In Search of the Class of 2023
Published 01/27/2023 in Program Updates
Written
01/27/2023
Thank you to all high schools and students that participated in our Class of 2023 nomination and application process.
ViewThank you to all high schools and students that participated in our Class of 2023 nomination and application process.
ViewAn oasis in the middle of the Sahara desert. An island with a rich history floating in the Mediterranean Sea. A bustling city with hectic traffic and a sprawling bazaar - flowing garments, bags, shoes, scents. An ancient city founded in the 9th century BCE - ruins wondrously displayed as if it were suddenly possible to walk through a history textbook. The sounds of the call to prayer - melodious, beautiful, a reminder to all to make their way to their Lord. People filling the streets, hailing taxis. Shopkeepers calling your attention to come take a look. Cats roaming the streets - their home.
ViewI became attracted to the idea of learning more about temple food when I saw Jeong Kwan Sunim’s special on Netflix’s Chef ’s Table. I was attracted to her poise, grace, and humility though she has become Asia’s most revered chef. And the way her admirers, namely other revered chefs, described her food. Delicious, bursting with flavor, incredible texture profiles, and…vegan. They said that what she is able to do with such simple ingredients blew their mind. And in that moment, sitting on my little loveseat in Pfoho, I knew I had to meet her.
ViewLet’s begin with a hypothetical scenario, which will help set the scene. Imagine that you are a farmer, growing crops to feed your family and to sell or trade at local farmers’ markets. Now, imagine that one day, you leave for a few hours. Upon return, you find that a group of people has come and destroyed your crops. They took bites out of fruits and vegetables before throwing the scraps on the ground and running away. How would you feel? Furious? Disappointed? What would you do, in response? Put up a fence? Seek legal action? Revenge?
ViewOver dinner one day in Los Angeles, my mom told me a story about my great-grandparents. They lived in the countryside of South Korea as farmers and fishers, waking up at dawn to begin their work. Their daily lives differed quite a bit from my life in the states, and this contrast made me curious about what changes my parents had experienced in immigrating to the states. I also wondered what lessons their journey held in the larger context of the American dream. To explore my questions, I flew to South Korea with the support of the Milken scholars travel fund and documented my learnings.
ViewScholarship, leadership, service, and character. The four values of Milken Scholars continue to be exemplified by Alumni well beyond their college years. This Fall, Alumni volunteered alongside current Scholars to help high school seniors in New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., prepare for college.
ViewMy trip to Korea provided me with invaluable experiences to continue my MPH thesis research for publication. This research uses interdisciplinary health intervention model creation to explore how BTS, their parent company HYBE, and their fandom known as ARMY have developed one of the largest digitally-delivered health interventions to mitigate mental health outcomes induced by the early COVID-19 pandemic.
ViewTwo years ago, I returned to Boston in a leap of faith to embark on a culinary exploration, where I worked as a line cook in restaurants, produced food events in Harvard’s Pforzheimer House, and completed a culinary certificate program at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. Working in the food and hospitality industry made me increasingly sensitive to operational inefficiencies, sustainability issues, food insecurity and waste, the effects of monoculture, and just how broken our food system is.
ViewThe Milken Institute’s mission states that it helps “develop a blueprint for tackling some of our most critical global issues through the lens of what’s pressing now and what’s coming next.” And the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine is one of the most pressing issues in the world today. From August 27th to September 4th of this year, I traveled to three European countries in great proximity to Ukraine – Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland. The actions by these countries showed true compassion - they’ve opened their homes and schools to refugees, and their clean energy sources to other countries.
ViewThere is a world of difference between viewing the Pacific as “islands in a far sea” and as “a sea of islands.” (Epeli Hau‘ofa, Our Sea of Islands)
ViewGrowing up in Los Angeles, I was accustomed to living in a diverse hotpot of ethnicities where every street had multiple authentic family run restaurants. Moving to Boston, although still diverse, the type of diversity was different. Boston’s diversity came primarily from the many college campuses that call Boston home, bringing in students from all parts of the world. This summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Singapore and see for myself how the Singaporean diversity differed even more from both the Boston and Los Angeles diversities I had come to know and love.
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