Zier Wang

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Community & Expression

Learning to listen.

Choosing to

show up.

From listening to a teammate to finding my own voice, community begins with how I pay attention to others.

PEOPLE / PARTICIPATION / EXPRESSION

time with friends

WITH FRIENDS / EVERYDAY MOMENTS OF BELONGING

FROM SPORT TO CARE

I stopped looking only inward.

I started noticing others.

The perspective I began to find on the slopes and basketball court now shapes how I listen, accompany, and stand beside my peers.

01 / PEER MENTORSHIP

Belonging starts

with being heard.

friendship outdoors

PERSONAL ARCHIVE / FRIENDSHIP

“I’ve been there too.

Take a breath.”

Supporting a younger international student can begin with a small conversation. I know how unfamiliar a new culture can feel, and I try to offer the reassurance of someone who has been there.

Peer support means listening, accompanying, and staying present with someone else’s uncertainty.

LISTEN FIRST. MAKE SPACE. STAY PRESENT.

02 / JUNIOR SPEECH

A voice that

feels like my own.

From chasing recognition

to speaking honestly.

Preparing my Junior Speech changed what I wanted from the stage. I moved away from pursuing the award and toward expressing what was true to my own experience.

That shift also changed how I connect with peers: sharing honestly can make room for someone else to do the same.

Junior Speech / frame from original video

JUNIOR SPEECH / A MOMENT FROM MY PERSONAL VIDEO

Read the Junior Speech reflection ↗

03 / PARTICIPATION & ADVOCACY

Care becomes

participation.

I contribute through student groups, volunteering, and student representation—learning how everyday responsibilities help a community work.

Campus community / sorting clothing and materials

CAMPUS COMMUNITY / HELPING WITH CLOTHING & MATERIALS

01 / CULTURE & BELONGING

EAST

East Asian Student Together: contributing to a student community centred on cultural connection and shared belonging.

02 / HEALTH & EMPOWERMENT

Girls Up

Participating in advocacy for female health and empowerment, and learning how to turn concern into shared action.

03 / VOLUNTEERING

Mid-Ohio Food Bank

Taking part in food-bank volunteering and on-site service, contributing time and effort alongside others.

04 / STUDENT REPRESENTATION

Alumni Board

Serving as a student representative and helping connect student perspectives with the wider school community.

04 / WRITING, MEDIA & BACKSTAGE

Different ways

to make room for a story.

Writing, reporting, theater lighting, and pitching ideas have given me different ways to communicate—and different roles in a shared creative process.

Theatre / cast and crew group photograph

THEATRE / THE PEOPLE BEHIND A PRODUCTION

Behind the scenes,

part of the whole.

Operating theater lighting showed me another way to contribute: paying attention to what a production needs and supporting the story from backstage.

Columbus Academy Theatre / with a friend

COLUMBUS ACADEMY THEATRE / PERSONAL ARCHIVE

WRITING

New York Times

Summer Academy

Journalism and reporting: learning how to frame a story carefully and communicate it clearly.

MEDIA

BISZ School

Television Station

School reporting through the camera: another medium for noticing and sharing the stories around me.

IDEAS

Entrepreneurship Club

Pitching original projects and learning to make an idea understandable to other people.

COMMUNITY & EXPRESSION

Listen closely.

Speak honestly. Show up.

These are the habits I want to carry into every new community.

Explore portfolio

Zier Wang.

The story is still unfolding.

A PERSONAL JOURNAL OF GROWTH & DISCOVERY

© Zier Wang 2026