--- title: Leadership Talks and movie premieres – how ISB alumni are giving back description: More examples of how ISB's nearly 10,000 registered alumni are inspiring current students through their engagement with the school. image: https://blog.isb.cn/hubfs/NICK%202024-25/Nick%20-%20Thumbnail%20Image/20241126%20alumni%20roundup%20thumb.jpg --- MENU [![isb-logo-new-1](https://blog.isb.cn/hubfs/Imported%20images/isb-logo-new-1.png)](https://www.isb.cn/) - [Quicklinks](https://www.isb.bj.edu.cn/quicklinks) - [Calendar](https://www.isb.bj.edu.cn/news-medianews/calendar) - [Dragons' Gate](https://www.isb.bj.edu.cn/dg) - [Dragons' Exchange](https://dx.isb.bj.edu.cn/) - [PowerSchool](https://sis.isb.bj.edu.cn/public/home.html) - [Vidigami](https://www.vidigami.com/) - [Login Troubleshooting](https://www.isb.bj.edu.cn/quicklinks/login-troubleshooting) - [ASA Registration (SchoolsBuddy)](https://isbdragons.schoolsbuddy.net/) - Search [![International School of Beijing](https://blog.isb.cn/hubfs/logo-small.svg)](https://www.isb.bj.edu.cn/) - 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They recently enjoyed talks with a prominent philanthropist and an acclaimed film director who were once in their shoes at ISB. #### ISB's original MUN president lives up to her promise Mattie Bekink, the Ford Foundation’s regional director in China, graduated from ISB in 1996. She returned to campus on November 19 for the latest event in the school’s [Leadership Talk Series](https://www.isb.cn/community/alumni/isb-leadership-talk-series). Open to students and the wider community, this series of events brings in experts including from ISB’s alumni network for talks on relevant contemporary topics. Mattie encouraged ISB community members to explore the path to success and reflect on their own aspirations to change the world. Drawing on her extensive experience with [the Ford Foundation](https://www.fordfoundation.org/) and in global development, Mattie shared insights that sparked a thoughtful Q&A discussion. She inspired attendees to consider the role of philanthropy in addressing complex global issues and the importance of driving positive change. There’s a recording of Mattie’s Leadership Talk on [the ISB Live YouTube page](https://www.youtube.com/@ISBLiveStream). A highlight was her own journey – and its beginnings at ISB. As the president of the first Beijing Model United Nations (BEIMUN) in 1993-1994, she led a delegation of 12 students to The Hague. Today, BEIMUN is recognized as one of the top high-school MUN conferences globally, attracting hundreds of delegates each year. Before Mattie graduated, her classmates made predictions about where their futures would take them. Mattie’s prediction? She would be “sitting at a United Nations world conference, and a leading figure in the United Nations… trying to solve a major world crisis.” Among ISB alumni, Mattie is not unusual in living up to the bright future seen for her at school. Her return was a powerful reminder of the impact that ISB alumni are making in the world, and of how her successors can build on the excellent education they’re getting and create positive change. #### A starring role Law Chen (ISB Class of 2005) is a professional filmmaker whose new movie has been getting strong reviews from critics since its premiere in New York earlier this month. He spoke to High School film students via video conference call as part of their course on November 20. Further strengthening connections among the school’s extended community, 35 ISB alumni and friends attended the premiere of Law’s *Starring Jerry As Himself* on November 6. They enjoyed the film from a VIP section sponsored by ISB. Former ISB faculty member Dave O’Reilly traveled from San Francisco to moderate the post-screening Q&A session, surprising many of his former students. #### 10,000 strong These are the latest examples of ISB alumni giving back to the school and of the strength of the alumni network developed since ISB was founded in 1980. Nearly 10,000 former students, parents, and faculty members have created profiles on the ISB alumni network’s portal. The portal has many more stories of alumni offering mentoring, career, and internship opportunities to those enjoying an ISB education.   ##### **Strong relationships, including among alumni and students, is one of three main Strategic Focus Areas for ISB. Many of our news articles like this one look at aspects of ISB that are examples of the three Focus Areas in action. To find out more, click** [**here**](https://www.isb.cn/about/strategic-plan?__hstc=4293612.621ee6910781422ea57318f2235e8e40.1669601516665.1675910214620.1675926659180.138&__hssc=4293612.1.1675926659180&__hsfp=23418311)**.** ##### **Former students, parents, and staff of ISB can stay up to date on alumni events and information, including opportunities to give back to the school, with the alumni portal: [https://isbalumninetwork.com](https://isbalumninetwork.com).** ## [International School of Beijing](https://blog.isb.cn/) ISB is an extraordinary school, made so by a tradition of educational excellence spanning 45 years. Establishing, nurturing, and growing such an exceptional learning community has been and remains intentional; we work hard to build strong relationships so our learning is at its best. [View All Articles](https://blog.isb.cn/) Topics from this blog: [Community](https://blog.isb.cn/tag/community) [Alumni](https://blog.isb.cn/tag/alumni) [Back](https://blog.isb.cn/) ![International School of Beijing logo skyline view](https://blog.isb.cn/hubfs/raw_assets/public/saas-child--int-school-of-beijing/images/footer-skyline.svg) ![Small blue dots](https://blog.isb.cn/hubfs/raw_assets/public/saas-child--int-school-of-beijing/images/footer_flowers.svg) ![Colorful floating lanterns](https://blog.isb.cn/hubfs/raw_assets/public/saas-child--int-school-of-beijing/images/footer_lanterns.svg) ![footer-logo](https://blog.isb.cn/hubfs/raw_assets/public/saas-child--int-school-of-beijing/images/footer-logo.svg) 10 An Hua Street, Shunyi District, Beijing 101318, PRC 中国 北京市 顺义区安华街10号, 邮编：101318 +86 (10) 8149-2345 ![Beijing Public Network Security logo](https://blog.isb.cn/hubfs/raw_assets/public/saas-child--int-school-of-beijing/images/footer-dis.png) 京公网安备 11011302004418号 - CONTACT US - FEEDBACK - SITE MAP - PRIVACY POLICY - Inquire - Apply ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "International School of Beijing", "url" : "https://blog.isb.cn/author/isb" }, "dateModified" : "2024-11-26T05:09:38.245Z", "datePublished" : "2024-11-26T05:09:38.000Z", "headline" : "Leadership Talks and movie premieres – how ISB alumni are giving back", "image" : [ "https://blog.isb.cn/hubfs/NICK%202024-25/Nick%20-%20Thumbnail%20Image/20241126%20alumni%20roundup%20thumb.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.isb.cn/leadership-talks-and-movie-premieres-how-isb-alumni-are-giving-back", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.isb.cn/hubfs/logo.png" }, "name" : "International School of Beijing" } } ```