Overview 2017 and 2018 has taken me around the world and eventually back home. I’ve learned about stability, support, culture, and design. From the #MadeByGoogle design team in California to the streets of Jurong Point in Singapore, there’s been no shortage of diversity in my travels. I like to think of this year as a panoramic image, allowing me to step back and evaluate my growth.
What specific experiences (honors or not) in the past year have had the most impact on your personal and professional trajectory? Articulate specific personal and/or professional goals for the next year. I felt that studying abroad in Singapore had the most impact on my personal and professional trajectory. Being adopted from China, growing up as a minority in a Caucasian family and not looking like anyone in my High School was the norm. Being outwardly Chinese made me different but I felt so disconnected from those who grew up surrounded with Asian cultures. I learned that my skin color and ethnic makeup was just my outward appearance, and internally, I was an American. But living and studying for four months in a country with Singaporeans, Indians, Chinese, Malaysians, and more widened my perspective. It isn't just my skin color, it was my heritage and a missing culture in my life that I ought to explore. Studying abroad has prompted me to center my senior capstone project around the theme of international adoption. I want to understanding the ramifications of China's one-child policy on Chinese adoptees across the world.