By Nick Yates, ISB Communications
Published on Tuesday, April 12, 2022
The International School of Beijing’s (ISB) inaugural Alumni Achievement Award goes to Matthew Lin, a 2007 ISB graduate forging a promising career in children’s medicine.
The ISB Alumni Association launched this initiative to foster a spirit of pride and loyalty, celebrate former students’ achievements and services, and encourage engagement in ISB’s Mission. The award recognizes alumni who are thinkers and leaders in their chosen field of endeavor. The recipients’ accomplishments and contributions shall have embodied the high expectations and values of ISB and positively impacted society.
Matthew Lin, MD, is a clinical fellow at the Boston Children’s Hospital Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Program and a bioethics fellow at Harvard Medical School. After graduation, he will complete another year of training at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. He earned qualifications from other top U.S. institutions including Brown University, the University of Vermont College of Medicine, and New York University School of Medicine. Matthew says he hopes to pursue a career as an academic neonatologist and pediatric hospice/palliative specialist.
A published academic in numerous medical journals, Matthew’s current research focuses on communication and decision-making support for families of infants with serious and life-threatening illness.
According to a statement from the award selection committee, he stood out “as someone who lives and breathes the ISB Values and Mission with a very well-rounded lifestyle. His work with the NICU (Neonatal ICU) and parents in difficult situations is incredibly moving and highlights how much of a positive impact he has on society... He is also a thought leader in medical ethics with several awards and positions at the forefront of the space.”
Other finalists in the Alumni Achievement Award included author Anna Ko, Class of 2011; Olympic swimmer Camille Cheng, also class of 2011; filmmaker Lawrence Chen, class of 2005; and Princeton University computer science Ph.D candidate Ethan Tseng, Class of 2014.
These are just a small number of the distinguished former ISB Dragons inspiring the current study body. ISB’s Alumni Association continues to grow year after year. Counting thousands of former students, parents, and faculty as formal members, the organization provides the opportunity for alumni to connect with one another. ISB has more than 40 years of history, and its huge number of graduates are an asset to the school, giving back in ways that include offering mentoring, career, and internship opportunities to current students.
Almost 100 alumni working in diverse fields and graduating as far back as the 1990s have signed up to the ISB High School’s new alumni mentor network. In recent years, ISB alumni have had fun advising the school’s students and networking with other former Dragons as guest speakers on campus and in various forums organized by the Alumni Association. Complementing ISB’s counseling and university advising faculty, the formal network will strengthen this offering and bring more alumni expertise to the student body.
The Alumni Advisory Council (AAC) was established this year to help coordinate all this activity. It’s a volunteer group of 20 alumni serving as a liaison with the school. The AAC helped organize the Alumni Achievement Award, among other responsibilities.
The ISB community can look forward to the annual High School Awards Ceremony in June, when the Alumni Achievement Award will be presented.
The ISB Alumni Association has a new and improved website! To read profiles of some of ISB’s amazing alumni, find out more about the association’s work, or get involved yourself, please go to www.isb.bj.edu.cn/community/alumni.