On the Road with Grace
Since joining Marvelwood’s faculty in 2011, Dr. Grace Lin P’20 has made a big impact on our school. Her expertise in the Physics and Calculus classrooms has led our students to impressive showings in the Yale Physics Bowl and the American Mathematics Challenge. Her amazing dumplings and delicate macarons are highlights of our Moon Festival and Chinese New Year celebrations. Grace also serves the school as our Chinese Family Liaison, communicating frequently with current and prospective families throughout the year.
What some people don’t know is that Grace takes that level of dedication and commitment with her on the road during the summers as an ambassador for our school overseas. This past July, she spent over two weeks on the road throughout China, visiting five cities and reconnecting with nearly 20 Marvelwood students and graduates and 8 families, several of whom generously funded her travel to and/or accommodations in their city. “The young people I spent time with said they loved their Marvelwood experience and had many fond memories, especially of the faculty,” Grace reported. “The Marvelwood goodies I brought with me made meaningful gifts. And all of the parents said that they highly appreciated the education and care their children received at Marvelwood.”
Somehow, Grace even found time to do some Admissions work, meeting with the parents of a few incoming and prospective students. “It was a very full trip,” she wrote. “I was deeply touched by the hospitality of our student families, and I felt honored and grateful to represent Marvelwood and to share in the cherished memories our alumni still hold of their time on Skiff Mountain.”
Marvelwood is, in turn, very fortunate and grateful that Grace is eager to represent our school throughout the region when she visits her home country and her own family each summer.
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What follows is Grace’s summary of her travel through China this summer.
“From July 16 to 30, I traveled to five cities in China. Shanghai and Beijing are home to many of our alumni and are, therefore, always part of my summer itinerary. This year, I was also invited to Hangzhou, Shaoxing, and Harbin by the families of Alan C. ‘28, Jessica Zhou ‘25, and Jim F. ‘27, respectively. These families generously arranged my accommodations. In Beijing, Steven Huang ‘25’s parents kindly took care of my hotel and transportation, significantly reducing my travel expenses. I am also grateful to the parents of Sissi Xu ‘24, who provided airport transportation in Shanghai, and to Able Zhou ‘18’s mother, who joined us in Shanghai for the alumni lunch for the Classes of 2016-2018 and brought a special gift for everyone: the popular Labubu doll.
“Over the course of 15 days, I met with around 20 alumni and 8 student families, as well as the parents of two prospective students. The Marvelwood goodies I brought with me made meaningful presents at those meetings. The parents highly appreciated the education and care their students received at Marvelwood. I'm confident that they will recommend Marvelwood to their friends if the opportunity arises.
“Some highlights of my trip were the alumni connections I made that led to new encounters. My first meeting in Shanghai was with Katie Guo ’11, who now owns a tea house that sells special organic tea from her family’s farm. When she learned I was heading to Shaoxing to visit Jessica Zhou ’25 and her family, she introduced me to Nicole Ni ’11, who also lives there. Nicole recently had her second baby and works for an investment firm. I later enjoyed afternoon tea with both Nicole and Jessica in Shaoxing. Interestingly, Katie and Nicole graduated a few months before I joined Marvelwood; I never overlapped with them on campus.
“Nicole then connected me with Alice Tian ’12 in Beijing. Alice invited me to dinner, and we had a wonderful three-hour conversation. She currently works for her family’s business.
“My lunch with Nicki Xu ’16, a Yale School of Management graduate and former McKinsey consultant who now runs an education consulting firm in Beijing, led to reconnecting with Jeff Liu ’17. Jeff is training to become a professional chef at a blue-ribbon culinary school in Paris and happened to be in Beijing this summer. We met over dinner, and shortly after, I received a WeChat message from Mark Yoo ’15, who got my contact from Jeff. Mark lives in South Korea and works for his family business. He was thrilled to reconnect and wrote, ‘I miss the faculty so much… They did a lot for me at Marvelwood. I was too young [to fully appreciate it] at the time. When you and other faculty visit Korea, I’d like to make a donation to the school.’
“Many alumni shared fond memories of Marvelwood. What they miss most are the faculty; Laurie Doss, Glenn Sanchez P’18, ‘19, and Heni Foote P’20 were the most frequently mentioned.
“I was also very pleased to meet with a couple of prospective student families. Xinglin (Larry) H. ’27 was accepted to Marvelwood in early July, but his parents still had concerns and had hesitated to submit the enrollment contract. I coordinated my travel so I could meet Larry’s father at the Beijing airport—my arrival coincided with his departure. We spoke for 30 minutes, and our conversation, along with follow-up messages via WeChat, helped reassure him. The contract was returned shortly after, and Larry is now in the process of applying for his U.S. visa.
“I was first introduced to Zhiqi (Tom) Zheng’s family in March 2025 by Richard Zhao ’18’s parents. At that time, we spoke via video chat to discuss whether Tom should apply for 2025-2026 as a freshman or wait until 2026-2027 as a sophomore. They initially chose to apply for the upcoming school year, but later reconsidered due to rising safety concerns for international students. Still, they stayed in touch through WeChat. When I arrived in Shanghai, they invited me and Richard’s family for dinner. I was glad to learn that they still believe Marvelwood is the right place for Tom and plan to apply for the 2026-2027 school year.
“Overall, it was a full and successful trip. I felt honored and grateful to represent Marvelwood and to share in the cherished memories our alumni still hold of their time on Skiff Mountain.”
