Setting out on an educational journey extends beyond classroom learning and exam scores.
It's about actively taking opportunities that nurture personal growth and development.

Hanae Tsunokawa, a shining star within the CGA community, has not only achieved an impressive 3000CR milestone but has also illuminated the significance of our student CGA badges.

A Balancing Act Between School and Life

Earning the 3000CR milestone is a testament to Hanae's ability to strike a balance between her academic endeavors and life beyond the classroom. Discover her thoughts on achieving this milestone and her perspective on maintaining equilibrium between the two spheres.

Congratulations on earning your 3000CR milestone! How does it feel to have achieved this impressive accomplishment?

Thank you. Earning my 3000CR milestone holds a profound significance for me mainly as it showcases how I have achieved maintaining a balance between life at school and outside of school without spending too much time on one or another. I feel a sense of completion although I believe that it is also important to keep participating in activities after earning 3000CR.

You've earned badges in various categories like Academic, Social, Extracurricular, and Orientation. Which had the most significant impact?

The CGA badge system is well-designed in a way that allows you to engage both in your school life at CGA and your private life beyond the classroom. The academic badges, which I have earned most of, are awarded to individuals who have consistent attendance and completed assignment records.

Compared to academic badges, social badges focus on the endeavors of students outside of their classrooms including being featured in a weekly assembly, writing an article for the CGA Newsletter and attending CGA social day hosted occasionally across our international offices.

Furthermore, the extracurricular badges encourage students to excel in national and international competitions and are also awarded to those who show outstanding contributions to events held by various organizations and clubs at CGA.

The last category, the orientation badges can be claimed most at the time of your enrollment, followed by your first couple days at the school. Personally, the social badges hold the most significance as they allow me to engage in interpersonal activities which could lack especially in an online learning environment.

CGA badges are designed to recognize and motivate students. Could you share an experience where earning a badge motivated you to strive for even greater achievements?

There is a badge called “Shutter Badge” which you can earn by becoming the winner of the weekly challenge held at CGA Photography Club (determined by the member’s votes). In a club with 54 people, I was able to claim the badge 4 times so far this year, and this badge has encouraged me to enhance my photography skills more and beyond.

Since then I have been trying out different composition and color-grading methods to express my creativity within a single shot. Now that photography has become my passion, I started to make a habit of capturing my surroundings in a frame even if I’m not on a special occasion. I am also thinking of entering small photography competitions in the future which I would have never thought of doing before finding the interest.

Being a part of the CGA online school community, how do the badges enhance your sense of belonging and camaraderie with fellow students?

In an online school, it is challenging to encourage general social interactions, despite them being crucial to our well-being as students. However many badges that I have collected in the past suggested to me different ways in which any student at CGA can solve this problem.

These include offline interactions such as attending CGA Social Day and meeting with people outside of your country, but there are many other badges that you can claim by interacting with students online. These range from interviewing a student to playing an online chess game but all of them encourage students' interaction outside of classrooms, which in my opinion builds an environment somewhat similar to traditional school’s break or lunchtime periods.

As you've progressed through different milestones and earned badges, how do you feel your confidence has grown, and how has this affected your overall learning experience?

When I first started collecting badges, I was unsure of what to do, but as time progressed, I gradually became more confident in individually trying to reach out to people to achieve the badges together. I remember a few months ago reaching out to a student whom I only see in my form time, held only once a week, for an offline meet-up in Japan.

Truth be told, we had never actually spoken with each other before so I was amused when I contacted her. Despite only knowing so little about each other, I had a wonderful time talking with her offline. Not only does the badge system extend my academics, but I also got to learn about a number of students and teachers at CGA with different nationalities, backgrounds and beliefs which has been a great pleasure.

With so many accomplishments under your belt, what advice would you give to other CGA students who are working towards earning their own badges?

I would say sometimes take a bold action to achieve your badge criteria. Some badges may necessitate stepping out of your comfort zone but I don’t think it’s worth it to give up claiming a badge only due to its difficulties. Even if you could not claim a badge, I believe that the experience holds great value itself, potentially leading to future advantages or discoveries of new hobbies or talents.

How would you describe your experience with CGA badges in a few words?

My experience with CGA badges has been intriguing and inspiring. I cannot thank CGA’s tech team enough for creating the badge system.

I would like to say to all new students joining CGA that many of the badges are worth claiming for. Individual purposes can vary from wanting to showcase their skill and talent, needing a reason to get off from a computer, or simply wanting to be displayed on the school leaderboard, but I would say that everyone will get something out of it. You will learn something that can never be taught in a classroom through the badge system.