Shen Lin 林深 | 15YO Cambridge Offer, "Forced" Genuis Gap Year, Head Boy (Leadership, Inclusivity), Day Before 18th Birthday, On Legacy (Mortality, Good Person), Chinese Cultures, Values, Careers (Expectations, 'Failures') | Coffee's on Me, David Quan 权丁文

Shen Lin is a first-year Economics Student at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. At the brink of turning 18, he is excited to be invited to this podcast to talk about his experiences as an overseas student and his thoughts about the world. Shen received his offer to Cambridge at the age of 15 and was "forced" to take a gap year before coming to Cambridge. He felt that "the world around him is changing every day" since he started his gap year and even more so after he started his university course last October. Being one of the two students who were the first in their province to come to Cambridge, Shen has had a memorable high school experience different from many other Cambridge freshers. He was excited, but never "well-prepared" for college, according to him.“Great night (just before my 18th birthday) talking with David… reflecting extensively on my past. David has been so helpful, leading me to rethink...!" - Shen Lin---WHY? COFFEE'S ON ME, DAVID QUAN 权丁文TL;DR: To process my emotions after a grueling campaign for President of The Cambridge Union, I reflected upon the influences of my late Grandfather and wrote him a letter: https://linktr.ee/DavidQuan . Drawing inspiration from him, I hope to learn more from others through genuine discussions – giving listeners heartfelt conversations filled with authentic insights, and giving guests legacy-worthy interviews to treasure. To converse with someone without a strict time limit or structure – meticulously engaging in a curious process of clarifications or elaborations – is not only a rare privilege. This longer format also allows the sharing of otherwise unshared or unappreciated anecdotes. There are appeals to sound-bite media, of course, but the metrics that matter most to me are more about the uniqueness of contribution than measures of virality. Over time, I hope to be able to better deconstruct guests' fascinating experiences – to seamlessly tease out the insights for listeners to enjoy and learn from while cooking, commuting, relaxing, or walking their pet.  But this personal project is fundamentally as much about what we can learn from the guests as it is to give them (current) legacy-worthy interviews. My top priority is for guests to enjoy a unique opportunity to challenge, learn about, and be themselves; hopefully, they will be able to keep recordings of in-depth, heartfelt conversations to reflect on in years’ time.  And the best part for guests? Coffee’s on Me, David Quan 权丁文---  NOMINATE A GUEST  Please contact me to nominate someone. This would really help identify the anonymous extraordinaries！---CONTACT ME Having grown up in Xi'an, China, and Adelaide, Australia, I am a 3rd year undergraduate student at Clare College, University of Cambridge, UK. Please do have the courage to say hello!LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/DavidQuan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dingwen-david-quan/Instagram: @DavidQuan32Facebook: David QuanYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-_zEeiF5n5ZTArvMcXpMl