Josie's Story

My passion is seeking to understand differences. Growing up in the melting pot that is Oakland, California, I have seen no shortage of the diverse cultures that make my city what it is. We have it all: people, food, art, language. It's a vibrant mix that give our streets it's unique character, and it's absolutely fascinating. However, more than anything, coming from a Chinese family with immigrant parents but being born in America has put me on one side of many cultural barriers opposite my own roots. Having to navigate the social and language barriers between myself and my parents on a daily basis has shown me these borders are the result of people finding different ways to carry out the same simple goal: to make the best of life. It's a curious and humbling truth, and my desire to understand the differences that create these rifts in understanding in our world is what drives my passion. Attending Ecology Project International: Hawaii would give me the amazing privilege of broadening my cultural scope of the world as I see it.