By Yi Shan

For StartingBloc NY 2012

I grew up in Inner

Mongolia, a province

influenced by the

Mongolian culture in the

northwestern China.

At age 12, my family moved to Shenzhen, a megacity in the Guangdong Province with over 10 million people. It’s a neighbor of Hong Kong.

In Junior High, I studied abroad in England for a month. The experience inspired me to explore further what the world has to offer.

Six years later, I came

to the U.S. by myself

and became a

Buckeye.

I took a road trip to Tibet in 2009

A Habitat for Humanity trip to Tennessee in 2010

And a Europe trip in

2011

Interned for Deloitte Consulting in Hong Kong last summer.

I became an Orientation Leader for international students in

2010

And developed a business plan for a startup in

Virginia

I learned to appreciate the

differences between individuals and

cultures through my experiences.

I began to study other languages.

Spanish and Norwegian language lessons are

among the most played lists in my mp3.

Also, I meditate daily

In my spare time, I like to practice kickboxing and listen to classical

music (not at the same time of

course )

By the way, I am obsessed with Ted Talk.

To be continued…

Thank you for hearing my story about diversity.

However, it doesn’t end here.

In the future I aim to create even more diverse opportunities for myself.

I also want to help spread diverse ideas in my community, and I hope I can

continue that in StartingBloc NY 2012.