Leadership
Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.
Leadership, I learned, isn’t always about being the loudest voice in the room. Sometimes, it’s about listening hard enough to hear the silences.
While working with Nanjing Dajia Community Studio on a public space redesign project, I faced my greatest challenge. The elderly wanted vegetable gardens, sanitation workers needed cleaner access routes, young parents wanted safe play areas, and scooter riders needed parking. Every group had a valid need, yet no consensus.
I proposed a “mapping dialogue” inspired by historical methods I had encountered in my research on Yuan Shikai’s governance—balancing power while absorbing diverse voices. We facilitated workshops where residents drew their dream spaces. At first, discussions were tense. But as people saw their ideas reflected visually and taken seriously, the tone shifted.
Our final design included a multi-use zone with raised garden beds, a child-safe loop path, and designated parking spots. This wasn’t just urban design; it was relationship-building.
Through this experience, I learned that leadership means creating space—physically and emotionally—for people to see themselves in the outcome.
Creativity
Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original thinking, and artistically, to name a few.
When people think of creativity, they often imagine painters or musicians. My creativity, however, reveals itself through how I communicate ideas—especially complex ones.
At the Nanjing Special Education School, I participated in a research project on sex education for adolescents with autism. One major problem: how do you talk about puberty and personal boundaries to teens who may struggle with verbal or abstract understanding?
Inspired by visual anthropology and historical education posters I had seen in museums, I proposed using a system of illustrated “social stories.” We co-designed scenario cards showing consent, safe touch, and boundary-setting using real-life situations.
These visuals became the backbone of the teaching material. They not only worked but invited trust. This wasn’t just creative teaching—it was dignity in practice.
Challenge
Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
When we first proposed a sex education curriculum for teens with autism, we encountered firm resistance from parents. They feared that discussing these topics would lead to confusion or worse, misbehavior.
I felt conflicted: I understood their concerns, but I also saw the risks of silence. I began searching for global studies on neurodiverse sex education, and with the team, adapted a communication guide rooted in Chinese cultural context.
I took the initiative to meet with skeptical parents, showing our card system and explaining its protective purpose. Slowly, trust grew.
That moment taught me that change often means first creating the language for change. This mindset later shaped how I approached history—not as a list of facts, but as a conversation between the past and the possible.
Academic Subject Interest
Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside the classroom.
History doesn’t just live in textbooks; I believe it lives in the spaces between people.
My research on Yuan Shikai taught me that even controversial figures deserve complexity. While he is remembered as a failed emperor, I studied his contributions to modern education and constitutional law, producing two papers using primary archives and comparative historiography.
But I didn’t stop at papers. I joined a community studio to explore how history can shape public life. We used participatory mapping to discuss neighborhood memories. I even learned 3D modeling to digitally reconstruct Ming Dynasty statues.
Through all these, history became more than a subject—it became my method to understand the world and imagine a better one.