The Next Big Thing: Chuning Shang

For senior Chuning, passion doesn’t fit into a single category. At Shanghai American School, she’s explored her love for both science and art - then built bridges between them. Whether leading national honor societies, launching her own STEM-and-art initiative, or inspiring young students through after-school experiments, Chuning has found joy in learning, creating, and sharing knowledge. This fall, she’ll bring that same energy to UC Berkeley, where she’ll study Materials Science and Engineering.

What are you involved in at SAS?

I'm involved in many clubs at SAS. I'm involved in the Science National Honor Society, Math National Honor Society, Art National Honor Society, as well as many other community service clubs, such as Little Linguists.

What motivated you to pursue such different national honor societies and clubs?

I think what motivated me to join so many different clubs is primarily because of my interests. I'm interested in a lot of things, and I feel like these particular national honor societies and community service clubs will not only help me learn something every time we meet, but I can also utilize my new knowledge and help others learn more about a particular subject or gain interest in it.

What has been the most rewarding project or initiative you've worked on, and why?

I think my most rewarding experience is probably doing elementary after-school activities in Science National Honor Society, where we conduct weekly experiments with little kids to help spark their interest in science. I think that this is my most rewarding impact so far inside any club, because having elementary schoolers get to learn science early, as well as start to have an interest towards science, is something really beautiful to see. And it also shows that we've made a lot of impact inside their little brains.

Do you feel SAS has prepared you well for college life?

I think that SAS has really supported me throughout the process, and I think I'm really ready to go to college. Our 80-minute blocks are really similar to what university lectures are like. We also take really rigorous courses and have to manage multiple tasks at the same time, like balancing school, clubs, sports, etc., and I think that this mimics college life.

Wishing you all the best, Chuning - your curiosity and creativity will take you far! UC Berkeley is lucky to have you!