Xi’an LiangJiatan International School Class of 2025 IBDP
Outstanding Graduate Interview
With Fresh Energy, She Moves Toward Greater Horizons
Agnes Chen has been successfully admitted to the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s dual-degree program in Business Administration and Law (hereafter referred to as BBA-JD).
The BBA-JD program is the first of its kind in Asia, designed specifically for students who wish to study business and law simultaneously. It offers outstanding academic and professional value with strong international competitiveness. The program uniquely integrates business administration and legal studies, enabling students to gain solid theoretical knowledge and practical skills in both disciplines through interdisciplinary learning. As a five-year combined bachelor’s and master’s degree program, BBA-JD significantly shortens the traditional academic timeline (typically 7 to 8 years) to just five years, maximizing study efficiency. Students earn a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration after four years and may pursue a master’s degree in Law in their fifth year.
How competitive is this program?
During this college application season, she also received offers from other prestigious institutions, including Macalester College, Hamilton College (USA), the University of Toronto (Canada), and the University of Sydney (Australia)—truly an academic standout.
At XLIS, many previous graduates have left a strong impression with their academic excellence, such as the gentle and serene Natsumi Ishikawa, the calm and modest Seunghu Kim, the hardworking and diligent Mingsang Kim, and the academic star Subin Bang (who scored a perfect IB score). But if one tries to identify Agnes’s strengths based on a typical academic achiever’s profile, they may be surprised by what they find.
She is a high-energy girl with a constant sense of freshness. She’s quick to speak, emotionally expressive, and contagiously enthusiastic—as if her very presence can light up the whole room.
Upon our first meeting, before I could even ask a question, Agnes beamed and said excitedly, “I got into my dream program! I’m finally going to study BBA-JD!”
I was curious how she managed to get into such a selective program. She answered confidently, “During the summer break after DP1, I participated in a summer school in New York—an Art Law course at Sotheby’s Institute of Art. It helped me a lot during the application process!”
The two-week summer school featured professors from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, professional auctioneers from Sotheby’s New York, and art lawyers from New York-based firms. The curriculum was intensive—classes ran for over eight hours a day and were content-heavy. Agnes and her peers started by learning about famous art theft cases in history, then studied the legal issues surrounding forgeries under the guidance of instructors. They explored questions like: Why is a forged artwork considered a crime? How do you identify a fake? What are the differences between a forgery and an original? What laws are violated, and what are the legal consequences?
To provide students with a rare, hands-on experience, instructors led them into off-limits areas of venues like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including the forgery collection room. There, students learned to distinguish between authentic and fake artworks by examining artistic techniques, handwriting, artist signatures, and watermarks. They also discussed how forgeries impact the legal, artistic, and cultural worlds.
As the course progressed, it focused on intellectual property rights and art infringement, taught by a seasoned New York lawyer in the art law field. The students dissected cases involving unauthorized commercialization of art, the sale of forged works to museums, plagiarism in contemporary art, and the legal processes required to verify and sell artworks.
“This was the only summer school where I had zero social life—I was just too busy,” Agnes recalled.
Though exhausted at the time, the benefits of the summer school became clear during the university application season. In her application essays, she described her journey—from initial learning to conducting interviews with the lawyer-instructors, and her deep dive into the Warhol case, culminating in her final argument. It was this final project that gave her a decisive edge in the interview of CUHK BBA-JD Program, earning her a spot among the 25 admitted students.
It was a moment of glory—truly admirable.
Agnes was originally a student in Beijing and moved to Xi’an with her family in MYP3, enrolling at XLIS. She had always been an extrovert who loved drama and had developed strong public speaking and communication skills at a young age. In MYP1, she encountered debate for the first time and participated in her first competition. The outcome is long forgotten, but the thrill of the experience is still vivid.
Once the switch of interest was flipped, it was hard to turn off. She participated in more competitions and began learning how to construct a proper argument: identifying points, gathering evidence, crafting logical structures, and clearly articulating a stance. Each step was a challenge in critical thinking. The process was difficult, but through daily practice, Agnes’s overall abilities improved tremendously.
“I still remember a debate in MYP4. The topic was about robot warfare. We had to draw the topic on the spot and had only 15 minutes to research and build our case. Not only did we have to present our own arguments, but we also had to anticipate and rebut the opposition’s points. It was super intense—but I loved it!”
She firmly believes that only through appropriate struggle can one enjoy well-earned joy.
When Agnes entered the Diploma Programme (DP), academic pressure increased. Yet throughout DP, she still took the time to mentor the school’s debate team, helping younger students build their thinking models, formulate arguments, collect research, and write scripts. It was her way of giving back to her teachers and helping the debate team continue to thrive.
Agnes approaches debate with complete focus and effort. She constantly throws herself into unfamiliar topics and scenarios, opening up all her energy and attention. She embraces every chance to grow, sharpening her judgment. Eventually, she anchored her passion in the fields of law and art.
This sense of self-mastery is the foundation of her confidence. But it didn’t develop overnight—it was cultivated by the healthy environment at school and the freedom and support from her family.
When asked about how she spends her free time, Agnes openly admits her love for anime and video games. She enjoys story-driven games like Honkai Star Rail and even hopes to intern at miHoYo, a top Chinese game company. She is also a fan of the Korean boy band Seventeen, frequently attends concerts, and loves musicals and theatre. At school, she directed the student production of Thunderstorm.
Her parents never discouraged her hobbies—in fact, they fully supported her. Agnes describes them as “trendy” and attuned to online culture. Her dad, who understands the games she plays, even helped her find reference materials to broaden her view—exploring the historical, cultural, and philosophical contexts of narrative games. Later, these interests became central topics in her university application essays. In the music world, she’s also drawn to controversies about copyright infringement and continues to investigate cases of plagiarism. Her mother, a history teacher, gave her tremendous support during her MYP5 Personal Project (on the fading of Hui Muslim culture in Northwestern China) and while researching for her Extended Essay, helping with interviews and first-hand data collection.
Agnes is also a deep user of YouTube and Bilibili. She was once fascinated by a Harvard Law School mock trial on YouTube and captivated by law-related debate clips on Bilibili. The more she watched, the more intrigued she became. These interests pushed her to explore the connections between debate and law, discovering an intellectual world rich with logic and reason.
She admits that she doesn’t enjoy reading classic literary novels. But through our conversations, it became clear: it’s not that she dislikes reading—it’s that she reads based on passion. In areas she’s interested in, like law, history, and philosophy, she not only reads widely—including English texts—but also explores related topics in depth.
She’s also candid about her shortcomings. As a “J” personality (Judging type in MBTI, preferring structure and results), she can become impatient when things don’t go as planned. If she disagrees with others, she’s not one to suppress her views—she’ll articulate them confidently, even if it causes tension.
Still, when frustration arises, she doesn’t let negative emotions take over. Instead, she channels her energy into solving problems. When expressing dissent, she doesn’t aim to persuade others at all costs—she simply wants to remain true to herself.
She is so grounded that she rarely feels anxious.
She is so loyal to herself that she radiates fearless confidence.
Now, she’s set to begin her university life in the BBA-JD program at CUHK. When asked about her plans for the future, she said:
“I want to try as much as I can, get involved in the local community, and learn Cantonese. Academically, I hope to find my niche, take on internships, and explore widely before narrowing my focus. Everything’s always changing—plans never keep up with reality—so I don’t want to limit myself. I’ll focus on the present and take it one step at a time.”
She knows herself well, sets clear goals, but isn’t obsessed with outcomes. As she put it:
“Of course I care about results—I want to succeed—but I also care about what I gain from the process.”
We can’t predict what will happen in the future. But Agnes has already given us a model of what it means to grow with strength and sincerity. Her story has inspired many younger students, showing them a world of new possibilities, and her influence will continue.
Ten years ago, 8-year-old Agnes went to a UK summer camp alone for the first time, flying by herself from Beijing to a camp in London. That was the beginning of her independence. Now, she is once again setting out on her own to start a new journey.
”The interview process has been a journey that gently carried me back to the days of the application season. In those moments when I was anxiously waiting for the results and trembling with nervousness before the interview, the support and comfort from my teachers and family were my anchor. The sincere encouragement, cheers, and applause from my friends have been a source of strength. I am grateful to myself for holding on and persevering through it all.”
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Author:
Fancy Fan (Admin Officer)
