Armed With Thoreau Scholarship, Former Chinatown Student Hopes to Give Back

Each weekday for several years, Macki Mei would take the 40-minute subway ride from her childhood home in Dorchester to Chinatown, where she attended Quincy Upper School.

Spending so much time in Chinatown for both high school, and elementary school at the Josiah Quincy School, she started to notice the lack of trees, the absence of greenery – the dearth of public parks – and the high-rises and air pollution from cars and trucks.

This awareness, she said, spurred her interest in the relationship between environmental science and health care and medicine.

“I always knew that I love the environment, and (the idea of) using the environment to promote public and global health. That's what I wanted to pursue in college,” Mei told the Sampan.

So, as she was figuring out how to finance her college education at Cornell, her science teacher suggested applying to the Henry David Thoreau Foundation for a Thoreau Scholarship. She sent an application in, despite knowing the odds of getting awarded the $25,000 scholarship – named for the 19th-century naturalist and author – were low. It’s only given to eight Massachusetts high school seniors a year.

Macki Mei's graduation photo from last year. Courtesy photo.

“I thought that it was perfect for me,” she said, but added that because it was so selective, she didn't think she had a realistic shot at getting it.

“I was immensely shocked and super grateful to find that I was selected, and the application process had me reflecting on why I am so passionate about the environment, what I wanted to do in college, and why I'm studying public health and relating it to the medical field.”

Mei said that while she’s also receiving financial aid, the scholarship will help her family, because both her parents, immigrants from Guangdong, China, work in a restaurant in Chinatown.

She credits her parents with passing along the values of conservation and avoiding waste. And she says she was fortunate to attend the Josiah Quincy School and Upper School, where she graduated last year.

As a child, because her parents only spoke to her in Cantonese, she said, she had struggled with English. Teachers at the Chinatown school knew how to help her advance while mastering English.

“My parents always told me how fortunate I was, because the school has a very big Asian population, so I felt welcomed. When I had difficulty with learning English, they always made sure to put me in classes with teachers that understood my language level and could help me expand.”

And while it was her science teachers who helped her build a foundation in environmental studies, she said, her English teachers gave her the skills needed to communicate what she had learned.

“I want to give a shoutout to my English teachers,” she said. “Even though science is what I wanted to pursue, my English teachers taught me that writing about science is just as important. Knowing science material is important, but so is knowing how to write about it.”

The ability to communicate her ideas, she said, likely helped her earn the scholarship, and will help her in college, writing essays.

“Knowing how to reflect on what you know is more important,” Mei said.

Now, as she embarks on her first year at Cornell, she said, she ultimately hopes to one day give back to her childhood community and beyond.

“I just want to, in four years, graduate and get a job that I can hopefully promote better health outcomes in Boston – and in Chinatown.”