“My mother called me and asked if I had happened to notice a group of high-ranking Chinese officials taking classes at Duke. I asked my mother how she knew about the group and that’s when she told me that apparently, my aunt was one of the officials there. Soon, after many excited phone calls and WeChat messages, I found myself sitting across the table from Luo Hao, Division Director for China’s Department of Finance. I interviewed Luo Hao for our Humans of Duke Sanford project. Looking back, I have to say that I’m pretty thankful that Sanford, in a way, brought us together.” – Katherine Zhou, Sanford photographer and multimedia assistant •
•“My name is Luo Hao. I am studying Public Policy and Management at Sanford through a four-month training program at Sanford for Chinese government officials. I work for the Ministry of Commerce, and I am the Division Director for the Department of Finance. This is my first time in the United States. Before I came here, I knew a little bit about America, but I never had contact with westerners. I was afraid of the culture shock and the potential communication barriers. When I arrived, I found that there were many similarities between the Chinese and Americans. As humans, we have the same fundamental values, despite coming from different countries and political systems. My favorite lecture I’ve attended at Sanford was when a former 4-star general talked about the U.S. military force in the Middle East. I think that Sanford does a great job of bringing in high-level officials and academics to inform the public of various policy ideas. I think that my meeting with my niece, Katherine, is a perfect example of a Chinese term called, yuan fen (缘分). I don’t know if there is an English word that serves as a precise translation for yuan fen, but what it evokes is this sense of fate, of destiny. In the future, when I look back at my time at Duke, I know that this encounter between us will be a key memory.” #HumansofDukeSanford #Staff