An involved member of the community reflects on his time at Malvern.

Before coming to Malvern as a freshman, Sophomore Chenkai “CK” Mao lived in China.

“So I spent 14-15 years in China with my parents. It was a pretty good time, I had a lot of friends and good teachers,” Mao said.

During the summers, he returns to China so he can see his family and friends.

“Last summer, when I went back [to China], I really enjoyed the food and the time with my friends,” Mao said. “It’s fun to see them and go out.”

He decided to come to America to study for a number of reasons, one being Malvern’s approach towards projects, assignments, and homework.

“I like the way we study here, there are more projects, as opposed to just doing homework,” Mao said.

He also chose Malvern due to the opportunities it granted him.

“I can choose the classes that I like in America. Here, we have more access to sports, more opportunity for that,” Mao said. “Like, there’s no way I could do rowing in China because in high school, at most there will be one basketball team, and maybe a soccer team.”

In addition to rowing during the fall, winter, and spring, he works on the robotics team as a Mechanical Designer and runs the Asian Culture club.

“The Asian Culture club is the club I am running. I think it’s pretty good to share Asia and China’s culture to our classmates,” he said. “I think most of us don’t really know China a lot.”

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“When people first meet me, I can be a little shy. But when they know me better, I can be pretty funny.”

-CK Mao ’20

[/perfectpullquote]

Mao enjoys a variety of different classes and subjects for various reasons. He likes both the rigorous classes and the classes that give him the chance to unwind.

“I have a couple favorite classes, studio art helps you relax, I like U.S. History because it is challenging. And I like AP Chem too, I like the experience of doing things there,” he said.

Mao said that as people get to know him better, he becomes more outgoing.

“When people first meet me, I can be a little shy,” he said. “But when they know me better, I can be pretty funny.”

His humor can be seen on the rowing team, where there is a running joke that he speaks German fluently.

“When Coach [Hoffman] tells us to do something, I’ll sometimes say I don’t speak English, so I can’t do the workout you’re telling me,” he said.

According to Mao, his favorite Malvern memory is when alumni John Scargall ’08 performs The Wild Rover during the talent show.

“During the Christmas talent show, during the last song when everyone was holding each other’s shoulder,” he said. “I feel the brotherhood there.”