Partnership With TBI-New Oasis Brings Chinese Students to School, Community

One World

Janice Lewine

Oct 19 2023

“These students have provided a great deal of positive impact on our community,” Head of Upper School Aaron Sundstrom said.

Ravenscroft has been a school home to many international students through the years. Some come to Raleigh with their families, while others attend through exchange programs. The school’s 10-year relationship with TBI-New Oasis has been a particularly rewarding one, bringing 11 highly qualified students from China to the Upper School.

Director of Enrollment Management Margaret Mills ’76, who serves as Ravenscroft’s designated school official for TBI-New Oasis, said she’s proud of the partnership and of the success the students placed here have had: after graduating from Ravenscroft, all of the program’s alumni have been accepted into quality colleges and universities in the U.S.

“It takes a lot of courage and determination to come this far, where everything is so unfamiliar, and it puts a tremendous amount of responsibility on the students,” she said. “We trust TBI-New Oasis to help us make good choices and care for these students while they’re at Ravenscroft.”

From left to right: TBI-New Oasis student Cynthia Ni ’22 (standing) joins other members of her advisory at the 2022 Alumni Association Welcome Dinner, held during the week of commencement; Maria Luo ’23 and Helena Yang ’23 help Cynthia celebrate her Ravenscroft graduation; Cynthia and castmates Jillian Wadley ’23 and Aramenta Owens ’23 perform in Ravenscroft’s production of “Chicago” in the fall of 2019. (“Chicago” photo courtesy of Simon Capell Photography)

“A leader in placing students at quality North Carolina schools”

Operating through a network of more than 1,000 education counselors, TBI-New Oasis — which has headquarters in Herndon, Virginia, and in Beijing — recruits students from international schools in China and provides support for them here to enhance their academic and cultural experiences. The organization manages all aspects of students’ placement, from helping them apply to the schools of their choosing to translating necessary documents required for their stay in the U.S. on an F-1 student visa.

Melissa Neil, TBI-New Oasis Director of Programs for the East Coast, explained how students are recruited in China. “The students mostly come from families who choose international education and English study for their children in elementary school, and 95% of them will study abroad in high school or undergraduate university,” she said. “TBI-New Oasis has become well known by the Chinese schools and education counselors as a leader in placing students at quality North Carolina schools.”

The requirements for placement at Ravenscroft are steep. Students follow the school’s regular application process, which includes a 30-minute interview with Admissions that TBI-New Oasis facilitates. In addition, as Associate Director of Enrollment Management Chuck Vitello explained, “they have to score at least a 90 on TOEFL [Test of English as a Foreign Language] and be able to comprehend and converse in English to a degree that would help them be successful.”

TBI-New Oasis also works to ensure students will thrive here in other important ways as well. They look for applicants with a strong desire to attend high school in another country (rather than their parents pushing the choice for them), an awareness of the challenges of studying abroad and evidence of confidence, curiosity, good physical and mental health, and a willingness to be independent.

A local TBI-New Oasis representative oversees their transition at school, arrangements with the host family and even socials with other TBI-New Oasis students in their area.

“Every student is different and poses different challenges and growth,” TBI-New Oasis Lead Global Program Coordinator Stephanie Moore, who serves as the main point of contact for Triangle-area schools and students placed at them, said. “It has been amazing to see students start quiet and shy and then bloom and increase their self-esteem. They move from being very dependent to very independent.”

Read More: TBI-New Oasis Alumni Cynthia Ni ’22, Sean Shen ’21 and Chris Xiao ’20 Reflect on Their Ravenscroft Experience

Three alumni of the TBI-New Oasis program — Cynthia Ni ’22, Sean Shen ’21 and Chris Xiao ’20 — share their memories of Ravenscroft.

What attracted you to the United States and to Ravenscroft?

Cynthia Ni ’22: My hometown is Shanghai. During middle school, my parents asked me if I wanted to try applying for high schools in the U.S. and have a new life experience. I thought it would be fun, so I started looking into this path, and that’s when my Chinese agency connected me with TBI-Oasis. I chose to go to Ravenscroft because Raleigh’s weather is similar to that of Shanghai. I started freshman year and attended for four years.

Sean Shen ’21: I was involved with TBI-Oasis through another study-abroad program called New Oriental that has cooperation with New Oasis. My homeland in China is Wuhan, which was not famous until the COVID times. However, Wuhan is a really fascinating city with delicious food such as hot dry noodles, beautiful views and hospitable people.

Ravenscroft left me a good first impression when I traveled in the U.S. to visit different schools. North Carolina's weather is really similar to Wuhan, and people are really nice. Also, Ravenscroft is a day school, which is also similar to my middle school and primary school in China, and Ravenscroft is really diverse; there are lots of students coming from different backgrounds. When I visited Ravenscroft, I decided that this is the school I wanted to go to.

Chris Xiao ’20: My family and I had plans for me to attend high school in the U.S. when I started middle school in Beijing, but at the time we were mostly considering boarding schools in the Northeast. During our school search, a family friend recommended New Oasis and Ravenscroft, so we decided to look into it and come for a visit. Even though Raleigh wasn’t our top-choice destination, we liked Ravenscroft a lot when we visited, compared to a few other schools we’d visited on the trip, so we applied as soon as we got home. Eventually, Ravenscroft ended up being one of the best options we had. I attended Ravenscroft for four years. Since I’ve been learning English for a very long time, since I was about 7, it didn’t take me long at all to get used to life in the U.S.

Cynthia Ni ’22 (at center) enjoys graduation with classmates Deya Singh ’22, Heidi Segars ’22, Calyn Disbrow ’22, Katherine Heidal ’22 and Morgan Roth ’22.

Do you have a favorite memory from your time at Ravenscroft?

Ni: My best experience at Ravenscroft would be being part of the theater program. I have had a passion for acting and theater since I was young, and it got fulfilled throughout the four years at Ravenscroft. I was in many productions, mainly musicals, and I met most of my best friends in theater work.

Shen: One special memory is Stark Raven Madness. I impressed the whole school with my jump rope skills that I practiced in China. We played a game in which our advisory had to do a relay race while jumping ropes. I was the fastest at my turn and helped my advisory to win that game. That is a proud experience for me. Sadly, I attended half of my junior year and all of my senior year through online courses due to COVID concerns. I really wish I could have spent those days personally at school. Another memory was as host of the spring festival. I felt glad to introduce Chinese culture and traditions to the Ravenscroft community. We brought traditional Chinese games, histories, music and food to the Ravenscroft community.

I was a little introverted and was not really good at speaking when I first came to Ravenscroft. However, everyone at Ravenscroft helped me to get involved in the community. Mrs. Arant especially helped me a lot during my first year of studying. She was my English teacher for my freshman year at Ravenscroft. I had lots of trouble expressing my feelings due to my lack of speaking skills, but she was always patient to understand what I was trying to say and also gave me good suggestions for my essays and presentations.

Xiao: One of my best memories at Ravenscroft was the Junior Mountain Trip in June 2019. It was my first backpacking trip, and it was a great opportunity to explore nature and connect with many other students in my class, including many I rarely talked to. Spending days with them in nature gave me the appreciation for nature, and I likely will do similar trips with friends in the future.

Sean Shen ’21 (at center) enjoys dinner with his host family’s children and grandchildren.

How did Ravenscroft prepare you for your future endeavors?

Ni: I had some great teachers at Ravenscroft who were caring and encouraging. I liked how I got to take courses of my interest like AP English Language and Composition and AP English Literature and Composition, where I could read many books and write pieces on literature of my choosing. I also liked the philosophy class I took senior year. School work was not necessarily easy, which was good, so that I could actually learn and grow from challenges.

Shen: I have improved my English skills significantly, which made me ready for college communication and research. The knowledge taught at Ravenscroft is far deeper than the normal high school standard, which helped me prepare for the AP exams. Mr. Karny, my chemistry teacher, really influenced me on what I was going to study in college. His teaching wanted me to delve more into the world of chemistry.

Xiao: Ravenscroft prepared me well. Specifically, the English and Composition curriculum was quite helpful with developing writing skills for college courses and beyond. Compared to my peers in college, I felt that I was better prepared for college than many others. College Counseling was also a very valuable resource, especially given my limited familiarity with universities in the U.S.

Tell us about your host family in Raleigh.

Ni: My host parents are two of the nicest people I have ever met. They are warm-hearted and caring, and, throughout the four years staying with them, I really felt like they treated me as if I am part of the family. They would bring me along on their family trips, take care of me when I broke my ankle after a softball practice and give me encouragement when I was down. Honestly, I missed them and Raleigh when I first came to college. During my stay with them, it did feel like home and I had someone that I could always reach out to. I visited them last year during Thanksgiving break.

Shen: My host parents are really nice. Both are really good cooks. I actually never had the same food every day. They are really active in the community and help deliver food to hungry people. They are really friendly and always willing to help others. I think this is why I was so happy living with them. They treated me like their own child. I stayed in touch with my host parents and have visited them every year. We have also shared our experiences, like how to make Chinese food and how to train a puppy.

Acclimation in the United States is really hard, but my host parents helped me significantly to adapt to the new life. They introduced me to their community and friends and taught me how to do things in an American way properly, such as going to other people's houses, ordering food at a restaurant and celebrating at festivals. My host parents also took me and my roommate Bruce Zhu ’21 to other places such as Atlanta, Kansas and Myrtle Beach. All of these fun experiences help me to get involved in the community.

Xiao: I stayed with two host families during my time at Ravenscroft, the most recent one for three years until graduation. The host family experience was very enjoyable, as I got to know many people outside of Ravenscroft, several of whom I’m still in touch with today. We also got together with the other host families quite frequently, and we often went out for meals and other fun events. I’m in touch with my host family and a few students in my class today. I visit them over the summer and during holidays.

Where did your path take you after graduation?

Ni: I'm studying at Johns Hopkins University and my major is archaeology.

Shen: I’m attending UC Santa Barbara and majoring in chemistry.

Xiao: I attended Purdue University for one year, then I transferred to the University of Michigan in fall 2021. I’m graduating from Michigan this December and will start working full-time in Chicago in January.

Chris Xiao ’20 (back row, center) poses with his group during the Junior Mountain Trip — a favorite memory from his time at Ravenscroft.

Clockwise from top left: Sean Shen ’21 brings the crowd to its feet as he takes the lead in a jump-rope relay race during 2019’s Stark Raven Madness; with fellow TBI-New Oasis student and roommate Bruce Zhu ’21, Sean picks up his senior sign — another Ravenscroft tradition — during the Senior Celebration event in May 2020; Sean (back row, third from right) and fellow members of the Upper School Science Club pose for a photo at the NC Science Olympiad’s Raleigh Regional Tournament in February 2020.

A “positive impact on our community”

Emerging from a few years in which the COVID-19 pandemic caused a decrease in the number of applicants in China looking to come to school in the U.S., TBI-New Oasis is enjoying renewed opportunities to share its program with students.

“We’re reinvigorating the private high school North Carolina market to Chinese parents and helping them to realize the benefits of their student living with a local host family while attending a top-tier school in the U.S.,” Neil said.

Among their recent placements in Raleigh is Kai Wang ’27, who enrolled at Ravenscroft this year. The ninth-grader, who hails from the Shandong province in eastern China, has adapted well to his studies and host family arrangements.

New Raven Kai Wang ’27 (at left) takes a selfie with Rainy Ye ’27 and Naveen Kumar ’27.

“My experience so far has been far better than what I anticipated. I like all of my teachers (which isn’t something that I’m used to), and the classes feel challenging at the right pace. I was surprised that I could feel somewhat comfortable in the English curriculum, while it didn't feel like a huge jump for me,” he said. “My host family joke that I’ve walked into the craziest family ever, but things have been very positive so far. They’re incredibly chill and supportive, which makes me feel like I’m set for four great years ahead of me.”

Co-Director of College Counseling Lia Prugh has worked with a number of TBI-New Oasis students — including Cynthia Ni ’22, Sean Shen ’21 and Chris Xiao ’20, whose reflections are featured in the Q&A highlighted above — and said that Kai’s sentiment is one she has heard from many program participants.

“Many TBI-New Oasis students say they appreciate the well-roundedness of our curriculum because it is different from the education they may have received in China, and they are excited that the universities in the U.S. generally have a wider focus on a more liberal arts curriculum,” she said.

Clockwise from left: Chris Xiao ’20 (at right) and teammates James Hohls ’20 and Matthew Hunter ’20 show off their robot from the 2020 FIRST Tech Challenge robotics tournament; Chris (third from left) and fellow hikers pause for a photo during their class’s Junior Mountain Trip in 2019; along with classmates, Chris (in white T-shirt) participates in the traditional Senior Parade on the first day of the 2019-20 school year.

Head of Upper School Aaron Sundstrom noted that Ravenscroft, too, has benefited from having these outstanding students engaged in classes and extracurriculars.

“These students have provided a great deal of positive impact on our community. They have all been extremely strong students academically, and they also bring a cultural context to their studies that can be illuminating for their classmates,” he said. “They have been instrumental in the planning and execution of the Lunar New Year festivities, helping them grow from a single presentation in the Upper School to a full-day event where students from all three divisions get to learn about the Lunar New Year and engage in fun and educational activities.”

“To share culture with one another is an amazing opportunity,” Moore, who is working with 14 area TBI-New Oasis students this year, concluded. “They add to ours and we add to theirs. For the students who decide to really live the experience of America, they have made some wonderful memories — and it is a privilege that we get to know an international student who can expand our horizons and teach us about another culture.”

Kai Wang ’27 is being hosted by local family Brenda and Reed Vanbenschoten.

A Q&A with TBI-New Oasis student Kai Wang ’27

Tell us about your homeland and family in China.
I come from the province of Shandong in China, which is known for its Confucius culture, hard exams and a 5’10” average height of people. It’s very densely populated compared to North Raleigh, but it has very bikeable roads arranged in a grid pattern. I used to live in an old mixed-use office building near the center of the city, so a really prominent memory of mine is watching the renters of the commercial side of the building come and go, and betting with my family on how long a particular renter would last in this area.

Both of my parents work government jobs, which meant they had to be mobilized every couple of years. Despite their sometimes bizarre work schedule and place of work, they still managed to be fantastic parents. Their constant love gave me peace of mind while I was managing the high school entrance exam in China and applying to schools overseas at the same time. From my perspective, people in my family are incredible, hard-working and kind, which gives me constant inspiration.

What attracted you to the United States and to Ravenscroft?
Studying in the U.S. has always been a dream of many of my family members, and I’m one of a few that has the opportunity and time to pursue this. I want to attend college in the U.S., and the typical step leading to that is attending an international high school in China. However, most international high schools have high tuitions, and some of them have questionable quality of courses, especially in humanities and language. We chose Ravenscroft because of the strong college counseling program as well as the welcoming and diverse student body. We also heard some very positive testimonies coming from TBI-New Oasis alumni, so overall we felt like this was the right choice for us.

Will you be able to visit your family in China?
Yes, probably once a year every summer. Jet lag and high prices of flights make it unfavorable to fly back two times a year for now, but it’s really great that every school day is mapped out on my Google calendar, which makes planning trips super convenient. I’ll be able to visit my family at least once or twice a year, as long as nothing crazy happens on the global scale.

Lower School Spanish teacher Margaret Edwards tours the desert region of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.

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