Carolyn Huang – Ph.D. Student on a Mission to Address World Poverty

Carrboro, NC

I’m particularly interested in African development because extreme poverty has been plaguing the continent for quite some time and I believe we live in an age where it should not.

huang.carolyn1Who are you?

I am a Michigan Taiwanese American who is passionate about studying poverty alleviation in developing countries. I’m currently a student at UNC-Chapel Hill to develop my quantitative skills because I believe solving global issues requires the tools to measure whether solutions are effective or not. My dream is to understand more about what kind of social policies work and help implement them. For this reason, I aspire to conduct high level research, but never forgetting who I am working towards, be it low-income households or vulnerable and at-risk populations. I’m particularly interested in African development because extreme poverty has been plaguing the continent for quite some time and I believe we live in an age where it should not.

What do you do?

During my free time (irony, haha), I love to run and read. I acquired a love for long distance running about 4 years ago, every now and then I motivate myself to train for races. I love reading, especially fiction. I’m fairly open-minded to trying everything once, so at any point in time, you’ll find me engaged in a thousand different activities. The interests that keep cycling around outside of my love for the first two – rock climbing, traveling (especially to Africa), discovering delicious eats around the country, keeping in contact with my friends, volunteering my time for good causes.

Why are you proud to be of Taiwanese heritage?

I am proud to be Taiwanese for many reasons – Taiwan is a land of diverse, plentiful talent. Taiwanese people are resilient, creative, innovative, resourceful, agile, dedicated, and most of all, passionate. I believe all people who are associated with our beautiful island are united through passion. Even though the cultural divide can be great between 1st and 2nd gens, I think this is the one element that both sides find universal in each other.

What does the future of Taiwanese America look like to you?

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of activism from some of the Taiwanese American community. It is amazing to see individuals take steps to effect changes they want to see in the community. I really hope that this continues – that this inspiration lends itself to others who take steps to create out of their inspiration and it just continues!

Any additional information you would like to share?

Bubble tea is one of the greatest gifts the Taiwanese have given to the world.

huang.carolyn3

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