Hello! My name is Justin, and I am Chinese-American from Philadelphia, PA, currently a junior at Georgetown University majoring in Regional and Comparative Studies (RCST) in the SFS with a MENA focus and Persian minor. At Georgetown, besides participating in a multitude of clubs and organizations, I have also took advantage of many different scholarships and programs at Georgetown, the U.S. Department of State and beyond to go abroad, and through that I have traveled to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Rwanda, Morocco, India, and hopefully more in the future. Always open to chat!

Hometown

Philadelphia, PA

Major(s)

Regional and Comparative Studies @ SFS (MENA)

Minor(s)

Persian

Clubs, organizations & involvement

Arabic Debate Captain - The Georgetown Arabic Debate Team is a small but tight-knit group where we practice Arabic through debating. We participate in an annual tournament in the U.S. against other universities hosted by an organization called QatarDebate, and some years, we are able to go to Qatar to visit Georgetown University in Qatar and Doha in general for Debate. Washington Forum on India - Event Manager for a student-led forum and consultancy group, exploring India’s business, policy, and global landscape while promoting U.S.-Indian relations No Pressure Creatives - Cast Member and Ensemble for an Asian-American Musical Group that produce fully original, student-written musical productions every year Regional Organization for Peace, Economics & Security - Summer intern developing an NGO’s 7-day academic program in France, promoting trilateral Israeli-Palestinian-Arab dialogue; Funded by Georgetown SFS Summer Scholarship Georgetown Rwanda Startup Program - Participant of a two-week program run by Georgetown MSB (Mcdonough School of Business) in Rwanda to explore entrepreneurship and startups in Africa Georgetown Muslim Life - Participated in various events, including Ramadan Iftars, Suhoors, certain speaker events, etc. Georgetown Eating Society - Member of an organization dedicated to learning about culture through cuisine

Describe your college experience

Georgetown honestly has broadened my horizons and has brought me so many unique and wonderful experiences that I never knew I could have. I will say that it has not been the easiest experience, but it truly has made me a better and more worldly person. What I also like about this school is that you are open to hear various perspectives on political issues and therefore have the time to fully think and ponder about what you believe in and what you don’t. Given that Georgetown students are generally interested in domestic and international politics, this proves to be a very important campus dynamic that you can learn as much as you put in.

Tip for future students

Try everything and talk to as many people as you can, but more importantly, be a recurring member for things! At Georgetown, for certain things such as the German conversation hour at the German Department, I go to every single session unless I actually have something else to attend, and I book meetings and plan my days around these sessions as well. In my freshman year, having gone every week, I became friends with two graduate students on exchange at Georgetown from Germany for a year as well as a graduate, and we started to hang out even outside of the conversation hours. To this day, I follow them on Instagram and we exchange messages occasionally. For other clubs, I have realized that when I start talking to people and interacting with them, you never know where else you might see them on campus - I have made friends this way as well. Try everything!

Favorite class

My favorite class was on Iran and the Axis of Resistance, which I took Spring 2026. The professor is an adjunct and has been in the policymaking space of the U.S. Government. This made the info she was teaching us informative but also practical and different from someone who may be a professor but not necessarily a practitioner in the field. She was also very funny and was able to explain to us the context of what was happening in the Iran War over the semester, which was also a very unique experience and made me look forward to her class each week.

Career goals

I hope to be accepted to the Accelerated Master’s Program at Georgetown so I could graduate with a BS​/​MA in 5 years (instead of 6). Between graduating and starting the masters or something else, I would love to do a gap year or two, and I am thinking about Fulbright, Peace Corps, and other programs as well. For the long-term, nothing is fixed at the moment, but I am interested in working as a Foreign Service Officer within the government, or in international development. All I know is that every step I’ve taken has enriched me in some way, shape or form, and I am excited to see what I can do and where I will go in the future.

Ideal way to spend a free night

I love to hang out with friends, whether that is to go have dinner and watch a movie, or to visit the monuments with Lime scooters. D.C. has so much to offer and the possibilities are endless.

High school or secondary school

Conestoga High School, Berwyn, PA