Class of 2022 Alumni Spotlight

This Alumni Spotlight was jointly written by Emma W. (’22) and Enoch T. (’22), who represent their class as Alumni Agents. Enoch is pursuing a degree in Computer Science and Molecular Biology at Johns Hopkins University and Emma plans to pursue a double major in Economics and Art History at Yale University. A longer version of this article was first published in the April 2023 Taipei American School (TAS) Alumni News.

It was a miracle the Class of 2022 started their college experience unscathed by COVID. Attending orientation, classes, and parties inperson, it finally felt like we were making a transition back to normality.

Still, leaving Taiwan came with its shocks; folks in the States seemed almost too eager to treat COVID like a thing of the past. Masks were optional everywhere, almost everyone was vaccinated on campus, and if someone caught COVID, it was treated like a common cold. Enoch remembers being taken aback when Hopkins, widely regarded as a leader in the pandemic response, announced an in-dorm quarantine policy, meaning unlucky students would have to incubate with a highly infectious COVID-19 positive roommate.

Emma’s biggest adjustment was to New England winters after leaving sunny Taiwan in August. Her biggest lesson outside the classroom was learning how to stay warm, but in the classroom, she learned a lot about her academic limits and interests. At first, she entered a program called Directed Studies that focused on the Western canon through philosophy, literature and history since she loved AP Literature at TAS with Dr. Lipsett and had come to Yale determined to study Humanities.

Still, after writing paper after paper and reading three books a week, she was tired of reading commentary on Plato’s forms, digesting Stoic texts, and memorizing battles in Herodotus’s The Histories. She chose to opt out and prioritize her mental health, which led her to take art history classes such as Dutch Art and Caravaggio, which fascinated her. She learned that passions aren’t fixed, found classes she truly enjoys and learned to thrive in them.

Enoch came to college with the goal of redefining himself and embracing personal growth. He credits Mr. Matlock, whose parting words have shaped his college mindset thus far:

“That is the perfect perspective, in my opinion—to have an idea of where your passion is and what you want to pursue while being open to other paths that may end up resonating with you more.”

Enoch’s first semester at Hopkins has been an interesting experiment with both the familiar and unfamiliar. On one hand, Enoch has continued to pursue his passion for applied biomedical research. He joined the Mao Lab at the Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBiotechnology, where he is working on projects related to immunoengineering and therapeutic drug delivery.

One of the highlights of Enoch’s first semester was spontaneously deciding to compete in MedHacks, a 36-hour health-care innovation challenge. Working in a team with four other freshmen, he conceived a software tool capable of converting dense and technical electronic health text into useful schematics for physicians and patients. Their project won the first place overall prize and US$4,250 in prize money, funding they have since put into building their project into a seed-stage startup. From this experience, Enoch formed close bonds with his teammates, who are now among his closest friends at Hopkins.

Yet, what has been most transformative for Enoch has been exploring aspects of his identity he had previously been less comfortable with, the so-called “other paths” Mr. Matlock described. One of these paths is his faith. Born and raised Christian, Enoch grew up going to Sunday school. However, he had always struggled with his connection to the church community back in Taiwan, and never really felt that his faith was his own. Early in the fall semester, Enoch came across an ice cream outreach event hosted by the Stepping Stone campus ministry. There, he met the ministry’s campus pastor who himself had graduated from Hopkins a few years ago. From Enoch’s involvement with Stepping Stone, he met a group of people both serious and realistic about their faith, who have pushed him to explore what being Christian truly means to him.

As for Emma, she still keeps in touch with her closest TAS friends but has also found a tight circle of friends at Yale, especially through her orientation program. The program was designed for international students to bond and adjust to living in America, so most of her friends are international, ranging from Brazil to London to Indonesia. With so many international students, there are always opportunities to celebrate; this was the first year Emma didn’t celebrate Chinese New Year with her family, but she hosted a potluck and dumpling-wrapping party for all her friends to feel that sense of belonging again.

Outside of classes, Emma can be found working as a barista at the Bean, a cafe inside her residential college. To destress, she’s joined Danceworks where she attends a ballet workshop and a heels class. Emma is also interested in film, so she regularly attends screenings from Yale’s collection at the Whitney Humanities Center. Enoch finds meaning in spending time with friends at Orient Express, a Chinese family restaurant near campus, playing late-night table tennis, and serving as a peer listener with A Place to Talk, which works with the Hopkins counseling center to provide a safe space for students to decompress.

Now, Enoch is on a premedical track hoping to pursue an MD-PhD, while Emma’s dream job is to be a New York Times food editor or an art auctioneer. Although their college experiences and future career aspirations are vastly different, this first semester of college has left a lasting impression of how wide the world truly is, while simultaneously reminding them of the importance of looking inwards, taking it step-by-step, and finding joy in personal relationships and small moments. Emma and Enoch look back on their first semester with gratitude, contentment, and a firm resolve to make the most of the next few years to come.