Sifeng Chen arrived in New York City in 2012, emigrating from China with his parents. For Chen, it was a culture shift, but the culture shock didn’t set in right away.

What You Need To Know

  • Chen is a Scholar Athlete (aka good at sports, fantastic at academics, and involved in his community)

  • He's currently discovering the balance between Chinese culture expectations and becoming the person he wants to be

  • His internship was a huge turning point for him

“My elementary school was in Chinatown, so I didn’t have to worry about not knowing English because my teacher was from Shanghai and could communicate with me. But when I got to middle school, I didn’t have that and it was really difficult until I started making friends and stepping out of my comfort zone,” Chen said.

For this senior at the High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies, stepping out of his comfort zone while continuing to embrace his Chinese heritage became a defining characteristic.

Chen grew up playing badminton in China, where the sport is very popular. He remembers playing in the street with his mother, hitting the ball back and forth between the two of them. In the United States, where badminton is less popular, Chen began pursuing basketball and even went out for the volleyball team due to a friend’s encouragement, but in the end he found his way back to badminton.

“I joined the team freshman year and I was really impressed by how nice everyone was. It made me want to stay and be a part,” said Chen.

Chen plays doubles on his badminton team and made it to the quarterfinals in the city championships. He says teamwork is really important.

And if one sport isn’t enough to fill a high school senior’s busy schedule, Chen also plays volleyball. The assistant coach of his high school volleyball team recruited him to play club. The sport helped him grow as an athlete and gave him the opportunity to travel the country. It took Chen some added dedication to really learn the sport; he hit the gym to work on his vertical and increase his body strength. Quickly, it became a habit, one that Chen hopes to keep up as he heads to college next year.

Varsity volleyball coach, Sonia Colon, was impressed by Chen’s determination.

“His skill improvement from freshman year to sophomore year was particularly impressive. During one year of progress, he went from a complete beginner to being ranked as the 6th best player on the PSAL [Public School Athletic League] statistical leaderboard. This is an impressive achievement that demonstrates the hard-working mentality he always brings on either the volleyball court or when it comes to achieving more than expected academically,” Colon says.

It is certainly no easy task, Chen explained, especially after a full day of school and a strenuous sports practice. He says it’s on days like that, it takes all of his metal strength to not just crawl into bed without doing his homework.

“I told myself I always have to put academics first. In the end, this is my main goal, this is what really matters. And that always gave me the push to get my school work done,” Chen remembers.

Chen enrolled in four Advanced Placement courses and says he is grateful for the extra challenge, knowing it’s preparing him for what to expect in college.

“I think it’s really important to form these habits right now before I go to college because I’m the first one in my family to go, I’m gonna be on my own, so I really have to control myself and push myself on through the next steps,” said Chen.

Karho Leung, Chen’s supervisor during an internship with 12 Pell, the local barber shop business Leung owns, is familiar with Chen’s drive and determination. It’s a feeling Karho says he knows all too well. Karho originally created his internship program to allow kids in his community an opportunity to discover that there are different routes to success. The experience gave Chen the opportunity to talk to business owners in his community to explore what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

“I never thought about getting into the business side of things, but that project helped open my eyes. That whole experience kind of leaned me into trying business and becoming an entrepreneur in the future,” said Chen. “That experience was amazing. And totally changed my goals and expectations for the future. It just made me realize how many possibilities there are out there to accomplish success.”

“He’s the kind of individual that pushes to accomplish things. He works hard, and he continues to work hard for his family, which is super inspiring, wnows that his parents came to give him this better life and [he] respects that,” Karho remembers.

In what little spare time he has, Chen also captains the Dance Club, where the team not only learns line dances, but becomes tighter knit with Chinese culture.

“The coaches were amazing because they’re just a little bit older than us and they understand what it’s like to be first generation Chinese-American. They would help us understand the larger part of the Chinese culture and why these little things are important to help remind us who we are. Now I understand the importance of my culture even more,” Chen commented.

Chen will continue to push for success at the University of Rochester next year, becoming the first member of his family to ever attend college. He will be pursuing computer science and economics, but says the idea of becoming an entrepreneur one day is still an idea in the back of his mind.