Please join the Laney Community in congratulating Jielin Huang for being awarded the 2020 President’s Medallion!
Laney College is pleased to announced that Jielin Huang, Economics Major, has been awarded the 2020 President’s Medallion! She completed the semester with 15 units, she has served as the treasurer of ASLC and dreams of having a career as a Chief Financial Officer in the near future. While Jielin is destined for greatness, she discovered her passion while coping with loss. Her sister tragically passed away at the age of 17, from brain cancer. While struggling to accept the loss, she bottled up her emotions.
As her parents began to worry about her well-being and mental health, Jielin realized it was time to fight and push through the wave of sadness she lived with.
“I poured myself into furthering my skillset and educated myself on design theories and Adobe design software, by reading instruction booklets and watching tutorials online,” says Jielin. She took first place in the PBL Desktop Publishing Competition in Calif., and won eighth place nationwide.
In this fight, she found a creative outlet. Graphic design. Not only did she love what she was doing, she quickly gained confidence in her work.
Huang has consistently maintained a 4.0 GPA while attending Laney College and says that there are no setbacks that could hinder her from achieving her goals and commitment to creating a better life for her family.
Soon, she was hired by Laney College and worked as a graphic designer in the Public Information Office, while pursuing her associate in arts degree. She reminisces on the LGBTQ design project she managed, “through this project, I was inspired to use my design skills to help others who also suffered from difficulties in hopes of creating a better future for all.”
Jielin shared a connection with this project, because she understands first-hand what it feels like to be an outcast for being who you are. After moving to the United States in 2017, she and her family experienced racism and discrimination. After finding her creative outlet and overcoming depression, a new barrier presented itself. She vividly remembers her parents being judged for their accent by their income tax preparer, and she was not allowed to speak Mandarin at school.
While it is natural to feel angry about this treatment, Jielin says that it eventually fueled her to get an education.
Through these challenges, she has become empowered, and could not be prouder of her Asian heritage! The economics major co-founded the Asianrific Club at Laney, to help support students who share similar challenges, and is a volunteer tax preparer for low-income families.
As a first-generation college student, Jielin is thrilled to complete her program and will transfer to UC Berkeley in the fall. Her motivation is her parents and she firmly believes that a solid education is the start to living her dream as a chief financial officer. Jielin has consistently maintained a 4.0 GPA while attending Laney College and says that there are no setbacks that could hinder her from achieving her goals and commitment to creating a better life for her family.
Laney College’s first-ever virtual commencement ceremony took place Friday, May 22, 2020, at 8:00 a.m., where students faculty and staff could access a dedicated webpage throughout the day.
