Hometown: Shanghai, China
Double Major: Anthropology and Political Science
Campus Involvement: Archaeology Lab Research Assistant, Go+, SGA
Projects for Peace Fellowship: Mensäbäk, Chiapas, Mexico: May-July 2024; Remote: August 2024-Present
What did you do day-to-day during your experience?
I went to the town of Metzabok in Chiapas, Mexico, to investigate the destruction of the ancestral shrines of the Indigenous Lacandon Maya community. Day-to-day, I spent most of my time casually chatting with people (in anthropological terms, conducting participant observation) to gain knowledge of the cultural heritage situation there. I stayed with a host family and usually got up very early, around 5:30 a.m., because this was the schedule of the Lacandones during the summer. Later during the day, I would hang out with people in the town office and their homes. I would take notes as I listen, as ethnographic insights often come from seemingly mundane interactions. Two to three times during the week, I would visit Lacandon shrines to photograph their current conditions comprehensively.
How did Colgate prepare you for this project?
My archaeological research experience in 2022 primarily impacted this project. I traveled to Metzabok with Anthropology Professor Santiago Juarez and three other students to conduct archaeological fieldwork that summer. In my interactions with our Lacandon collaborators, I learned about the destruction of their ancestral shrines and was eager to help. I was prepared to return in 2023 to conduct this project after acquiring the Student-Initiated Summer Research Fellowship. Although Colgate later decided to decline my travel plan for logistical reasons, I had a concrete proposal. Earlier this year, I revised that proposal and submitted it to Projects for Peace, and eventually got the fellowship.
Do you have a favorite memory from your Projects for Peace experience?
My favorite memories are the lovely afternoons I spent swimming and playing with friends in the lakes. When I arrived in Metzabok in May, the weather was intolerably hot at 38°C (or 100.4°F). Submerging myself in water, not to mention the joy of being in an incredibly beautiful rainforest environment, was perhaps the greatest pleasure of my life there.
What are you doing now?
I am working at Colgate now, serving as the Residential Fellow of Ciccone Commons and Program Coordinator at ONFS. I’m applying to PhD programs in Anthropology. In addition, I am still conducting my Project for Peace, though I’m no longer in Mexico. I’m working on a report for Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP), hoping it will pave the way for greater cultural heritage protection efforts in the future. In addition, I am writing an illustrated pamphlet for the Metzabok Elementary School to improve cultural heritage education for the younger generation.
Do you have any advice for students considering applying to Projects for Peace?
I suggest you start early. Identify a couple of people you want to work with for your project (e.g., faculty at Colgate), and talk to Dr. Steve Wright, Meghan Niedt, or me at ONFS to flesh out your project ideas. Finally, remember to polish your proposal to the fullest extent before submitting it.