon after enrolling, David joined Daystar’s internship program for high school students. This summer program was designed specifically for students to explore their potential university majors and career interests.

The college counselor became aware of David Liu's interest in studying architectural design after assessing his professional interests and interpersonal communication abilities. It was determined that he was prepared for the responsibilities of an internship program, so they meticulously arranged a 2-week intensive internship for him at Robarts Spaces, a cutting-edge design company.

First, he helped the public relations department research competitor products. Then he went to the materials department to learn about the classification of materials and understand the characteristics and functions of different materials. After that, he went to the construction site to see how buildings are transferred from paper to 3D structures. Finally, he learned from assorted staff in the design department.

That final step was the most thrilling and fulfilling. He worked on a project with experienced engineers making contributions to the ultimate design. “At that time, the design director was working on the interior space design from the parking lot to the 4th floor for the client. The original color scheme was a cool greyish-white, but the client wanted a warm color. The director asked me to find an alternative solution, and I thought of the color of the wood, the brown color of the wood grain... and the director approved!”

He also joined many of the first Qi Social Innovation programs set up by Daystar. For instance, he and two of his classmates founded HUE, a social venture which promoted  responsible consumption and humane slaughtering of livestock, winning a Qi Ignite Fund awared of 10000 RMB in the Pitching for Change competition, and he was invited to design a library for the Ivy Academy Sanlitun Campus.

These career-enriching experiences have helped broaden David's vision. He once emotionally shared about how precious these opportunities are to him: “If you don’t start the journey, you will never know how far you can go…”

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Going in the right direction also includes choosing an environment that matches one’s own values.

Excellence and service are important core values at Daystar. David looks forward to bringing positive changes to the world around him.

His work, Refuge No. 47, was created for his IBDP Visual Arts course. To make this large wooden work, David spent two weeks designing and aquiring materials. Shortly afterward, he polished it by hand at a woodworking workshop.

“One year, I returned to my hometown in Inner Mongolia and lived in a herdsman’s home. There were no other households within ten or twenty kilometers, but these herdsmen are very friendly to both relatives and strangers like me. During my time there, they killed three sheep to demonstrate what it is like and provide food for me. This was in stark contrast to what I saw on crowded subways in Beijing during rush hour. Even though everyone was pressed close together, they were all looking down at their phones. The distance between people was so close, but they stayed separated from each other,” David said. “So I wanted to inspire people to think and even blur the physical boundaries between each other through Refuge No. 47 so that intimate relationships that get lost in our busy urban lives can be found, making people feel as if they are no longer alone.”

The idea of Refuge No. 47 is highly practical with a clever implementation. David found that according to research, 47 centimeters is the critical value for social distance. Intimate relationships occur at less than 47 centimeters, while a distance of more than 47 centimeters is for unfamiliar relationships. According to his design, audience members stand within Refuge No. 47 and experience changes in their psychological feelings caused by their proximity to the surrounding objects by adjusting a handle to lower or raise the umbrella top.

This work debuted at the IBDP Art Exhibition. It reflects the rare sensitivity and contemplation of a young person regarding the world around him.

“His curiosity has always been very strong, and he is quite interested in the world around him. I remember his first week at Daystar. He asked me if I could recommend him some books by artists because he wanted to read those types of books. I recommended a book about postmodern art that I had read in college. It was very difficult to understand. Two weeks later, he returned the book to me and wrote a summary, which was quite good. I could feel the passion driving him forward,” said Zhu Ning, the visual arts instructor.

In 2021, David Liu took the initiative to participate in the “Eco Sprouting Guardian 2021 Autumn Public Welfare Tree Planting” event in the suburbs of Beijing. This was a volunteer activity focused on caring for the environment and serving the cause of environmental protection. David volunteered to go, as well as convinced several of his classmates to join him.

“He not only did these things to give back to society as an individual, but also inspired his classmates to go with him, demonstrating his awareness and capabilities as a leader. This is very rare,” said Melissa Meltzer Warehall, the head of college counseling at Daystar.

Daystar is both fortunate and grateful to play this important role in Liu David's growth. Daystar is proud to support such a self-driven student with great aspirations who is certain to grow into a more outstanding version of himself.

This summer, David is preparing to continue his studies in the UK. We sincerely wish him the best as he pursues his goals and works toward his dreams step by step!

启明星孩子的“8小时以外”：让你放学也不想回家的课外活动！Beyond 8 Hours:  Extracurricular Activities Make Students Want to Stay at School Longer!

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