8 ACS graduates off to Pensacola Christian College

Eight of the 12 senior graduates of Agape Christian School chose to pursue their college education in the coming semester at Pensacola Christian College, including Class of 2018 salutatorian Deborah Cai.

ACS held its 11th Commencement Exercises and Graduation Ceremony last Monday night at the school’s main hall where 13 students from their middle school are moving up to high school, while six K5 graduates will enter the first grade next school year.

Cai will be taking up Computer Science and Mathematics as her major at PCC, a Christian and independent Baptist college in Pensacola City in Florida’s northwestern region or the Panhandle.

Tianen Feng (Computer Science and Software Engineering), Yishen Li (Pre-Physical Therapy), Kun Lu (Mechanical Engineering), Shiyan Rui (Accounting), Xuan Xing (Nursing), Shengai Yang (Secondary Education), and Tianbo Zhang (Graphic Design) will also be incoming freshmen at PCC.

ACS senior administrator Rev. Pastor Koh Pang said most of their students usually go to PCC due to its low tuition. “It’s not a partnership between our schools but because PCC has one of the lowest tuition per semester.”

“It is a respected institution that has a solid academic program. Their nursing program is also among the top in the U.S. and it’s one of the leading Christian schools in the East Coast,” added Pang, who is also the Calvary International Mission president.

Class valedictorian Dawei Cai’s next destination is Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina where he’ll major in Health Science and Biblical Studies, while Xile Lyu is also going to the BJU Bruins’ home, taking up Elementary Education and Bible Studies.

Lucy Gu Chengming will be studying Humanities and Social Science at the Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, while Yangzhou Su was accepted at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan where she’ll be majoring in Biology as her pre-dentistry.

New journey

Former ACS teacher Aaron Engelhardt was the keynote speaker where he addressed the graduates that they are about to move to another phase from their lives. “Some of you are feeling fear and anxiety since going out there is the next big step.”

“But, you should celebrate on what you’ve accomplished for you worked hard for it and sacrificed a lot. You’ve reached a milestone and this marks the end of your high school life,” said Engelhardt.

“The next chapter is a big one. You are about to embark on a new journey and you’ve been preparing for what’s ahead,” added Engelhadt, who then told the graduates that he went backpacking after college.

“I decided to go on a backpack trip after finishing college. Just a short break before I join the workforce. I was not an experienced backpacker and I thought that I filled my backpack, which weighed roughly 80 lbs, with all the essentials.”

“I set off on my trip and it turned out I did not had the right gear. I was partially lost, experienced some dangers, and saw some bears. I realized that I should have been more prepared. You want to be prepared for the long journey of your lives.”

Daiwei Cai, in his valedictory address, said sports became a huge part of his years studying at ACS. He played basketball, volleyball, and joined local running events.

“Sports had been a big part of my life in ACS aside from academics. I thank my coaches who taught me to respect everyone but fear no one. We just need to work hard and push forward. We should always know that hard work may eventually pay off and will give you good results,” said Cai.

Other graduates

Kevin Tang and Silas Xu were the co-valedictorians in middle school, while Victoria Parnes Ancheta is the class Salutatorian. Susan Chen, Zhourui Han, Jianan He, Jenny Min, Dandan Jin, Zihao Li, Jiayi Lin, Meihui Lin, Saiya Wu, and Yunzhe Zhang were the other middle school graduates.

Yanglei Ou was the K5 first honor with Benjamin Cai Jieming the second honorable mention and Bill Wang Sujin the third honor. Andy Wei, Miazhou Wang, and Lin Yongjun are also moving up to the first grade.