Qian Qian Shi Tang
“As the child in a single-parent home, I learned that the scarcity of money meant dreaming of unattainable things such as books, lessons, and summer programs. Since becoming a Young Scholar, however, my life has changed dramatically.”
- Alumni of: 2006 College Scholarship Program
- Resides: New York, NY
- Hometown: Belmont, MA
- Age: 23
- Four-year College or University: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Academic/Career Pursuits: Business, Engineering, Entrepreneur / Independent Business, Health Care, International Economic Development, International NGO/Relations, Nonprofits, Public Policy, Sciences
- Other Interests: Foreign Languages / International Study, Greek Organization (Fraternity / Sorority), Health Care, International Economic Development, International Relations / NGOs, Languages, Leadership Development, Nonprofits, Performing Arts / Theatre, Politics and Diplomacy, Public Policy, Sciences, Sports
Biography
Qian Qian Tang’s adviser, Amy Schwartz, calls her a “true intellectual” who takes courses “right at the edge of her ability” and then focuses and works hard “to gain skill and knowledge at an incredible pace.”
Qian Qian sets big goals and usually attains them, such as persuading MIT professors to give her a chemistry internship even though, at age 15, she was a year too young. She uses varsity swimming, dance, and piano to reduce the academic stress, and excels in all three. In fact, among other achievements, she played with the Newton Symphony Orchestra and in 2004 was named New Hampshire’s top high school pianist.
Once the Young Scholars Program removed the financial barriers blocking her, Qian Qian enthusiastically embraced what academia offered, including economics and physics summer seminars at Harvard and Johns Hopkins as well as a French cultural exchange program. Understandably, sometimes she ran on overload. One two-week stretch she won’t forget included “my concerto performance with the school orchestra, my 15-page history research paper, six AP tests, and the SAT reasoning test.” Her mother reared her with the mantra “to never, ever give up,” and she learned ways to handle the heavy loads and emerge “proud of my work, a stronger, more knowledgeable person.”
Qian Qian now looks at the future with a wide lens. She might help eliminate global poverty through effective political and economic reform; she might, as a research scientist, help find solutions to Huntington’s disease. Whichever route she takes, she is confident she will put her “knowledge and education to use for the greater good.”
Other Scholars Like Qian Qian
Rebecca Woodlief
Graduate Scholar
Virginia Commonwealth University
Mohamed Bakri
Graduate Scholar
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Alexandra DiFulvio
College Scholar
Columbia University
Aaron Dowden
Undergraduate Transfer Scholar
University of Rochester