Giving for the future
Tian Wang and Zhiyu Shen make generous philanthropic gift in support of the Master Campus Plan.
Last year, after parents Zhiyu Shen and Tian Wang had learned their youngest child Leo would be entering La p’tite école and be able to join his sister Vivian at TFS, the family graciously became a sponsor of the Diamond Soirée, the school's 60th Anniversary gala. Recently, pleased with how their children are progressing at TFS and the close knit community they have become a part of, the family has made another generous philanthropic commitment in support of the Master Campus Plan and the future of the school.
“We had the opportunity to see the building plan and we’re excited about what the new facility will bring for the students. Our children are still very young and the building will benefit them a lot,” says Tian, adding that they wanted to help build momentum towards making the vision a reality as soon as possible.
Zhiyu and Tian came to Canada in 2010. After Vivian was born in 2015, Tian started looking for a school.
“For me,” recalls Tian, “it was a big project. After all, it’s not just for a few years, but for the entire childhood, from two years old to 18. I heard about TFS and it had a very good academic reputation, but I talked with some friends who had children at TFS to get their point of view from the inside. I asked about the teachers and the principles. I asked: ‘What universities are the graduates going to? What activities are offered? What are the facilities and the music program like?’ I am a detailed person!” From there, Tian went to open houses at Jardin d’éveil Hafez, La p’tite école, Junior School and the Senior School. “I wanted to have a good idea of the whole picture in regards to the education at all levels and what supports the school provides to help them get into a good university,” she adds.
After Tian’s thorough research, she and Zhiyu felt the school was a good fit for Vivian. They enrolled her at La p’tite école in 2017.
“We preferred a co-ed environment and we felt TFS was perfect. It has the IB, two languages, and it is very international, with families from different countries and cultures that all respect each other. Coming from China, that was important to us. We wanted to be part of the community and here we immediately felt welcome. We are very satisfied with the school. It is competitive to get in so we felt fortunate that Vivian and now Leo were accepted. Now we feel like we are part of one big TFS family.”
