My path to non-sibi began long before Andover. “Non-Sibi” inspires me to live with purpose beyond my personal success, reminding me that the education and the opportunities that we are receiving shouldn’t be only for personal benefits, but rather as tools to uplift those in our community. In my previous school, I would spend time volunteering with an online English-teaching program for students in rural Gansu, China. Witnessing the children’s determination to learn despite limited resources left a lasting impression. When I joined Andover, I was eager to expand this work. Together with my friend Aaron, we had an idea of a nonprofit initiative to connect Andover students studying Chinese with underserved learners in China seeking help with English. What began as a simple idea, however, quickly became a humbling lesson in resilience and the real meaning of Non-Sibi.
Our journey began with high hopes. We envisioned a non-profit that would allow Andover students who need to practice Chinese to teach children in China in need of quality English education. Our first step was to reach out to the Chinese department, hoping to collaborate or gain support. However, we were met with a swift rejection. School policies prohibited students from creating online meetings or classes under the school’s name, and collaborating with academic departments for a non-profit was not allowed. We realized that perhaps the idea of Non Sibi isn’t just something that can be done easily with a few words; it requires determination and patience that is gradually built up, step by step. In search of a new method, we turned to schools in China, emailing local school administrators and pitching our idea. Yet, once again, we were met with silence or outright rejection. It felt as though every door was closing in our faces. Just when we were on the verge of losing hope, a school in my hometown in Hubei province agreed to partner with us. This small victory reminded me that perseverance is key, a lesson that would prove to be essential in founding a non-profit.
With a partner school secured, we faced our next challenge: designing an effective and engaging curriculum. Initially, as high schoolers in the U.S., we assumed that we knew the best way to teach English. We were wrong. Crafting a curriculum that was both educational and intriguing was far harder than we anticipated. Should we focus on small, interactive groups or larger lectures? Should we prioritize grammar drills or conversational practice? Our team disagreed on fundamental issues, such as class size and teaching methods, as well as whether we should teach in English or Chinese. The debates were endless, and progress felt slow.
During this time, we were able to reach out and receive guidance from the school: the Launchpad team, an incubator at Andover dedicated to supporting student startups and nonprofits. They encouraged us to start small and start our project based on feedback from the local students and teachers. Following their advice, we conducted interviews with teachers at our partner school and distributed three rounds of surveys, and got over 600 responses, allowing us to understand the students’ English levels, interests, and needs. This data became the foundation of our approach in making the curriculum, teaching us the importance of listening and learning before action.
Yet we were reminded how much we had to improve after our first mock presentation to the Launchpad board. The board pointed out that teaching “Non-Sibi” isn’t about what we think is best but rather learning more and understanding more about the students’ perspectives and needs. Even though we based our curriculum on the surveys, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the students would interpret the results as we do. We tried “becoming” the students and found that the class was not as interesting as we thought it would be. With their advice in mind, we scrapped the grammar-heavy lessons and replaced them with more storytelling, short novels, and films, orienting our original facts-based presentation to an interest-based one. The goal shifted from simply teaching grammar to sparking creativity and imagination while simultaneously reinforcing language skills. We made our class more organized, balancing the most important learning points with short films, and we even decided to create a separate class dedicated to reading fun books. This hybrid class balanced enjoyment and rigor, proving that “Non-Sibi” isn’t just about what you think is best for other people, but rather constantly adapting and evolving to serve others effectively.
During my first year at Andover, I have come to appreciate that “Non-Sibi” isn’t just about grand gestures or fancy projects. Rather, it is about the small and often frustrating steps that slowly lead to meaningful change. Creating our non-profit taught me that perseverance, humility, and willingness to listen to feedback are just as important as your passion. Andover has given me the space to make mistakes, learn, and grow, while reminding me that the most rewarding journeys are those taken with challenges and others in mind. As I reflect on this year, I am reminded that change does not happen overnight because it requires patience, dedication, and a commitment to small details. My Andover experience has taught me to think big but start small and to keep the spirit of “Non-Sibi” at heart.
