TRACKING THE PULSE
Stories, Sparks, Snapshots — From Our World to Yours.
Rosanna is returning to Vancouver following more than a decade of professional accomplishments in Beijing and Shanghai.
From summer 2023 to fall 2024, she was instrumental in shaping the ideation phase of the Transition Into Global Student Life series, contributing through strategic brainstorming and close consultation with our founder, Xixi. In fall 2024, Rosanna stepped into the role of Curriculum Developer for the Becoming Lab. As the program’s primary researcher and curator, much of her impact operates behind the scenes: synthesizing extensive literature reviews, critical thinking, counselling experience, and iterative refinement into digestible takeaways and resonant narratives. Her work is quiet, dense, and deeply generative, turning raw insight into personal and relational learning. The past three years of collaboration have been an incredible pleasure. After she returns to Vancouver, she will continue this work.
On June 2nd, Rosanna and our founder Xixi shared a farewell dinner in Shanghai, where they reflected on three years of collaboration and looked ahead to what’s next together. In this news piece, we look back on some of Rosanna’s key contributions at CUE, as well as her achievements as an independent counsellor for youth.
IMAGE: Rosanna and Xixi’s goodbye dinner in Shanghai
It Always Starts with a Call. Every script we create begins the same way: a call between our Rosanna and Xixi. We ask ourselves, “What real-world experience feels exactly like this research data?” “What are the most recent stories we heard from parents and schools?” “How was it like for me when I was entering university?” “How have social media and the internet changed students’ transitional experience?” This isn’t a generic brainstorm. It’s a laser-focused conversation about one thing: “What must the learner believe, feel, or do differently after this learning session?” That single takeaway becomes our North Star. It guides every decision that follows, from which research papers we cite to which metaphors we choose. Without it, we’re just animating facts. With it, we’re crafting transformation.
IMAGE: Rosanna and Xixi’s chat history documenting some of their calls
Revise. Revise. And Revise Again. If you think writing the script is the main event, think again. The real craft happens in the revision loop, and we mean several of them.
Rosanna and Xixi go back and forth, layer by layer:
First, we check the heart. Does the emotional arc in the stories land before we even look at the learning takeaways? If not, we rewrite.
Then, we check the head. Do all knowledge pieces hold up against the original research? If not, we replace them.
Next, we think like animators. Can this plot be drawn in five seconds or less? If not, we find a simpler visual anchor.
Finally, we cut. Ruthlessly. We trim and trim because we need to respect high schoolers’ tight schedule, and cognitive load is real.
By the time we send the scripts out to our group of Advisors, the scripts have been rebuilt multiple times. And that’s exactly how we like it. We move thoroughly. Every frame, every line of dialogue, and every visual metaphor is the product of a multi-layered development process that begins not at the drawing board, but in the field.
At the end of the day, we believe that complex ideas should be made concise yet unforgettable, and that takes the time it deserves. By June 2026, we are 2/5 through the script production process, and we keep the good work going!
IMAGE: Drafts during the script production process
Our commitment to field research also takes the form of live, community-centred events, because some of the most powerful learning happens through genuine human dialogue and in community. In partnership with United Family Healthcare (UFH) Shanghai, in October 2025, Rosanna and Xixi co-created and hosted a panel event exploring a topic that resonates deeply with families: the emotional and psychological adjustment of relocating for overseas studies (you can read the recap here).
Leaving home for education abroad is rarely just an academic transition. It is a life transition, fraught with cultural shifts, identity questions, and quiet anxieties that students and parents often struggle to articulate. To share our perspective and better understand today’s parents and students, we brought together three distinct voices, each offering a unique vantage point: a father, a therapist and an alumna. This event exemplifies everything CUE stands for: research-informed, human-centred, and action-oriented. The event also reinforced our commitment to bringing together research, real voices, and trusted partners like UFH to create life transition spaces where people feel seen, heard, and equipped.
IMAGE: Panel Event at UFH Jing’an Campus, Shanghai
IMAGE: Rosanna and Panellists
Rosanna also advised on the R&D of the Bridgework Journal. This journal is a companion through one of life’s most meaningful transitions, from high school to college or university. As students move through the weeks, they’ll unpack motivations, map expectations, build emotional tools and terminologies, and deepen self-awareness for their upcoming global education. It offers 52 weeks of “snack-sized” content, 2- 15 minutes each week, depending on how much depth a student wants to dive in.
IMAGE: The Bridgework Journal
The Bridgework Journal was designed in 2024 and shared with the public for the first time at Nord Anglia International School Shanghai Pudong (NAIS) in Shanghai during its Christmas Market in December (Read more about the event in the CUE Newsroom).
IMAGE: 2024 Christmas Market at NAIS
Aside from collaborations with CUE, Rosanna has also curated events and built partnerships with schools and organizations in Shanghai over the years.
To Rosanna, CUE extends our most heartfelt congratulations on her remarkable achievements in Shanghai, alongside our gratitude for the years of collaborative partnership we have shared. We look forward to our continuous collaboration after her relocation back to Vancouver, Canada.
IMAGE: Photos of Rosanna at events she hosted or participated in
