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CC Alum Chessie Thacher Reports on Her Luce Scholarship Experience
Chessie ThacherChessie Thacher is half-way through her Luce experience. So far she has been extremely busy. For the last seven months she has been living and working in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, China at a small Chinese NGO called the Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge. This NGO seeks to promote conservation and sustainable livelihoods for indigenous communities throughout Yunnan Province. With this organization Chessie has been helping build the capacity of regional ecotourism operators near China’s border with Myanmar and Tibet. At the same time she is also working on a gender development study in a rural Chinese Tibetan village.
Chessie in DimaluoAs a part-time job Chessie has been writing for the international NGO The Nature Conservancy. This organization is focused on conserving the rich biodiversity found in Yunnan Province, considered a world heritage “hotspot.” She is also helping to launch the third year of a documentary film festival on developmental issues in China.
Students in DimaluoDuring her adventure she has also been studying languages and traveling around China, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. This summer she will make a journey through Tibet, the hot and barren deserts of Xinjiang Province, and Mongolia.
When Chessie first arrived in China, she initially felt a bit lost in the bustling city of Kunming.
“Now, however, it is very much my home and I have come to love my little apartment next to a great wide lake where seagulls flock and women practice red fan dances in the morning as mist rises off the water's surface. China consistently seems like these mornings--enchanted but confusing, something worthy of a lifetime's study.”
About the Luce Scholarship:
The Luce Scholarship is a prestigious scholarship that allows seniors and alumnae up to ten years out at selected colleges and universities the opportunity to compete for a one-year position in an Asian country--they receive summer language training, a job arranged by the Henry Luce Foundation to dovetail with their interests, and a stipend.