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Scholar Stories

Penn Sandra Cheah MS 23 Clarke Dickens MS 22 Samuel Sosa Sanchez MS 24 Steven Li MS 23 and Jahin Rahman MS 21 with Plaque at Penn

Milken Scholars Mentorship in College and Beyond

Published 03/31/2026 in Program Updates
Written by Reyes, Natalie | 03/31/2026

At the heart of the Milken Scholars Program is a commitment to building a supportive community that evolves with Scholars at every stage of life. For many, that journey begins in their first year of college, when freshmen are paired with mentors who help guide their transition. More often than not, these relationships grow far beyond their initial purpose to become lasting friendships that shape the college experience and beyond.

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Morocco's Cultural Identity in Relation to the African Continent

Published 03/30/2026 in Scholar Travel Stipend
Written by Mayowa Jolayemi | 03/30/2026

Morocco has always fascinated me. We often hear the classification “sub-Saharan Africa,” which has been political science’s nomenclature for “everything that is not North Africa.” As a Nigerian, growing up, I did not quite understand it - what was the reason we grouped North Africa as separate, when West, East, Central, and Southern Africa were lumped into one big category?

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Tourism and Labor in St. Thomas

Published 03/30/2026 in Scholar Travel Stipend
Written by Mekdelawit Gebreslassie | 03/30/2026

St. Thomas is defined by the movement of people and capital through its turquoise harbors and narrow hillside roads. It may be seen in the hordes of cruise passengers arriving in Charlotte Amalie, as well as hotel personnel commuting from inland areas to beachside resorts. Tourism influences virtually every aspect of the island's economy.

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The Living Layers of Barcelona

Published 03/30/2026 in Scholar Travel Stipend
Written by Lina Lin | 03/30/2026

Fun Fact: Barcelona is frequently cited as the most touristed city in Europe. This reputation is well-earned, as the city boasts a wide selection of food, culture, and arts. Spending eight days here provided a valuable window to look past its Mediterranean charm and examine the city as a living laboratory of urban evolution. I went to glean how a city’s physical layout can divulge insights into its history, functionality, and cultural revolutions. In Barcelona, architecture does not simply house people; it molds perceptions and dictates the flow of life.

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Walking Softly Through Sacred Spaces: My Search for the Meaning of Khalistan

Published 03/30/2026 in Scholar Travel Stipend
Written by Simaranjeet Rai | 03/30/2026

I first became interested in Khalistan through real-life encounters with Sikh communities in California. At the annual Nagar Kirtan in Yuba City and later at a major Sikh event at the Los Angeles Convention Center in DTLA, I noticed clusters of people holding bright yellow flags emblazoned with the Khanda and sometimes the word Khalistan. Their energy was passionate, and I sensed the flags represented something deeply meaningful, more than just political slogans. I wanted to understand more about Sikh history, identity, and the origins of these symbols. I wanted to understand my history.

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Guangzhou, Taipei, and Seoul: Recognizing the Politics and Remembering the People

Published 03/23/2026 in Scholar Travel Stipend
Written by Karen Li | 03/23/2026

China, Taiwan, Korea. I had been to each of these three places in the past and recently had the opportunity to revisit all of them within the span of two weeks. While eating my way through Guangzhou’s 荔湾区 (LiWan District), hiking in Taiwan’s 阿里山 (Alishan), and shopping in Seoul’s Myeondong-gil, I thought about how all three of these regions are constantly mentioned in our mainstream news because of the roles they play in global politics and economics. But while there, I saw how important it is to also remember the people on the ground.

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The New Gravity of Global Capital

Published 03/23/2026 in Scholar Travel Stipend
Written by Steven Li | 03/23/2026

Historically, the flow of global capital and ambition was unidirectional in the 20th century. The United States was not just a country; the American Dream heralded a meritocracy for anyone seeking to build the future. However, that gravity has quickly shifted eastward.

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South Korea 2025

Published 03/23/2026 in Scholar Travel Stipend
Written by Angelina Calderón | 03/23/2026

The opportunities to visit Asia with the Milken Scholar stipend have opened my eyes to new experiences and new perspectives. As I was preparing for my second Asia trip and the perspectives I would be learning about I was struck with an epiphany I had while in my first Asia trip.

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Sanhujori and Korean Postpartum Policy: Lesson for Maternal Health and Economic EquityNew Item

Published 03/23/2026 in Scholar Travel Stipend
Written by Marisol León | 03/23/2026

My research into postpartum support offered to women in South Korea started at the National Folk Museum of Korea located in Seoul within the grounds of Gyeongbokgung Palace. I was particularly interested in the permanent exhibition on birth and early life rituals showing how Koreans have historically understood pregnancy, motherhood, infancy, and hope for a child’s future.

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Abigail Leyva at Senso ji

The Design of Harmony

Published 03/20/2026 in Scholar Travel Stipend
Written by Abigail Leyva | 03/20/2026

As a UX designer at an AI startup, my daily challenge is to bridge the gap between complex machine intelligence and the messy, intuitive reality of human life. In my work, I seek inventive ways to help people help themselves lead productive and satisfying lives. This past month, I traveled through Japan in search of design principles that might inform how we build the next generation of AI. What I found was not simply aesthetic inspiration, but a fundamentally different relationship between guidance, safety, minimalism, and technology—one that offers important lessons for AI design.

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An Environmental Look at Taiwan’s High Speed Rail

Published 03/20/2026 in Scholar Travel Stipend
Written by Waly-Meissa Ndiaye | 03/20/2026

High-speed rail projects have often been viewed as environmentally beneficial and an innovative form of mass transit. In particular, they serve as an effective way of limiting carbon emissions, the importance of which is ever-pressing, given the impact climate change has had and will continue to have on our planet in the coming years. These infrastructure projects can play a major role in improving the long-term environmental health of local communities, one of the primary focuses of the Milken Institute.

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