When I Grow Up

Kelvin Mak, originally from Malaysia, began his advertising career in the US. Based in Los Angeles, Kelvin worked for clients including PlayStation, HBO, Xbox, Sony Electronics and Land Rover. He made the move to China when advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi asked him to be the creative director of their Beijing office. With the freedom to flex his artistic muscle, he created campaigns for brands like Nike and Volkswagen. Not just an ad man, Kelvin has also worked on events such as the award-winning “Nike Battle of the Nine Gates” basketball tournament inside the Forbidden City and the Mercedes-Benz “Symphony of Ice & Snow” in Harbin. Ready to step out on his own, Kelvin recently co-founded a creative agency inventively titled The Bag Ladies. Kelvin visited students at the Beijing City International School and told them how comic books inspired him, why he likes to make funny commercials, and what he’s working on at the moment.

• Read more

Dropped off on the bus to the Shaolin temple in Henan by his father (himself a kung fu teacher) at the tender age of 8, Xie Qingtuan became a 32nd generation Shaolin Martial Monk, former member of the acclaimed Shaolin international performance team and a First Grade National Athlete. After leaving the temple to study physical
education at Beijing Sports University, he now teaches kung fu to over 100 students at a number of international schools in Beijing. He is currently working on setting up his own Kung Fu club for international school students aged 6-14 in Beijing in order to share his passion. Xie wowed the students at Dulwich College Beijing with some spectacular moves and answered questions on Chinese kung fu, life in the temple and the real reason why Shaolin monks are all bald.

• Read more

Sam Voutas spent his high school years in Beijing before moving back to his native Australia to study acting at the prestigious Victorian College of the Arts. He is now a Beijing-based actor, writer and director. He wrote and starred in his own comedy series on CCTV, and recently played a reporter in the box-office hit City of Life and Death (also known as Nanjing! Nanjing!). Voutas took time out of pre-production for his own feature-length script to speak with the Year 11 drama students at the International BISS School of Beijing. 

• Read more

A graduate from the Guildhall School of Music, Tasmin Little has taken her solo violin tours around the globe, traveling everywhere from Iceland to China. A talented musician from a young age, Little is one of only four violinists in the world who has the
challenging Ligeti concerto in their repertoire. The English violinist took time out of her Naked Violin tour of China to speak with some aspiring musicians at the British School of Beijing. Imogen Kandel

Judy Liu, 14, Hong Kong
When you were a student, what was the hardest technique to master?
The number one hardest technique to master is to know how to practice. To have tools at your disposal that you can use. Practicing is not simply repetition; it’s using your intellect. Once you’ve mastered the art of practicing, you can really progress.

• Read more

A former police officer and soldier, American Chet Quint is as close as Beijing will get to its very own G.I. Joe. After 2,500 hours on the mat and a year of full-time training in Brazil under Gracie Jiu-Jitsu master Rilion Gracie,Quint earned a coveted jujitsu black belt, bringing his black belt total to five. Quint started his martial arts training at the tender age of 13; at 17 he became a taekwondo teacher. He now teaches jujitsu to kids as young as 4. “Anyone can do it, big or small,” says Quint. He answered questions from the Grade 5 class at the International Academy of Beijing and revealed why jujitsu defense is better than kung fu fighting. Imogen Kandel

• Read more

Canadian James Aitken has been a news presenter at CCTV’s international channel, CCTV9, for the last four and a half years. Although he admits he was shy as a kid, Aitken grew up to become an award-winning broadcast journalist in his native Canada before bringing his smooth, earnest delivery across the Pacific. For almost 20 years now Aitken has presented and hosted for television and radio, as well as live stage events, always at home in front of the microphone. He answered questions from Grade 5 students at the Canadian International School of Beijing and reveals some of the perks, pitfalls and all of the hard work behind the authoritative face of the news.

• Read more

American Frank Yu has been living and breathing videogames for as long as he can remember. A Harvard graduate, Yu is the Chief Operating Officer for Shouji Mobile Entertainment, and his career has spanned the globe from Russia to Korea. His resume reads like a Who’s Who of the videogame world – Yu was the Asia Business Manager for Xbox, a program manager for Microsoft and even spent some time as a videogame columnist.

• Read more

I Want to be a Zoologist
Ben Bravery goes into the wild

Australian Ben Bravery has always loved wildlife – as a child he spent hours watching animal documentaries. As an adult, Bravery has worked with animals all over the world. While studying zoology at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, he participated in research looking at frogs in tropical Queensland and wallaby reproduction before investigating the ecology of birds in Puerto Rico. He moved to China two years ago to help conserve endangered deer in Hainan. Now managing editor of Integrative Zoology, a journal from the Chinese Academy of Science, Bravery talked to students at the International Montessori School of Beijing about why people eat kangaroos, how fast saltwater crocodiles run, and where to find the world’s most dangerous animals. Jessica Pan

• Read more

Until recently, Dr. Nicholas J.M. Patrick had previously only seen China from space. In January, he finally landed in China and spoke to students from several schools at Harrow International School Beijing’s lower school. The NASA astronaut, who graduated from Harrow in London, spoke about living in space for two weeks, the possibility of alien life forms, and the tendency of objects to float away. Jessica Pan

Yasmin Spencer, 10, UK, Harrow
Why is the flag waving in the photo of Neil Armstrong on the moon if there’s no air?
Many people ask this. One reason is that the flag was suspended from a stiff, horizontal rod. Although there’s no air on the moon, there is still the force of inertia. If you look closely, you can see that the flag is moving in a pendulum with the motion that was used to place it onto the moon’s surface. People also say, “Why can’t you see any stars in the photo?” The light from earth is so bright that it blocks out all the stars.

• Read more

Leonardo Susi, born in Sao Paolo, Brazil, started drumming 18 years ago and now plays drum set and percussion styles ranging from rhythm and blues, jazz, Afro-Cuban, pop and rock in shows all across China. Since coming to China five years ago, he was a frequent performer at the JZ Club in Shanghai; now he plays a nightly set at CJW and teaches percussion. Fresh from a gig at an international jazz festival in Hong Kong, the musician stopped by a 6LD class at Dulwich College Beijing and spoke to students – who play trumpet, flute, drums, saxophone and clarinet – about his love for jam sessions. He also showed off samba beats on the pandeiro.

• Read more