Who Are All Those Asian Students?

Yutong Wang

The real life and voice from a growing group: Chinese students in America

This installation is a part of Inside Voices: An Oral History Exhibition, showcasing multimedia projects and stories recorded by the 2016 cohort of Columbia University’s Oral History MA program. This event will take place at The Social Hall at Union Theological Seminary on April 27, 2017, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

It’s hard not to notice the increasing number of students from China on American college campuses. Who are they? Chinese people began to cross the Pacific Ocean to America for education two centuries ago. Today, as China has developed, a dramatically increasing number of Chinese students choose to study in America. The complicated and varying stories of these students’ lives will surprise anyone expecting them to fit into common stereotypes of this group.

Born and raised in China, Evena (Yutong) Wang inherited traditional Chinese principles and values. But her experience studying abroad taught her to be open and international as well. She studied at Ohio State University and the University of Miami for her bachelor's degree in Strategic Communication. Currently studying as an OHMA student at Columbia University, Evena Wong is seeking to use the power of media and social media to better demonstrate the charm of oral history.