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The father-daughter bond is irreplaceable. It’s made even more special when they both attend the same school and get to share significant experiences together. For David Yeh and Angel Yeh, a father and daughter pair, those big moments took place at Tianjin International School. It’s the first time the school has seen a parent and their child graduate from its campus in Tianjin, China.
There’s a wide gap between their years — with David graduating in 1994 and Angel set to walk the stage this year — but Tianjin International has stood the test of time in academic excellence and global learning. She’s not the only one of his children attending the school. Angel’s younger brother, Arthur, is currently in Grade Six.
“It’s a great honour, and also trust in the school that [I was] able to put both my kids at [Tianjin International School],” David says. “Also being able to share with them the history of the school and some of the old pictures in the school facility. They could see my photo from 1994, and they could relate to [it].”
David Yeh and Angel Yeh are proud to represent two generations of “Eagles.” Source: Tianjin International School
David’s own history with Tianjin International School began in 1990. His family moved to Tianjin when the country expanded their foreign investment to bridge the gap between China and the Western world. Things, however, had a shaky start. Both David and his brother were placed in the top Tianjin high school as part of a government initiative to welcome the family members of expatriates. It sounded swell, until he encountered language barriers and a tough curriculum.
Lucky for him, there was Tianjin International School. Established in 1986, the school wasn’t just a mere alternative — it showed David what an inspiring yet challenging educational landscape truly looked like. So much so, David considers those four years to be some of his best. Back then, the high school only had 14 students. Today, it holds a 290-student body and over 45 foreign teachers.
“Although the teachers are all new to me, they all were here for many, many years — some even more than 15 years at school,” David says. “They also understand and know the history of the school. When communicating with teachers, there’s certainly a lot of common things that we could talk about.”
Over two decades later, Tianjin International School plays as significant a role in his life as a father now as it did as a student back then. Angel and Arthur were attending an international school in Beijing, where the family had lived for 10 years. Duty calls, and at the end of 2019, they decided to head back to Tianjin to be close to David’s parents-in-law. The city had more diverse schooling options by then. David hoped, though, that his children’s selection would be less a matter of calculated decision-making than a kind of instinctive fit.
After careful evaluation, Angel and Arthur chose Tianjin International School.
“It was not really hard to fit in because my cousin was at [Tianjin International School] also, so there’s a person that I know,” Angel says. “One thing that I really like is that there’s a teaching assistant who helped introduce me to all the teachers and the classes. She helped me get to know all the applications and all the things that the students used in class, so that was pretty good.”
Angel’s experience settling in at Tianjin International School isn’t an anomaly. Community stands at the forefront of its values, with the school leadership and staff communicating regularly with the teachers and students to forge a better learning environment for all. Students are guided by first-class teachers through a journey of transformation and using the skills they develop to make a difference in the world. Students build the confidence and critical skills needed to succeed in Advanced Placement classes in high school.
For Angel, transformation came in the form of experiential opportunities and extra-curricular activities. She travelled with the school on the Thailand service trip, where she served as the arts and crafts leader on camp day, teaching local children how to draw on t-shirts. She built leadership skills by participating in the Model United Nations and performing on stage for the Fine Arts Festival.
These experiences took her out of her comfort zone, and facilitated growth. She learned how to be a leader, and is tracing her footsteps in these real-world opportunities to prepare for university. Angel has applied to several schools throughout Singapore and the US and is looking to major in fine arts.
As she maps out her journey to the next chapter, the school’s Guidance Counselling team is helping her discover fields of study and university options that best fit her future career. Parents like David are kept up to date on such matters too, thanks to quarterly events like the Principal’s Coffee, where they’re briefed on the latest developments.
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