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(Fall 2020) – Linda Huang is coming up on her final year at Pitzer College, where she is pursuing a degree in Asian-American Studies. A member of SMART’s class of 2017, she is nearing the end of her college experience, and reflecting on her time at SMART: “You never really leave SMART. It’s a community built on resources, relationships, and networks,” which remains critical to her every day.

Upon entering Pitzer College, a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California, Linda found herself well-equipped with resources from her time at SMART that many first-generation students were just receiving in college for the first time. “What seemed small at the time mattered a lot,” she says, “especially with filling out paperwork and financial aid applications.”

In her second year at Pitzer, Linda was one of ten students who were selected to join the highly competitive Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program, and was the only student selected from her school. Leading up to the application process, she had to overcome several hurdles and was even discouraged by her peers to apply. “I still remember when I got in,” Linda shared. “I was really excited to even get past the first round, let alone get accepted!” The program encourages students of marginalized groups in higher learning and provides tremendous opportunities. As a Mellon Mays fellow, Linda has participated in two research opportunities, attended a conference in Seattle, and continuously developed research skills, which she counts as her greatest growth yet.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit early this year, Linda was just completing her second month of a semester-long Globalization and International Affairs exchange program at Bard College’s Manhattan Campus in New York. The program consisted of courses and an internship where Linda worked at Global Kids, an organization that she says is “just like SMART.” Linda loved exploring New York and met international students from all around the world.

Growing up as a first-generation Chinese-American student, earning a degree from a prestigious university was always the overarching goal for as long as she could remember. Linda applied to SMART and later enrolled in The Hamlin School, an independent all-girls K-8 school.

Linda was exposed to the rigorous curriculum at Hamlin. “If things were hard in middle school, I would tell myself, ‘It’s for college,’ and pushed though,” Linda shared. She joined the cross-country team to make more friends. Little did she know then, that running would propel her competitive drive throughout her entire education journey, as well as become an outlet for self-care.

Upon completion of middle school, Linda attend San Francisco University High School. Linda’s desire to pursue a degree in Asian-American Studies was sparked when she took an Asian American history class at the high school. Her first exposure to the discipline was from a White teacher, who respectfully acknowledged that the subject was very much new to him. “I know this is not ideal, but it’s either we can learn together or not at all,” she recalled him say. Growing up in San Francisco, with its large Asian American communities, Linda was not pleased with the lack of representation of history in our school system. She remembers very distinctly that it was then when she thought, “I will be that teacher!” and expressed her desire to become a professor one day.

Linda said she couldn’t be more grateful for the vast exposure that SMART has brought to her life. From the Richmond District to the Pacific Heights neighborhoods of San Francisco, to Southern California and Manhattan, SMART equipped her with the skills necessary to navigate these institutions on her own.

In the fall, Linda is excited to finish her senior year at Pitzer College as a part-time student and plans to apply to the Fulbright Scholar Program. In the future, Linda plans to get a Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies.