Daniel Du: A True Renaisscance Man
This talented 18-year old from Beijing is going to shape the future
Undeterred, that's the word to describe Daniel Du. Through the midst of a pandemic, separation from his family, and stressful ordeals of the college application process, Daniel has emerged from the storm more ready for the world than ever. All while keeping a peaceful and composed look that makes him look well beyond his years.
Daniel’s Chinese name is Yilin and he came to the United States when he was fifteen years old to continue his education and begin his freshman year of high school at Christ School which is a boarding school in Arden, North Carolina.
In the spring of 2020 and his sophomore year, COVID-19 hit the United States hard and forced many schools to shut down, including Christ School. Pretty much every student that lived on campus was asked to stay home during Winter Break and did not return to campus for the rest of the semester. Daniel stayed at school for the semester and did remote learning in the classrooms with the teachers some days and on other days he would stay in his dorm room. This eventually would mean that he wouldn't see his family or friends from home for almost two years.
What was your daily routine when you were basically the only student still on campus?
I woke up at about nine or ten and then I would brush my teeth and do some exercise. Then Mr. Hyche would take me to have lunch. I wouldn’t have breakfast. I had about two meals per day and then after lunch sometimes I would do some work. I was preparing for applications to like twenty schools, so I was writing college essays for like six or seven hours a day. Then, I would have dinner with Mr. Hyche and go back to my room to play some video games with KZ (Kevin Zheng) and Eddy (Edward Lin). And I loved to stay up late because the night is super quiet and gets a bit dark and you feel like you can enjoy the moment. I would just play some music and settled down there and enjoyed it. Yeah, it’s kind of lonely but sometimes I had to enjoy that loneliness so that I would not go crazy.
What sparked your interest in architecture?
I’m really good at math and I love painting traditional Chinese paintings. When I grew up, I felt like both math and art took a very important role in my life. So, in the future, I don’t want to give up either one so I’m trying to combine those two. Architecture is a good way to combine math, science, and art. I’ve been doing a competition called Future City and it is where a team must design a city by themselves. You must design how the factories work, how the electronics and different systems are utilized throughout the city. It was interesting to me, and my team received first place in all of China and we went to a competition in Washington D.C. about four or five years ago. That makes me really interested in architecture.
Was your family in support of you staying at school in the United States and what was their reaction to your return home?
I was so excited because I hadn’t seen my parents for two years, but I always did FaceTime with them like three times a week. When I arrived in Beijing, I saw my parents and grandparents and my best friend standing there waiting for me and I appreciated that so much. My parents don’t speak English and they don’t know much about America. So, I did the research for schools in America myself and they can really just support me on the financial side.
Daniel plans to look for internships in the field of architecture whether in China or the United States. He has already been recognized in an art exhibition with multiple pieces of his own. With all that he has accomplished in his life so far, it’s safe to say this man is going places.
To check out more of Daniel’s artwork and architectural designs you can follow @fineartsofchristschool on Instagram.
