Jessica Ch'ng — Activism Beyond the Classroom

Jessica grew up in Nashville, TN, and studied and worked in the Boston, MA area prior to moving to Philadelphia. Her undergraduate studies focused on race and gender in what is currently the United States. Prior to coming to Penn GSE, she worked in college access and multicultural recruitment at a university admissions office. Jessica is pursuing her master's degree in the Education, Culture, and Society program and is interested in the role of higher education in advancing social justice and equality. She occasionally fantasizes about starting a popsicle shop.

Writings

Featured

Community Engagement

Community Event: Gentrification in Austin & West Philadelphia

Community Engagement

I heard about this event at the Walnut Street West Public Library on Facebook. To me, “gentrification” had become such an abstracted buzzword, and while I associated it with rising housing costs and displacement, I was otherwise unfamiliar with its mechanics, possible solutions, and the lived experiences of this city. I saw the event as an opportunity to deepen my superficial knowledge about gentrification.

Community Engagement

Opinion

Affirmative Action and Asian Americans: a former admissions officer's perspective

Opinion

At almost every date, wedding, or social gathering I go to, I get asked the same question: “What do you think about affirmative action?” I probably get asked this question so often because I'm an Asian American Harvard alumna, and for nearly six years, I worked at a highly selective university in their office of admissions.

Opinion