Faces of FIUTS: Kedi Yan
Faces of FIUTS is a social media campaign that collects personal stories from individuals who are part of our work. During July and August, we will be introducing the 2020-2021 FIUTS Student Board. This week, meet Kedi Yan, Co-Director!
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1) Where are you from?
I am from China and grew up in Zhengzhou, Henan. Zhengzhou is the capital city in Henan province, and Henan has over thousands of years of history and plays a critical role in Chinese history, including Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties. Our culture is also profoundly rooted in my thoughts, which consistently shapes my personality and leads me to treat people and things better. I came to the US after high school in 2013 and received my Bachelor's degree from Oregon State University. Currently, I am pursuing my Master's degree at the University of Washington.
2) What's your FIUTS story?
I have a strong passion for helping international students because it is fun to learn about various thoughts and ideas from people who have different cultural backgrounds. This is part of the reasons I joined FIUTS. I participated in the Embark at the beginning to later becoming a facilitator and joining three student committees. Next year, I will be leading the FIUTS Student Board as a Co-Director and believe the Student Board and committee members can contribute significant efforts to the FIUTS big family.
3) How will you change the world?
As the famous ancient Chinese philosopher, Mencius said: "if you are poor or lacking knowledge, help yourself out. If you are rich or knowledgeable, then help others out." In other words, charity begins at home. I am not qualified enough to change the world, but willing to dedicate my life to affect the world in my way. My wish is to utilize what I learned to bring more advanced technology to benefit human society and participate in more international communities to bring the notion of diversity to more people.
Kedi Yan is pursuing a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering. He hopes to focus his career on building innovative technology that can help diverse international communities and is the Co-Director of the 2020-2021 FIUTS Student Board.
Faces of FIUTS is published regularly on the FIUTS blog, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Read past posts collected here! Interested in being featured as a Face of FIUTS? Contact Annie Lewis, Operations and Communications Coordinator, at annie@fiuts.org or fill out the form.
Guest posts on the FIUTS blog represent the experiences and views of individual writers. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FIUTS or any organizations or institutions affiliated with our programs.