Name: Tsechi
Year: 2014
Major: Politics/East Asian Studies
Hometown: Seattle, WA
So, we couldn’t meet to discuss these questions in person. What are you up to this semester?
I’m currently in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico studying Spanish and volunteering with Patronato Pro Niños, a non-profit that provides free or low-cost medical and dental care to children from low-income families. I’m also going to start teaching English at the local Biblioteca. I’ve always wanted to learn five languages before I turned 25, so this seemed like a great opportunity to learn my fourth.
You’re really involved with Students for a Free Tibet when you’re here on campus. What specifically drew you to this cause?
It was a natural choice for me, as a Tibetan, to join Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), especially since the 5-College SFT is known for being one of the strongest, most active and successful chapters in the nation. It’s easy to feel like the result of a vigil outside of Blanchard is confined to Mount Holyoke, but it’s so crucial to recognize the significance of the event in the greater struggle. That’s why I joined SFT and why I feel satisfaction in our activities, even if they are only on campus or nearby.
Were you involved in Free Tibet activism before you came to Mount Holyoke?
I started the Students for a Free Tibet club at my high school in Seattle. Being Tibetan, I’ve attended Free Tibet rallies and protests since I can remember. My father once said to me, “in America I am an immigrant, in India I am a refugee, and in Tibet I am a minority.” That really stuck with me. As American as I feel — I was born in the U.S. — I am confronted by the occasional ignorant/racist remark and it creates this yearning in me to have somewhere I feel I belong, where I don’t have to justify my citizenship or entitlement to an identity.
Are there any classes at MHC that you have found particularly inspiring?
“Economics of Education” with Professor Wilson was my First Year Seminar and I loved it. The class examined racial and socioeconomic dynamics in education and what factors benefit or hinder a child’s education. “On Human Freedom” was another great class where we examined our definitions of what it means to be “free” and if we can ever achieve that.