Washington and Lee University
Hometown: Hong Kong
Major: Sociology and Anthropology
Extracurricular Involvement:
Off-Campus Experiences:
Post-Graduation Plans: Graduate School in Cultural Anthropology
Favorite Classes: French and American Existential Novelists, Social Revolutions
Favorite W&L Event: Evening Abroad. It is great to see friends from over the world showing off their talents and cultures.
The town of Lexington is small, but the Washington and Lee classroom is much bigger--as big as you wish to make it. My education has taken place on six continents, from a Maori Marae in New Zealand to a Rococo church in Germany, from a rural elementary school in India to a refugee community in Mexico. These intercultural encounters have colored my college experience and broadened my international horizons. The world was no longer the same once I actually got to experience it personally.
When I decided to come to Washington and Lee as an international student, little did I anticipate that my enrollment in an America college would be the hub for my road trip around the world. Washington and Lee offers a vast variety of study abroad options, as well as academic and financial support to help students fit time overseas into their course of study. I have especially enjoyed the spring term abroad programs put together by multiple academic departments. During my freshman year, I participated in a language learning trip to Germany. Not only did I learn a great deal about German culture and literature, but I also had a wonderful time exploring the country with friends from Lexington. My second spring term took me to Senegal, where I got to experience the amazing diversity and vibrancy of West African worldviews and ways of life. Under the professional guidance of regional experts from the W&L faculty, I have been introduced to foreign cultures in a fun, safe and educationally rewarding way.
Coming back to Lexington after my odyssey around the world, I was encouraged by several professors to reflect upon my abroad experience as it related to my professional goals. With their enthusiastic help and personalized advice, I was able to identify my aspiration to continue experiencing different cultures through academic research. Supported by a Student Summer Independent Research (SSIR) grant from the Dean’s office, I spent the summer before my senior year conducting my thesis research in Chicago and Hong Kong. Taking advantage of faculty’s commitment to teaching and the rich academic resources offered by Washington and Lee, I have been given opportunities to conduct independent studies and research to actively prepare myself for a future endeavor that I am truly passionate about.
There is a Chinese proverb that “it is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books.” I think I am truly lucky to experience both in my four years at Washington and Lee.
Location: Lexington, Virginia
Founded: 1749
Formerly Known As:
Women Admitted to School of Law: 1972
Women Admitted to Undergraduate Divisions: 1985