Humans of Carey: Jerry Zhang

Year 11 student

Hello everyone! My name is Jerry. I am a Year 11 IB student looking to develop a career in STEM.

Mid this year, I created YGS (Young Global Scientists), an online, studentrun journal that provides opportunities for high school students to share their academic passions with the international community. Realising the lack of opportunities for high school students to share their learning and publish insights on current developments in the world, YGS is committed to empowering student voices by providing a vibrant platform for them to publish their knowledge, research and ideas in the fields of science and social science.

I currently lead a multinational team of 50 students with different endeavours who I met while attending Yale Young Global Scholars, a two-week academic enrichment program hosted by Yale University in the US. We meet over video conference once a month to plan for YGS. While working on this project, I befriended Zuzana from Slovakia, an inquisitive biologist who likes to describe herself as a ‘rebellious nerd’; she interned in a medical company and helped to develop a COVID-19 diagnostic test in Slovakia. I also met Nathaniel, an award-winning Gen Z Educator and a current YGS Board Advisor who assists me with operating an international team. Our aim is to expand YGS to engage more schools, institutions, and students. I have also recently expanded YGS to several high schools within the United Kingdom, including elite all-boys boarding school Eton College.

I would like to thank Mr Matthias Poi and Ms Carolyn Giles for assisting me in the creation of YGS. Their invaluable advice when I encountered problems was essential, especially in early stages of the journal when I was clueless about how to co-ordinate such a big team of students and assign specific roles in editing and marketing the journal.

It is extremely fun to work on this project with an international team of students who, like myself, share an unwavering passion for creating new stuff to make a difference. Added demands aside, committing yourself to a project like this is exhilarating – especially when it complements the philosophy of the Creativity, Activity, Service in the International Baccalaureate Diploma program and teases out so much more innovation, passion and learning beyond the already rigorous school curriculum.

You can read our first and second editions of YGS and find out more about our team and our mission on our website, www.ygsjournal.com.

Over the summer break before beginning Year 12 in 2021, I wish to intern at Barr’s laboratory and get my hands dirty on experiments, delving into the kernels of these infinitesimal bacteriophages which may be our alternative for antibiotics in an antibiotic-resistant era.