Zipei Wang
Pronouns: he/him/his
Hometown: Jinan, China
Focus: Education, Community Development, Transportation, Cultural Preservation
Bio: Zipei is from Jinan, the capital city of the most populous province in northern China. He has been fascinated by city development since a very young age, but he never really imagined his college life with an urban planning major before flying across the Pacific Ocean. Like many Chinese students here, he was depicting his future as graduating from one of the best computer science schools in America and finding a decent job in Microsoft or Amazon. But his involvement in community service in his first quarter made him realize that he was living in a world of fragmentation and deterioration that was unprecedented in his life. He then dropped his math and coding classes and decided to pursue double majors in CEP and education.
Having spent 18 years growing up in urban China, Zipei witnessed one of the most incredible speeds in the global history of urbanization. But at the same time, climate change, environmental hazards, cultural loss, and moral decline are also in the train of reckless city expansion. Leaving the sprawling city boundaries aside, he wants to seek the essence of cities and communities, reconsidering an equitable and sustainable city development.
Favorite Place in Seattle: Burke-Gilman Trail
Why did you choose CEP? As a college student, I never believe that exhausting lectures and exams in a cramped auditorium with 800 people should pile up into all my college life. Rather in CEP, I can make use of both the solidarity of the CEP community and the flexibility of course arrangement to achieve my educational goals.
Hobbies/Extracurriculars: Soccer, Biking, Traveling
Favorite thing to do over quarantine? Cooking
Favorite Movie: Inception
Favorite Food: Beef noodle soup
Favorite Song: Tender by Blur
Ask me about… International student experience, multilingual education, dismantling white supremacy in education, Chinese culture and politics, Chinese immigrants in Seattle, cultural preservation, city and regional transportation!