Conversations about finance in the U.S. rarely include systems that operate outside formal banks. In discussions within my community about money, one practice that consistently comes up is equb, a group-based rotating savings and credit system where members contribute and take turns receiving a payout.
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Historically, the flow of global capital and ambition was unidirectional in the 20th century. The United States was not just a country; the American Dream heralded a meritocracy for anyone seeking to build the future. However, that gravity has quickly shifted eastward.
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The opportunities to visit Asia with the Milken Scholar stipend have opened my eyes to new experiences and new perspectives. As I was preparing for my second Asia trip and the perspectives I would be learning about I was struck with an epiphany I had while in my first Asia trip.
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My research into postpartum support offered to women in South Korea started at the National Folk Museum of Korea located in Seoul within the grounds of Gyeongbokgung Palace. I was particularly interested in the permanent exhibition on birth and early life rituals showing how Koreans have historically understood pregnancy, motherhood, infancy, and hope for a child’s future.
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As a UX designer at an AI startup, my daily challenge is to bridge the gap between complex machine intelligence and the messy, intuitive reality of human life. In my work, I seek inventive ways to help people help themselves lead productive and satisfying lives. This past month, I traveled through Japan in search of design principles that might inform how we build the next generation of AI. What I found was not simply aesthetic inspiration, but a fundamentally different relationship between guidance, safety, minimalism, and technology—one that offers important lessons for AI design.
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High-speed rail projects have often been viewed as environmentally beneficial and an innovative form of mass transit. In particular, they serve as an effective way of limiting carbon emissions, the importance of which is ever-pressing, given the impact climate change has had and will continue to have on our planet in the coming years. These infrastructure projects can play a major role in improving the long-term environmental health of local communities, one of the primary focuses of the Milken Institute.
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I went looking for authenticity and came back thinking more about where my money goes, what it rewards, and what it quietly replaces.
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Knowledge is one of the greatest gifts we can share and receive from others as it allows us to build on ideas to further innovations and progress within our world. Sometimes we get used to routines, habits and things that feel consistent and stable. Getting comfortable in the status quo can lead to stagnation when there is a lack of innovation. As time passes other aspects of the world are changing whether it be for the good or for the worse and it’s important we are aware and adapt to those changes. Adapting doesn’t always mean giving up what we know as truth and getting rid of it to adopt something new. Often times change is viewed as throwing out the old and welcoming in the new.
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When my plane landed in Bogotá, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had come to Colombia hoping to understand the local culture and societal infrastructure. What I discovered was how young people find purpose when opportunity is scarce, and what structures help them stay in school. What I discovered over the next two weeks, traveling from Bogotá to Medellín to Cartagena, went far beyond classrooms. My discoveries ranged from observations of the walls of the city, the rhythm of its streets, and in the choices people make when life demands creativity to survive.
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The armed conflict in Colombia was a nightmarish period that has lasted 60 years, leaving a dark stain and puzzle in the minds of thousands of civilians. With the UN Resolution 1325 and the Colombian government’s admission of the disproportionate violence women endure in conflicts, an enormous bottom-up feminist movement has fought to address the violence women still face in the country. However, there are still effects that are not widely discussed. The Colombian armed conflict played a significant role in the formation of patriarchal systems that, especially with a negligent state, have worked to normalize gender-based violence and revictimization cycles. This has generated a distinct intergenerational trauma.
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According to the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) which considers a nation’s overall economic growth, life expectancy, health, education and quality of life, both Vietnam and the Philippines are considered to be developing nations. This comes as no surprise once we consider their turbulent paths towards national sovereignty with neither country achieving true independence until the mid to late 20th century. However, despite their difficult beginnings, both nations have successfully harnessed their pasts to bolster national economic growth and provide their citizens with productive and satisfying lives by opening up their past historical landmarks for tourism.
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To celebrate graduating in May 2025, I went to Japan. Three friends and I crammed all that we could into one week, separating the trip into three cities: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima. Since we had a limited time to internalize the people, personalities, food, scenery, and experiences of these locations, we tried to make our intentions clear. For every piece of frivolous fun, we bore a deeper analytical purpose in mind.
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