Like many first-generation Americans, I was born in the US to immigrant parents who spoke a foreign language, cooked foreign foods, and lived a foreign lifestyle in a crime-ridden community on the “wrong side” of the SEPTA tracks. But, unlike my neighbors, I was shipped away. After four years in rural China, I returned to spend my adolescence struggling between accepting myself as an American-born Chinese and attempting to find my own identity. Now, each day I find myself conversing...

I grew up playing the violin, and as I aged so did my wooden toy and its silky strings. Each week I was sentenced to perform hours of drab drills and classical concertos. It wasn’t until ninth grade that I convinced my parents to let me study violin independently, turning to the wealth of available online resources to guide my training. Now, this sense of discovery pushes me to take responsibility for my own learning. When I log hours...

Six months ago I had no idea what I wanted to study in college. Of course, I had always enjoyed math, science, and the allure of technology, but I didn’t know where these interests would take me. It wasn’t until MOSTEC’s EECS course that I realized calculus and computer science could coexist in the realm of electrical engineering. I saw a glimpse of what computer science engineering is like while learning Python and seeing my code come...

Although I am not a religious person, I have attended Quaker schools since the second grade. Unlike other theologically based models, Quaker education does not lecture its students on how to be “good Quakers”. Rather, it aims to instill values. This foundation helped shape who I am today by demonstrating the importance of community, stewardship, integrity, and equality. It was Quakerism that inspired me to join my school’s service club, Helping Hands. Initially, my experience with service was largely...

Press that. Push this. That’s all I thought I’d have to do junior year as Friends Select’s new stage manager. Truthfully, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. As a sophomore I had just been on tech crew, and suddenly I was responsible for the entire production of the fall musical, Pippin. It would be a lie if I said everything went smoothly. I learned the hard way that if lights are dimmed three...

Having been raised in a rural village with virtually no technological innovations, I quickly developed a fascination with electronics once I returned to America. As a kid, I was often found tinkering with old and broken electronics my parents had lying around. Despite the fact that I often became frustrated with my inability to make sense of what I was playing around with, my attempts at repairing these gadgets helped me develop a sense of curiosity and love of learning...