Current Fellows in Arts, Health, and, Education

2023 Yale-China Artist Fellow

Filmmaker, researcher and educator. Kit graduated from the MFA program from the Department of Film, Video and New Media, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His films have won numerous international awards, and were screened at over 200 international film festivals. His debut feature "Soundless Wind Chime" (2009, Hong Kong/Switzerland/China) was nominated for the Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival and won him Best Director and Best New Director in Spain, Italy and Canada. His second feature “Stoma” was premiered at the Taipei Golden Horse International Film Festival, Taiwan. He is a PhD Candidate in the department of Media and Communications in Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK. And is a full-time faculty member teaching film studies and film production at the University of Westminster, UK. He also has extensive experience teaching marginalized queer communities in various cities in China, Germany, Thailand, Zimbabwe and Ghana utilising audio/visual languages to share their stories. His main research interests are Hauntology and Queer Asian Cinema.

Kit Hung will develop a VR/AR project exploring new cinema experiences during his fellowship at Yale-China.

New Haven Free Public Library Fellow

Peilin Lu (she/her) is a first-year in Pierson College from Syracuse, New York passionate about social justice and politics. As a first generation Chinese American from Beijing, China, she is super excited to serve the community as a New Haven Free Public Library Fellow and hopes to create equitable, accessible, and culturally aware spaces for systemically marginalized Asian American communities. Outside of her work at NHFPL, Peilin organizes on campus as a First Year Liaison of the Asian American Students Alliance and the co-Political Chair of the Chinese American Students Association. For fun, Peilin can be found going on antique store runs with friends, trying new coffee, and binge-watching the latest Qing Dynasty Chinese drama.

New Haven Free Public Library Fellow

Naomi is a junior in Yale College majoring in Global Affairs and pursuing a Chinese Certificate. Aside from being a NHFPL fellow, she also manages the art studio in her residential college, provides academic mentorship for first-generation and low-income undergraduates, and serves as a student deacon at her church. Naomi grew up spending long summer days at her local library, where she developed a deep appreciation for the joy of reading in community. Although she isn't a native Mandarin speaker, she loves taking Chinese classes at Yale and hopes to live in Taiwan after graduation. Outside of Yale, you can find Naomi wandering around New Haven craft stores or searching for top-notch bagels.

2023 Chia Health Fellow

A PhD student at Central South University, Xiuwen Chen is a charge nurse in the Teaching and Research Section of Clinical Nursing at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. With eight years of experience in child health research, she has published more than 20 professional papers in academic journals.

• Faculty Mentor: Dr. Zhao Ni, Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Nursing, a faculty lead of the Yale Office of Global Affairs & Planetary Health, and the Director of International Academic Partnerships

• Fellowship Project: “Investigation and Intervention Study on Self-Medication in Children by Parents in Western Hunan of China”

2023 Chia Health Fellow

Sha Wang is a charge nurse in the Emergency Intensive Care Unit at the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. With seven years of nursing experience, she has published several academic articles with a particular focus on geriatric nursing and nursing safety management.

• Faculty Mentor: Dr. Joanne Iennaco, Professor of Nursing co-appointed in Psychiatry at Yale University and Director of the Clinical Doctor of Nursing Practice Program at the Yale School of Nursing

• Fellowship Topic: “Application of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy on Rural Left-Behind Elderly with Subthreshold Depression in Western Hunan

2023 Yale-China Health Fellow

A faculty member in the School of Nursing at Kunming Medical University, Xin Wen got her master's degree in nursing from the West China School of Medicine in 2018. Her research interests are in nursing education and geriatric care with a focus on chronic disease management of the elderly.

• Faculty Mentor: Dr. Xiaomei Cong, Professor of Nursing at the Yale School of Nursing

• Fellowship Project: The Influence of Individual and Family Self-Management on Quality of Life, Mental Health, Social Relationships in the Elderly with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

2023 Yale-China Health Fellow

With Ph.D. from the Peking University Health Science Center, Lihua Zhang has been an endocrinologist for more than twenty years and works as Deputy Chief Physician at the Department of General Medicine of the First Hospital Affiliated to Kunming Medical University. Lihua’s research focuses on diabetic kidney and endocrine hypertension.

• Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lei Chen, Professor of Pediatrics (Emergency Medicine) and of Emergency Medicine, and affiliated faculty at the Yale Institute for Global Health

• Fellowship Project: Structured Treatment & Education Program (STEP) in Improving Metabolic Control and Psychological Outcomes of Female Type 2 Diabetes Patients in Yunnan Rural Community.

Yale-China Fellow at Yali High School

Born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan, Gulminay graduated from Yale with a B.A. in History in 2022. She is thrilled about teaching for the first time in China, as she hopes to work in education policy going forward. At Yale, her focus was on South Asian history, but she now plans to delve deeper into Chinese history while in Changsha. She is eager to experience the intersection of China’s historical legacy and developing future. She is particularly excited to learn Mandarin and explore Chinese culture as she has never done so before and believes that such a rare opportunity will help her grow and learn greatly.

Gulminay is delighted to join the Yale-China community, to take on her first professional role, meet the students at Yali High School, and immerse herself in new hobbies in Changsha. She is grateful for the opportunity to study a new language and absorb a new culture and cannot wait to begin teaching!

Yale-China Fellow at Yali High School

Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Anna Tran Mei En 美恩 (she/they) is an aspiring public health educator with a particular interest in urban health care disparities. Graduating from Yale University in 2022 with a B.A. in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health, their research tracks the histories of community-based health care, China's barefoot doctor ideology with the rise of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and redefines patient power in New York City communities of color during the 1970s. Anna has also worked with the Clinical and Translational Research Accelerator (CTRA) at the Yale School of Medicine as part of the Kidney Biobank project, with a 2022 publication on utilizing urine testing as a non-invasive procedure to differentiate glomerular from tubulointerstitial kidney diseases. Prior to research, Anna has also worked as a Public Health Educator for Peers (PHEP) and volunteered with Matriculate, a nonprofit organization helping low-income students apply for college. They are excited to cultivate new relationships with their students and learn what it means to be an educator.

Staying true to their Sino-Vietnamese roots, Anna is constantly trying to maintain their language skills in Cantonese Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, and Vietnamese all at once, which helps them feel closer to home when they're far away. They are an avid fan of drumming, crocheting, listening to music, watching dramas, and cooking challenging recipes.

Yale-China Fellow at Yali High School

Born and raised in New York City, Julia Arancio (she/her) graduated in May 2023 from Yale University with a degree in Film & Media Studies. She has been studying Chinese for eight years and she is thrilled at the opportunity to finally live and work in China. During her time at Yale, Julia was very involved with the student film community on campus. She was the President of the Yale Film Alliance and she produced many short films. She also worked in the Yale Film Archive. In China, she is looking forward to meeting her students, traveling the country, and improving her Chinese skills. She is immensely grateful for the opportunity and she can’t wait to speak, learn, listen, eat, and explore as much as she possibly can.

Yale-China Fellow at Yali High School

Isa Zou (she/her) graduated from Yale in 2023 with a B.A. in Ethnicity, Race and Migration and designation as a Yale Journalism Scholar. She’s a writer focusing on race, religion, and justice, and her work is based in structural analyses and explores difference and power across axes of race, class, gender, and sexuality. She’s worked at the Texas Tribune and the Connecticut Mirror. At Yale, she served as editor in chief of the Yale Daily News Magazine, a monthly publication for narrative journalism, fiction, poetry, and the arts. She’s worked for the Anti-Racist Teaching and Learning Collective since 2020 and is passionate about curricular and pedagogical approaches that support students’ beings and critical consciousnesses. She’s also a singer and dancer, singing with the Yale Glee Club and Whim ‘n Rhythm and dancing with the Yale Modern Dance Collective. She’s excited to bring her artistic interests and passion for education to China as she builds relationships with students and teachers, grows as an educator, and connects with her roots. She loves cooking, talking about Texas, and dancing in heels.

Doug Murray Fellow at Xiuning Middle School

Tyler is from El Paso, Texas, and graduated from Yale University with an M.A. in East Asian Studies where he concentrated on China, political economy, and development economics. He graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Chinese Studies from the University of Houston in 2019 and attended Peking University in 2017 and 2018 as part of the Chinese Government Scholarship Program.

Tyler is excited to join the Yale-China and Xiuning family, and for the opportunity to teach students while exploring Huangshan and historic southern Anhui.

Yale-China Fellow at Xiuning Middle School

Matthew graduated from Yale in 2022 with a B.A. in History. While planning to attend University of Florida College of Medicine in 2024, he welcomes the opportunity to take part in the Yale-China Fellowship.

Matthew is looking forward to his role as an educator. He is especially eager to build relationships with his students. At Yale, he developed an interest in mental health working as a Walden Peer Counselor and starting his own online emotional support counseling club. He hopes to open avenues for his students to explore and prioritize their mental health while teaching foundational social-emotional skills that are often lacking in traditional learning environments.

He looks forward to integrating into the Xiuning community, building his language skills, and exploring his hobbies (dancing, rock climbing, and being outdoors). He welcomes the adventures and growth to come!

Yale-China Fellow at Xiuning MiddleSchool

Angelreana is from Springfield, Missouri and graduated from Yale in 2023 with a B.A. in Economics and an Education Studies certificate. At Yale, Angelreana worked at the Asian American Cultural Center for four years and was Co-Head Peer Liaison her senior year, was Head of the Dwight Hall Socially Responsible Investment Fund's Community Investment team, interned at the Connecticut Children's Museum as a Dwight Hall Urban Fellow, and ran her own Asian storytelling podcast. Angelreana is looking forward to planning creative and interactive lessons for and academically and emotionally supporting her students. She is also excited to engage in deep reflection, grow her language skills, and push her understanding of open-mindedness and appreciation for different cultures while in China.

Yale-China Fellow at Xiuning Middle School

Taylor is from Dalton, Georgia, and graduated from Yale University in 2023 with a B.A. in Linguistics and an Advanced Language Certificate in Korean. She is passionate about grammatical diversity and is excited to explore regional linguistic dialects within China.

At Yale, Taylor worked in the Office of Student Affairs at Yale Law School, where she helped organize student wellness events like the weekly “Tuesday Tea Time.” She hopes to continue to prioritize student wellness and language proficiency during her tenure as a Yale-China Fellow.

Taylor is an avid fan of Taylor Swift, Stardew Valley, and Studio Ghibli, which is to say she loves anything that fits into the “cottagecore” aesthetic. She is thrilled to join the Yale-China family and looks forward to meeting and working with the Xiuning students, faculty, and staff.

Yale-China Fellow at Chinese University of Hong Kong

Born and raised in Maryland, Amy graduated from Yale in 2021 with a B.S. in Cognitive Science. Her senior thesis was conducted with the Affective Science and Culture Lab and examined shifts in individuals’ emotional domains after they moved to new cultural contexts. Amy enjoyed volunteering in New Haven, and she was also involved with the Asian American Cultural Center, the Yale Farm, and her residential college community. She is excited to teach and grow in Hong Kong for the next two years.

Yale-China Fellow at Chinese University of Hong Kong

Araceli joins Yale-China from her hometown of Glendale, Arizona. She graduated with a B.S. in molecular, cellular, developmental biology and hopes to pursue global health with a focus on policy in the future. Prior to joining the fellowship, Araceli has conducted research on the impacts of religion and social capital on minority health during COVID and wet lab research on an alternative stroke therapy.

Araceli looks forward to exploring life in Hong Kong, drinking milk tea, and seeing what serendipity this experience has in store.

Yale-China Fellow at Chinese University of Hong Kong

Alison is from Los Angeles, California and graduated from Yale University in 2023 with a B.A. in English. Her academic work focused on English poetry, and she wrote her thesis on the influence of Shakespearean tragedy on William Wordsworth. In the summer of 2022, she lived and worked in Wordsworth’s house, Rydal Mount, where the poet lived from 1813-1850. She has previously spent summers interning at the ACLU’s Prison Project and at the US Embassy in London. At Yale, Alison served as President of the Yale Political Union — the nation’s oldest and largest student debate organization — and she has also been involved with local Connecticut politics and advocacy. Outside the classroom, Alison enjoys writing poetry, hiking, and reading lots of fiction. In 2025, she will be matriculating at Harvard Law School via the Junior Deferral Program, and she can’t wait to spend her two-year deferral period exploring Hong Kong!

Yale-China Fellow at Chinese University of Hong Kong

Born and raised in China, Kevin moved to Vancouver at age 14 and graduated from Yale in 2023 with a B.A. in History concentrating on Politics, Law, and Government. His thesis examined Yale’s involvement in brokering diplomatic relations between the American and Japanese Empires during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904. Outside of academia, Kevin was heavily involved in music and community service at Yale. This past year, he served as the president of Yale Rotaract and as an officer in the Yale Glee Club. He also performed as a lead in the 17th century Venetian opera “La Doriclea” produced by the Yale Baroque Opera Project. Kevin hopes to continue singing at CUHK and to connect Yale Rotaract with Rotary clubs in Hong Kong to propose new international projects.

Kevin is eager to embrace life in Asia after a longue-durée. He aims to experience Hong Kong through the eyes of Hongkongers, especially in this moment of political turbulence and anxiety. He is grateful for the opportunity to be immersed in a place that is both strange and familiar, and to plunge headlong into teaching the subjects that he loves.

NHPS Language Fellow at Co-op High School

NHPS Language Fellow at John C. Daniels

NHPS Language Fellow at Metropolitan Business Academy

Nick is a junior at Yale College pursuing a double major in Global Affairs and Urban Studies and a Certificate of Advanced Language Study in Chinese. Originally from Chicago, Nick grew up in a bicultural Taiwanese-American household and is passionate about building cross-cultural understanding through education and exposure. He most recently served as last year's Yale Model United Nations Taiwan Secretary-General and completed a term project investigating the role of public transit networks and infrastructure on Chinese community formation in Flushing, Queens. In his free time, Nick enjoys cooking with friends, exploring cities, indie music, and photography.

Chinese Teaching Fellow at Edgewood School

Yang Wenhui was born and raised in Hunan province of China, and graduated from Sichuan University. After that, she worked at TAL Education Group, and then worked at Chenzhou Yali Middle School, responsible for designing curriculum and teaching, organizing extra-curriculum activities, participating in teaching and research seminars, etc. As a Yale-China Chinese Teaching Fellow at Edgewood School in 2022-2023 now, she is looking forward to having an amazing experience that will change her understanding of the world and shape her as a teacher. Meanwhile, she hopes to share with American students the Chinese language and culture as much as possible, and enhance Chinese students’ understanding toward America as well after she return back to China.

Chinese Teaching Fellow at Clinton Avenue School and Fair Haven School

Kate graduated from Yale in 2018 with a BA in linguistics. Born and raised in New York, she originally joined Yale-China as a 2018-2020 Yale-China Fellow teaching English in Anhui Province, and after a year-long hiatus due to Covid-19, returned to the fellowship to spend the 2021-2022 school year teaching in Changsha. While at Yale, Kate was a First-Year Counselor, Girl Scout leader, and founding president of the club American Sign Language at Yale. During her time in China, she also discovered a love of baking and rock climbing. Having just returned to the United States, Kate is delighted to have the opportunity to teach New Haven students and to exercise and build upon the teaching and Chinese language skills she developed over the last four years. She is also looking forward to exploring New Haven more as a non-student, discovering how it has changed in the last four years, and reconnecting with old friends and favorite spots.