Garland Jia Heng Tang

More_than_400x400

“The reason I was able to become and remain a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar is my passion and dedication for academics. I always enjoyed science and math because of the challenges and discoveries these fields provided. My father encouraged me to pursue these passions by teaching me advanced mathematics as a child. Most importantly, I knew that acquiring a good education would allow me to change the socioeconomic situation of my parents and utilize my full potential.”

  • Program: 2010 Graduate Scholarship Recipient
  • Resides: Boston, MA
  • Hometown: Honolulu, HI
  • Age: 23

Biography

 

PROFILE: Graduate school this fall at Tufts University won’t be Honolulu native Garland Tang’s first extended stay in New England. As a Young Scholar, Garland was able to spend a high school summer at nearby Boston University taking advanced classes in biology and economics. The northeastern US felt like a good fit for Garland, the son of Chinese immigrants. He learned from his parents the value of hard work, dedication, and an appreciation for the educational opportunities one has growing up in America. Garland wants to become a pediatrician and said a career in medicine provides lifelong learning and challenging experiences. 

INSPIRATION: Although now retired from the Foundation as its first executive director, Dr. Matthew Quinn remains an inspiration to Garland, as does the Foundation’s namesake, Mr. Cooke. At a Young Scholars event in 2002, Dr. Quinn promised Garland he would someday use his education to give back to the less fortunate in society. “Dr. Quinn's speech gave me a reason to pursue academia besides my own personal fulfillment,” Garland said. “This was the catalytic event that started my pursuit of a professional career in which I could use my academic abilities to help people. Three years later, I discovered that career was medicine.”

ASPIRATION: His current academic aspirations include becoming a pediatrician, but Garland is also open to new and exciting fields in medicine.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: With Mr. Cooke as his role model, Garland sought volunteer opportunities in medicine. His first assignment was at a children’s hospital in his hometown of Honolulu, where he became the volunteer playroom supervisor. The experience had a dramatic impact on him as he realized the exhilaration and joy of helping needy and suffering children.

ACCOLADES: In addition to his status as a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar, Garland won the Occidental College Norris Science Research Fellowship. He is the recipienct of an Undergraduate Research Fellowship from Howard Hughes Medical Institute as well as the Anna M. and Willa J. McKee Memorial Scholarship, also from Occidental.

INTERESTING FACT: Garland and President Obama have a few things in common; both attended high school in Hawaii and both attended Occidental College.
 

Other Scholars Like Garland

Image_sb_0_thumb

Sharon Ko
College Scholar
University of Southern California

Photo_22_thumb

Jillian Pena
Graduate Scholar
Goldsmiths, University of London

Img_1326_2_thumb

Rubiahna Vaughn
Graduate Scholar
University of Washington

Mag_thumb

Carmina Franchesca Del Mundo
Undergraduate Transfer Scholar
University of Southern California