Owen Zhao

Editor and Contributor,
Polandball Wiki

Whether it is reading a new history book on his own, speaking in front of the student body or playing the clarinet at large concerts, Owen Zhao believes that supporting his generation to realize their fullest potential through both academics and real world experiences are key to unlocking a positive future. He is currently 15 years old and resides in Shanghai. 

When he was in 7th grade, Owen found an old history book about the Second World War on a bookshelf in the corner of the school library. At first, he didn't pay much attention to the book because he was not very interested in history at that time. However, he found that there was a series of historical maps of Europe printed on the first page of the book, and he was instantly attracted to it. Then, he decided to read the rest of the book so he could find out the reason why Europe would look the way it was during WWII. He quickly became interested in history after reading the book, and it was the first time that he learned that history was a broad subject that encompasses every imaginable aspect of our world and that learning it could be fun.

Now in high school, he joined his school’s academic decathlon team and attended the U.S academic decathlon in 9th grade. His main focus in this competition is social science, and he won the National Silver Award for Social Science. He also joined the Shanghai International Youth Orchestra as a clarinet player, and he is currently the second clarinetist in the orchestra. In 10th grade, he began participating in Model United Nations because of his interest in international relations and politics, and his first MUN conference was the Harvard MUN conference in summer 2022. He is also an editor of Polandball Wiki - he has already contributed four major articles (a total of 14 edits) for the history of different nations, and he has made several Polandball comics that featured the relations between nations as an artist. 

Looking ahead, Owen’s aim is to contribute to the future sustainable (including moral) development of our world. Whichever academic or career paths he takes, he will focus on helping future generations to truly appreciate a topic, whether it be history, science or technology, and extract knowledge and know-how to deliver value to the society as a whole. He believes in lifelong learning to better prepare himself for adulthood and the challenges ahead.