-
We are proud to share that the winner of this year’s prestigious Henri de Castries Scholarship, awarded annually by Sciences Po, is the Dual Degree’s very own Joanna Lam!
-
A rising second year from San Francisco, California, Joanna is pursuing a major in Politics and Government at Sciences Po’s Le Havre campus. Joanna is currently fulfilling her summer Civic Learning Program requirement through an internship with the Southeast Asian Development Center (SEADC) in San Francisco.
“It's been a blast,” Joanna said of her internship. “It's been really fun seeing the teens go through the program.”
After beginning to teach herself French, Joanna was drawn to the program due to her interest in politics and her desire to experience living outside the United States. In Joanna’s words, this made the Dual Degree with Sciences Po the “best of both worlds.”
Joanna’s favorite part of living in Le Havre is the people, both within Sciences Po and in the city itself. In her free time, she likes to walk around the city and visit the weekly farmers market.
“I honestly feel like this was the best decision I could have made in terms of seeking college education,” said Joanna.
In addition to receiving the Henri de Castries Scholarship, Joanna was accepted as a Regent’s Scholar at UC Berkeley. Joanna is currently planning to major in Political Science at UC Berkeley after finishing her second year at Sciences Po.
After graduation, Joanna hopes to pursue international law. Read below to see excerpts from Joanna’s motivation statement for the Henri de Castries Scholarship:
“In our Introduction to Sociology seminar, I learned that parents without an education actually stress the importance of it the most. I’m a living testament to this fact: my mom dropped out of college to have me, and my dad never finished high school, but they named me after my mother’s favorite professor, and because of this, I’ve always understood the value of an education in one’s ability to rise up.
[…]
In my own right, I am paving my way by being the first in my family to attend a 4-year university, and my motivation for this scholarship is to lessen the financial burden for my family in this endeavor. In the future, I hope to use my studies of Asia, Europe, and North America to become a pioneer in equitable international education policy.”
Connect with us
