After participating in ACE in China and graduating from Stanford, Jordan Fong pursued a master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As she began her career in the medical devices field, she had the opportunity to join Coach for College this summer, a youth education program based in Vietnam that has also collaborated with ACE to run programs. This experience enabled Jordan to connect her ACE journey with her recent summer in Vietnam, serving as a powerful reminder of the importance of connecting with and showing compassion for individuals with experiences different from her own.
What are you doing now? How has ACE influenced your career pathway?
I just graduated this past spring from UNC with my M.S. in Biomedical Engineering. I am currently working for Gradient Medical as a Biomedical Engineer where we develop medtech devices in oncology that deliver electrical pulses to target cancer cells. I learned a lot from ACE in China and realized that I enjoy being able to problem-solve and collaborate with others. In, my current position, I get to work with doctors, engineering firms, veterinary programs, and many others. Before I took my job as a biomedical engineer, I was able to participate in Coach for College in Vietnam this past summer. I have always held ACE in a special place in my heart and so being able to experience it another time and go abroad and teach/coach was an amazing opportunity. This experience has reminded me that it’s important to have compassion for others and make space for people to share their stories. You can learn so much from someone who has had different life experiences than you and it challenges your thinking. I will always be grateful for the people I’ve met and connected with during ACE and Coach for College.
Share one lesson from ACE that still holds today.
When I was in China teaching some of the younger girls English, they didn’t pick up on some of the lessons that we had planned and were disinterested in the lesson for the day, so we had to tweak the lesson to incorporate their interests. The girls really liked to color, so for the lesson we gave them paper and crayons and they drew pictures of the English words we were teaching. This changed the way I approach learning and collaboration because not everyone has the same style so you have to get to know your peers to be able to work efficiently with them. Now, whenever I am working with someone else, I try to cater the way I communicate to how they will best understand me instead of trying to force my way.
Describe your ACE experience in as few words as possible:
Memorable, once-in-a-lifetime, compassionate.
What was the most meaningful part of your ACE experience?
I think the most meaningful part of ACE was being able to visit China and be able to fully immerse myself in it. Being half Chinese, it was really important for me to be able to embrace my culture. Being able to see it firsthand allowed me to have a deeper understanding of who I am.