Self Exploration--Bund Education's Interview with Lucy
Lucy is a Year 12 student at Pao School who was recently admitted to Brown University. At Brown, Lucy plans to double major in history and development studies. Lucy has been interested in history from a young age. She says that many people think history is relatively straightforward to study, but she disagrees. ‘studying history is like assembling a jigsaw puzzle’, she says. ‘When you discover where one piece fits into the overall puzzle, and how it connects to other pieces, this is similar to understanding how a certain historical event fits into a broader context in history and is linked to other events. I find this fascinating’.
Lucy also likes how studying history strengthens one’s logical reasoning and analytical thinking abilities. In her view, to learn history well, one must be well-versed in political science, economics, literature and even psychology. Given that history is such a comprehensive field of study, ‘it really can help me see more sides of the world’, she says.
Meanwhile, Lucy became interested in development studies several years ago when she spent two weeks in Cambodia doing pro-bono work. Lucy spent the first week as a volunteer with several NGOs that assist impoverished Cambodian families. During the second week, Lucy spent five nights in a village and helped in the construction of a library. The experience in Cambodia made a lasting impression on Lucy, as she saw firsthand the impoverished conditions in which many Cambodians live. Yet she also saw that it’s possible for an individual to make a difference in those people's lives.
‘I think it’s admirable to work in the service of these people, who are much less fortunate than the rest of us’, she says. ‘I hope in the future I can return to Southeast Asia for several years and work to improve the lives of people in the communities there through NGO work’.
