Two students from Duke Kunshan’s inaugural class have been awarded scholarships by the prestigious Yenching Academy of Peking University.
Alberto Najarro from El Salvador, who studies environmental science, and Honey Huang, from Pakistan, who studies media and arts, will receive full funding to pursue master’s degrees at the academy, which awards a handful of scholarships to international students each year.
“Being accepted for the Yenching Academy is a great achievement and testament to the character of Honey and Alberto, the strength of our inaugural class as a whole and the quality of the faculty at Duke Kunshan University,” said Chancellor Youmei Feng.
“I wish them success as they continue their academic journey and beyond as they begin to realize their ambitions armed with the knowledge, skills and friendships they have developed here at DKU. Having the opportunity to start their new journeys in China helps these young talents to further develop their understanding of Chinese culture and stories, and we look forward to their contributions in building a more connected and harmonious world.”
Established in 2014, Yenching Academy is a postgraduate college at Peking University, one of China’s oldest higher education establishments. The academy was created with the idea of fostering global connections and dialogue, and so has a high percentage of international students.
Huang will study towards a master of philosophy in China studies with a focus on philosophy and religion, a departure from her studies at Duke Kunshan, but inspired by her Signature Work project, which looked at the relationship between traditional Chinese medicine and Daoism.
“The interdisciplinary curriculum at DKU allowed me to really work on a signature work thesis that I think was appealing to Yenching Academy, because not only am I looking into a cultural thing, which is traditional Chinese medicine, but I’m also linking it to how philosophy and Daoism influenced it,” she said.
Huang described the help she received from DKU faculty and staff during her studies and application as “heart-warming”.
“At one point I really didn’t think I would make it, but the support I received pushed me through to finish my application,” she said.
Outside of her studies, Huang has been active across DKU’s clubs and societies. She founded the university’s photography club, was one of the first two students on the university art council, helped to organize the first DKU Arts and Music Festival in her freshman year and co-founded the Women’s, Gender, and Diversity Initiative on campus. She also worked as a lab assistant under Selina Lai-Henderson, assistant professor of American literature and history, as a student ambassador, and for several university departments including communications, residence life and the arts and humanities division.
Once in Beijing, she hopes to keep up her active social activities by getting to know the city’s culinary scene.
“I’m really looking forward to exploring the city,” she said. “I am someone who loves food so I’m really hoping to discover the best restaurants and food stalls around the city, and to create a guide for visitors.”
In the future she hopes to work in an area connected to cultural preservation, while also using her media skills.
“There are a lot of things I can do in that field in China,” she said. “And it would also be a good opportunity for me to reconnect with my roots.” Huang’s parents are from southern China.
Looking back on her time at DKU, Huang said her best memory was an early group trip to IKEA, where everything went wrong, from missing their bus to getting caught in the rain.
It was “chaotic” she said, but also full of “funny moments” and the beginning of many friendships.
Najarro will pursue a master of law in China studies, concentrating on politics and international relations, a subject he has been interested in since his youth.
More specifically he intends to research the environmental implications of Chinese outbound foreign direct investment in Latin America with a view to better informing political decision-makers about them.
He has ambitions for a career centered around Sino-Salvadoran economic and environmental relations after his studies, and while in Beijing will work at the El Salvadoran embassy.
“It is not a common occurrence for Salvadorans to access these opportunities,” he said. “I have observed first-hand the necessities of the people of my country, El Salvador. I am committed to constructing more platforms so that Salvadorans can dream and pursue their dreams and objectives, as I am doing today.
“The pandemic curtailed my ability to study in China. However, I am ready to return to China as a DKU alum, Duke alum, and a Yenching Scholar,” he added.
After completing his studies at Yenching Academy Najarro will move to the United States to pursue a master’s in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Duke Kunshan taught him to appreciate the “value and necessity” of an interdisciplinary education, he said, especially for people in decision-making roles.
“Interdisciplinary education is one of the strongest components of the Yenching Academy,” he said. “The biggest challenges facing our world today are inherently global and interdisciplinary. They do not care about borders or areas of study. DKU expanded my knowledge on how to confront these issues in part because of its interdisciplinary curriculum.”
Outside of his studies, Najarro co-founded DKU’s Latin American Involvement Organization, and served as an international student representative on both the university’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board to the Chancellors and the DKU Commencement Committee. He is also co-vice president of Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy’s Public Policy Majors Union and Social and Community Planning Committee, and policy lead of Duke’s International Student Association.
Once at Yenching he hopes to continue learning about Chinese culture and society to develop a more “nuanced” understanding of the country and its diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties with El Salvador.
“I believe that in the next 10 to 15 years China is going to become the closest partner of El Salvador and we need to have decision makers, whether those are in business or in politics, that understand what China is,” he said.
Najarro said his experience at DKU had “really has changed my outlook on life,” and helped him set a course for the future.
“I would just not change my DKU experience for anything looking back,” he said.
Marcia France, dean of undergraduate studies, offered her congratulations to Huang and Najarro.
“Similar to DKU, Yenching Academy’s China studies program emphasizes interdisciplinarity, bringing students from around the world together to exchange ideas across academic fields and cultural perspectives,” she said. “Honey and Alberto both fully embraced this aspect of their DKU experience and are uniquely prepared for this opportunity. I am certain that their intellectual and personal contributions to Yenching Academy will be profound, just as they have been at DKU.”
Scott MacEachern, vice chancellor for academic affairs, said: “Alberto and Honey are great representatives of Duke Kunshan students more generally: hardworking and interesting individuals with a desire to make their mark on the world.
“I wish them both the best for their futures, which I’m sure will be bright. They will always have a home at DKU.”
Jennifer Francis executive vice chancellor of DKU and executive vice provost of Duke University, added: “I am delighted that Alberto and Honey will continue to pursue their scholarly interests at the Yenching Academy.
“Their selection for this scholarship recognizes not only their tremendous accomplishments as undergraduates, but also their potential to help shape global engagement and international understanding in the future. It is also a great recognition for the faculty who supported Alberto and Honey’s interdisciplinary undergraduate studies at DKU,” she said.
