Alumni Check-in: Soleil Ko (Class of 2027)

Soleil left our school at the end of last year, when she finished 10th grade, to move to the UK.

Q. Where do you live now? Why? What are you doing?

A: I am currently in the UK, studying the IB in Sevenoaks School, Kent. 

Q. What are the biggest differences between there and Kaohsiung? What’s the biggest similarities? 

A: Adjusting to life here has been a whirlwind, with boarding being the most significant change. There’s something special about living alongside your peers that you just don't get anywhere else. The scale of the campus is also impressive—it's so large that my daily commute to the boarding house involves crossing a main road.

I’ve also enjoyed seeing the 'real' English weather; while it’s famously sunny during the summer months, winter is more about constant clouds than actual rain. Despite all the changes, the diversity here makes me feel at home. It’s a real melting pot with a wide variety of races, including students of Asian, Caucasian, and African descent.

Q. What does a typical day look like for you?

A: My daily routine starts at 06:50, allowing time for morning preparations before departing the boarding house at 07:30 for breakfast. Following this, I utilize the hour prior to my 09:00 lessons for intensive violin practice at the Performing Arts Centre.

The morning academic block consists of two periods, followed by a thirty-minute break at 10:15 and a further two sessions. Lunch at 13:30 is frequently integrated with co-curricular commitments, such as Economics Extension or chamber rehearsals for me.

The afternoon academic schedule concludes at 16:10, after which I attend orchestral rehearsals until 17:30. My evening is structured around a formal supper at 18:00, followed by a three-hour block dedicated to prep and academic consolidation, concluding the day at 22:00.

Q. What's one thing you miss most about being at KAS?

A: Probably my friends and teachers. I’ve been here since Prek-K and it's not that often that you get friends that you will be knowing for more than 10 years. Though I know that I will be seeing them over the summer, I still miss them a lot. 

Q. What's the biggest lesson you’ve learned in IB that you wish you knew while you were doing MYP?

A: Omg, staying on top of my work is so crucial, when you enter the IB, everything is a whirlwind, last minute pop quizzes, different teachers, maintaining your social relationships etc. Imagine your current workload of MYP now times that by 4. Cherish the time you are still in the MYP. 

Q. What advice would you give to your younger self?

A: You would think everyone is looking at you, inspecting every single tiny decision or action that you make. Lol, that is the falsest thing you can do because in reality, no one cares. They are too engrossed in their own lives to care that much.

Social media to a certain extent is an illusion. Doomscrolling is what the companies want you to do, to get addicted. You may think that instagram and facebook is free, but in hindsight you are the one that is being sold.

Put it as paying with your soul for each minute of scrolling. People may like your posts and leave comments, but when you grow up, you will realize that they are just being polite. Do they really care? No. Use that time more wisely to focus on extra curricular activities and make use of your time more productively. 

Q. What are you looking forward to most in the next five years?

A: Getting into a good Uni such as UCL, Kings, Imperial, LSE. And cherish moments with friends, I guess relax a bit more after IB ends and in general stop worrying so much. 

Q. Anything else? 

A: No, but I do appreciate this questionnaire, doing it makes me realize that I am giving advice to myself in a way.