Jennifer Yeh
Xingxin (Sue) Yuan
Yiru Xia
Ho Yin (Martin) Wong
Lujia (Luke) Cao
Xinyi (Emily) Cao
Leyang Li
Zekai (Clark) Wu
Jiayi (Sonia) Zhang
Xiaoyu Zhang
Keyang (Swindar) Zhou
Jennifer Yeh
Morrison Academy Taichung
Our Lady of Perpetual Succor Global Scholar
Hesburgh-Yusko Scholar
I’m Jennifer Yeh, a Sophomore studying Finance with a minor in History. Growing up with a set of entrepreneur parents, I’ve been inspired to dedicate my career to helping small businesses grow. Here at ND, I’ve had the privilege to pursue my career aspirations and personal interests.
On campus, I’m actively involved with the Student International Business Council where I’ve cultivated a passion for finance. Through semester-long projects working with firms, I’ve not only developed investment research and financial modeling skills but also discerned my long-term career goals. During my Sophomore Fall, our team analyzed Whirlpool Corporation and recommended the firm as a potential leveraged buyout target to investment bankers at Citi’s Chicago office.
Additionally, I served on the executive boards of Smart Woman Security and Undergraduate Women in Business Club where I strive to help other women succeed in business. Besides these academic endeavors, I enjoy planning and hosting exciting events for the Taiwanese Student Association to foster a stronger Taiwanese community at ND and celebrate our heritage and culture.
After my freshman year, I started working at the University Writing Center, where I consult students at any stage of the writing process and help writers express their ideas and construct their arguments more clearly and effectively. I really enjoy meeting new people and reading creative pieces, while challenging myself and others to become better writers.
In the coming years, I hope to explore all that Notre Dame has to offer. I look forward to making long-lasting friendships and sharpening my mind and skill sets to become a force of good for the world.
Xingxin (Sue) Yuan
Frank Reilly Scholar
Benenden School, UK
I am Sue Yuan, a sophomore at Notre Dame pursuing a major in Anthropology and minors in Business Economics and Design. During my time at the university, I have been fortunate to deepen my passion for academic research. As a participant in the Kellogg Developing Researcher Program, I have been introduced to and trained in various qualitative and quantitative research skills, including text-mining, Excel, and data processing. Currently, I serve as a research assistant for Professor Eisenman on his new book project, while managing an ongoing database on China-Africa relations and analyzing, synthesizing, and translating existing literature on China’s foreign relations.
In addition to my research commitments, I actively contribute to the academic community on campus. I work as an academic tutor for Calculus at the Learning Resources Center and Academic Services for Student-Athletes. Looking ahead, I am excited about my plans for the upcoming summer, as I intend to participate in the Notre Dame McKenna Center’s EESA program in South Africa. This program will focus on addressing economic inequality by uplifting marginalized entrepreneurs from disadvantaged backgrounds. Ultimately, my long-term goal is to pursue a graduate degree in Anthropology or Sociology to further empower my passion for understanding the world and contribute to making it a better place for everyone through dedicated research.
Yiru Xia
Nanjing Foreign Language School
Liu De Scholar
I am Erica Xia, a Notre Dame sophomore majoring in Business Analytics and Economics and minoring in Gender Studies. With the great honor of joining the Greater China Scholars community, I am embracing all the growth opportunities that Notre Dame offers me, and I want to be the color grey here.
Grey, a color containing pigments of all other pigments, reflects my cross-disciplinary approach to understanding society, drawing from sociology, history, and literature. Positioned between black and white, it symbolizes my method of thoughtful consideration from various perspectives before forming judgments, a skill honed through education's emphasis on thinking from multiple stances and asking meaningful questions. Though less vivid, grey's role is foundational, akin to my work in art exhibitions like "No Shame No Taboo Act," "Trauma in Silence," and "Her Words," which address social issues such as menstruation stigmatization, teenage mental health, and gender discrimination. Like grey, my impact, while not always prominent, is significant and ongoing.
At Notre Dame, I kept exploring the world while using art to communicate with the world. I dive into various topics, such as international relations, integration of the US and Europe, and Economics. Meanwhile, I work on new art projects that follow the existing series or open new topics. My cognitive growth would never stop at Notre Dame.
Ho Yin (Martin) Wong
Tsinghua International School
William Sexton Scholar
My name is Martin Wong, a second-year William Sexton Scholar majoring in Business Analytics and Political Science.
Although I was born in Hong Kong, I dedicated most of my life to another fascinating city I call home—Beijing, China. Carrying along the ambitions and passions I developed from my high school, Tsinghua International School, I strive to Grow the Good in Business and my community through various extracurricular activities.
In the last three semesters at Notre Dame, I continued to express my interest in global politics by joining the Model United Nations club, where I was honored to be elected as a travel team member and the Public Relations officer. In addition, it was my pleasure to lead various business clubs on campus, such as Scholars of Finance, Unleashed Social Ventures club, and various Student International Business Council (SIBC) projects.
After spending the first three semesters at Notre Dame, I am, without a doubt, in love with this school! I will continue to treasure every moment here at this university—the community, values, and resources—and develop an everlasting memory. Love Thee, Notre Dame!
Lujia (Luke) Cao
Wuxi Big Bridge Academy, China
I am now a sophomore majoring in Computer Science at the College of Engineering and minoring in Engineering Corporate Practice.
I chose to major in Computer Science because I am impressed by the power of technology used in daily applications. Computer Science is now one of the most essential and efficient ways to better society and solve real-world problems. During my freshman year summer, I joined the research group guided by Professor Toby Li. The research project is to develop an intelligent assistant to help reduce AI inequality in digital-mediated gig work. My work is to build and fine-tune prediction models by analyzing training data from diverse sources to empower a bottom-up network of intelligent personal assistants that help gig workers to make work-related decisions in their best interests I gained advanced knowledge of data analysis and machine learning Moreover, I created a WeChat clone during my extracurricular time, combining frontend knowledge like web development and backend knowledge to manage the stored data. I will further pursue Computer Science and hope that I can utilize my coding skills to join other people in the great project of improving the world.
At Notre Dame, I participated in the CS4GOOD Club to help analyze the demographics of Indiana prisoners and planned to lead a project. In addition, I joined the final travel team of the Uber project in SIBC (Student International Business Conference), analyzed with the team members how to solve the detention problem of Uber Freight's loading and unloading dwell time, and went to the Uber headquarters in Chicago to give a presentation. I am also a TA for Data Structure so that I can help future students to solve their problems. In the future, I hope to find potential research opportunities during the academic year and internships during the summer. I will also polish my basketball skills and try to get into the basketball club in the future.
Xinyi (Emily) Cao
Chengdu Shude High School Internatioanl Department
I am a sophomore majoring in Economics and considering taking a second major in ACMS or Computer Science in the future. I live in Farley Hall.
After high school, I took a gap year to explore my interests when I took on two internships involving language education. Besides work, I spent time learning skills I have been longing for since childhood, such as painting, singing, and playing guitar. I completed an oil painting once a week and made videos of myself singing with guitar and sending it to social media on a regular basis. Moreover, I developed an interest in the historical culture of my city Chengdu, visiting local teahouses and bookstores, and conducting research about how these small stores are able to survive during the COVID era.
After arriving at Notre Dame, I have been amazed by its generosity, in terms of both its richness in resources and its kindness to everyone no matter what race, age, gender, or major he/she is. I was involved in SIBC, in which I attended as a team player to help collect, organize, and present data related to a healthcare company. I also joined the Fresh the Dance Club. It turned out to be one of the most unforgettable and relaxing experiences for my first semester. I met a lot of energetic and passionate friends who would just cheer for a dance move. It’s a wonderful experience both for my body and mind.
This spring, I plan to participate in a variety of school events. The Social Concerns Seminar, Take Ten, and SSLP are all exciting opportunities for me.
Leyang Li
Shanghai Foreign Language School Affiliated to SISU, Shanghai
I am a computer science major with a supplementary major in Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Notre Dame.
In May 2023, I had the opportunity to participate in a Summer Engineering Study Abroad program in London, England, where I completed courses: Machine Learning for Engineers and Creative Programming with Processing. During this time, I gained a deep understanding of machine learning theories and practical implementations using Python’s Sklearn and TensorFlow libraries.
Also in summer 2023, I interned at Everbright Securities Asset Management CO., LTD in Shanghai, China as a Data Analyst, where I focused on applying machine learning in investment forecasting. I researched to identify potential ML strategies for improving investment forecasting and focused on integrating additive, self, and multi-head sparse self-attention modules to GRU models using PyTorch.
Currently, I am actively involved as a Research Assistant in the Privacy Sandbox project at Notre Dame, IN. In this role, I contribute to the development of a website that generates virtual internet user personas for privacy analysis. My responsibilities include working on the backend using Python and Flask, frontend development utilizing Javascript and React, and managing the database with SQLite.
Additionally, I have been a part of the Notre Dame Video Game Development Club, where I collaborated in creating Dungeons and Domers (a 2D dungeon crawler game). I focused on room design, room-tiles creation, and player camera programming.
Looking ahead, I am excited to continue developing my skills and knowledge in computer science, with a particular interest in machine learning and data analysis. I aim to contribute to cutting-edge research and industry projects that benefit society.
Zekai (Clark) Wu
Nanjing Foreign Language School
I am Zekai (Clark) Wu, a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame majoring in mathematics and philosophy. I come from Nanjing, and it’s my pleasure to be a member of the Greater China Scholar family.
I believe math and philosophy are two crucial ways for human beings to understand the world. Philosophy enables us to think at the edge of our knowledge and keep reflecting upon the knowledge we already have. Math, on the other hand, enables us to precisely capture and formulate a problem, transcending scattered information, knowledge, and intuition and crystallizing them into consistent theories. I wish to be insightful and humble in the studies of these two subjects.
In the summer of 2023, I participated in the Jerusalem Summer Study Abroad program. This program made me aware of the religious and political complexity in the Israeli/Palestinian region. As a student from a (to a much extent) homogeneous society, this experience broadened my horizon and equipped me with a new perspective on identity identification.
At Notre Dame, I work as a research assistant to Professor Ted Beatty at the Kellogg Institute, conducting data collection and verification work on a historical database. I searched engineering and mining journals, university alumni lists, and other sources to help develop a database of engineers and miners during the 19th and 20th centuries.
In the future, I hope to apply the skills I have learned to help the communities I am in. I also hope to keep thinking and reflecting, becoming more complete both in the mind and in the heart.
Jiayi (Sonia) Zhang
Shanghai Qibao Dwight High School
My name is Sonia Zhang. I am a sophomore at Notre Dame, majoring in Economics and Global Affairs, with a minor in Data Science.
I am passionate about public policies. I work with an educational NGO “Shining Star Organization” focusing on the mental health issues of left-behind children in China. I lead the student business development department and raise funds for the NGO.
At Notre Dame, my interest in international development policies grows. As a Kellogg International Scholar, I serve as a research assistant working on a project focusing on the field of international climate finance. The project investigates how international organizations give technical and financial assistance to developing countries, especially research about the “de-risking” categories of projects that emerge within the international organizations’ strategies and policies. In addition, I have participated in the Student Policy Network (SPN) since Fall 2022. I took part in the Early Learning Advisory Committee (ELAC) project to work as a researcher and then became a co-lead in the following semester. My team and I worked on researching early childcare and learning grant and workforce policies for ELAC in response to the pandemic. I am now a project director for SPN, managing 2+ development policy projects.Besides, I was part of the Student International Business Council (SIBC) social impact division, Human Development Conference, and Development Data Boot Camp for Young Economists. Through these experiences, I strengthened my determination to serve the world.
At Notre Dame, I have met amazing people who are passionate about their causes. In the coming years, I hope to connect with them through platforms such as the Kellogg Institute, Center of Social Concern, etc. so that I can better leverage my impact and contribute to global issues.
Xiaoyu Zhang
Shanghai Pinghe School
I major in Medieval Studies and minor in Theology and SMAC (Sports, Media and Culture). Notre Dame has an excellent Medieval Studies Institute, and I have utilized the rich resources and religious background of the school to study the religious and cultural developments of the medieval period. I have actively participated in organizing and managing public service projects for the Medieval Studies department. By introducing activities such as Irish dance, medieval sword forging, and dueling demonstrations during Game Day, I aimed to enhance public understanding of medieval culture.
Outside of my major, I also serve as a Chinese language course grader in the East Asian Studies department, where I grade assignments and provide tutoring. Additionally, I work at the front desk of the Engineering College's Advising office, allowing me to develop my social skills through interactions with teachers and students from various disciplines.
In the upcoming summer break, I aspire to consolidate my foundation in Latin and acquire proficiency in a Romance language to prepare for my academic research.
Keyang (Swindar) Zhou
Shenzhen Senior High School
My name is Swindar Zhou. I come from Shenzhen, China. I study Computer Science with minors in Bioengineering and Entrepreneurship. Guided by Notre Dame’s value of being a force for good, I aspire to become a human-centered engineer. I aim to utilize my creativity and resources to help the underprivileged and facilitate gender equality, especially in cancer research.
Notre Dame offers me amazing opportunities to “study everything and do anything.” As an undergraduate researcher at Chang Lab in Chemical Engineering, I engaged in a cancer early detection project in Matlab, which greatly fostered my curiosity in cancer research. Meanwhile, I participated in the Boeing Natural Language Processing Project, which helped me develop a transformer-powered platform for aircraft maintenance through Python and JavaScript. Additionally, as a tutor for Calculus III in the Learning Resource Center, I enjoyed teaching students Calculus and the beauty of math.
Notre Dame also provides me with a great community that encourages me to get out of my comfort zone. Without any prior boxing experience, I joined the ND Women Boxing Club and participated in “Baraka Bouts,” its annual boxing tournament. This was a transformative experience for me that made me stronger and tougher. The club aims to raise funds for building schools in Uganda. This echoes my values of supporting more girls to receive higher education to get rid of the poverty cycle through empowerment.
All in all, I feel so blessed to be part of the Notre Dame community, and I will try my best to build up a more equal society so that marginalized people’s voices can be heard and respected.