LE Yuan 乐园

Mentor & Donor

As Qian Zheng’s niece, Yin Yin’s cousin, and a female scientist myself, I am fully aware of how difficult life can be for a young woman, in the US or in China, who is passionate about science or engineering, and determined to pursue her passion in these areas. And it is an honor for me, to be able to help some of them, and make their choices not so unnecessarily difficult.

When I was a little girl, my aunt used to be ‘that good kid in the neighborhood’ for my parents; not because she was always the number one student in her class (I bet my Mom does not know that), but because that she always worked very hard, she never give up her dream, and she was always prepared for her pursuit, even in those 10 difficult years in China.

Such education finally made me a stubborn girl. There are always people who want to tell we girls what a girl should do and what a girl should like, but I still insist that being born as girls it should be us, not other people, who define who girls/women are, and what passion and what career girls/women should pursue. Of course we girls can love science and can do well in it, without worrying that we may lose our identity as girls.
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It is unfortunate that in the 21st century we still have to deal with those unfair stereotype about girls. But this is the reality that we have to face. We have to face it, challenge it, and finally change it together, removing those unnecessary difficulties in the way of girls to their dream.