222222U.S.
CHRISTINE KEUNG
Doing good in China
When Christine Keung first traveled to northwestern
China in 2014 on a Fulbright scholarship, she set
about collaborating with local university students to
improve the region’s heavily polluted environment.
In many rural communities in Shaanxi province, for
example, contaminated rivers and streams meant
there was no source of clean drinking water. So she
helped locals build systems to track, control and
recycle waste responsibly.
What Keung originally intended to be a yearlong
stop between college and business school morphed
into a four-year mission to address the slew of
issues affecting everyday people in this corner of her
parents’ homeland. She acts as a liaison between
Chinese students and U.S. researchers on issues
from pollution to health care, gathering and analyzing
data to craft personalized responses. In one ongoing
project, she works with a U.S.-based manufacturer
to give children eyeglasses. In another, she helped
rural mothers access nutritious meals. “Everything
we’re doing is to increase the overall quality of life for
people in that region of China,” she says.
The ultimate goal, Keung says, is to empower the
university students to carry on the work themselves.
“It’s not about developing one solution or even five,”
she says. “It’s about developing these students.”
Keung is now back in the U.S., working as chief of
staff at Dropbox’s legal department. But she remains
committed to her work in rural China, waking during
twilight hours to speak to researchers on the ground
in China and traveling there and to Europe in her spare
time to help manage projects and meet funders. “It
all comes at the cost of my sleep,” she jokes.
Keung still intends to go to business school, just a
bit later than planned. The skills she learns there will
help her continue to improve lives, fulfilling what she
calls her “moral responsibility.” —Justin Worland
CHRIS MCPHERSON FOR TIME