\u201cMy advisors in the Department of Integrative Biology, and honestly every graduate student\/professor\/staff in that department, are the coolest, most amazing people I’ve ever met. My advisors helped me navigate my stress, planned my entire four-year career here, introduced me to new experiences and challenged me to be a better student,” said Milan.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
“They’re always an email away whenever I need advice. From them, I learned that there are so many research volunteer\/work experiences in the College of Science!\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/impact\/files\/2017\/09\/Sengthep-Milan-and-wombat-copy-682x700.jpg\")
Milan with a wombat at a sanctuary she visited while studying abroad at James Cook University in Australia.<\/p><\/div>\n
A junior majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry, Milan was born and raised in Boise, Idaho, where her parents immigrated from Thailand. Throughout her childhood they worked extremely hard to establish a new life, always encouraging Milan and her brother to pursue education, especially as it \u201cdid not really come easy for them.\u201d Her mother completed her bachelor’s degree in Thailand before emigrating but her father left before he finished high school. Despite diligent efforts, due to the pressing need to provide for his family and to language difficulties, he was unable to complete his diploma here.<\/p>\n
Milan\u2019s Wei Family Foundation Scholarship has filled her with \u201cecstatic emotions\u201d and enduring \u201cfinancial stress relief.\u201d Supporting undergraduate and graduate science students with a 3.5 GPA or higher, especially those of Chinese ancestry and\/or who have lived in China, the Wei Family Foundation Scholarships total about $100,000 per year with awards ranging from $6-8,000 per student. The scholarship honors the legacy of pioneering OSU alumna Chung Kwai Lui, who was not only one of the first two students to enroll in the newly formed physics graduate program in 1936, but was also OSU\u2019s first female Ph.D. student in physics in 1941.<\/p>\n
Milan, whose maternal great-grandmother\u2019s family and grandfather both emigrated to Thailand from China, is half-Chinese and half-Thai. Her spirit of adventure and love of travel and new cultures echo that of Wei Scholarship founder Chung Kwai Lui, who emigrated to OSU directly from China.<\/p>\n
Touring Oregon State when she was in high school, Milan and her family had no doubt that this was the place.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all fell in love. I adored how the campus looked with all the bricks and trees, a cozy, college town so totally different from back home. But what hooked me the most was the opportunities in research, especially in the marine science field. Hatfield Marine Science Center definitely hooked me too, and being only an hour or two away from the coast is a huge plus!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Marine science has been Milan\u2019s desired career ever since a middle-school field trip to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, highlighting once again the powerful impact of early exposure to science in elementary and middle-school. Passionate about her studies, Milan also makes time to volunteer, taking on a leadership role as co-secretary of the Integrative Biology student club.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do super fun things, from volunteering for surrounding environmental groups to taking road trips and camping in the majestic Red Woods to sleeping with the sharks at the Oregon Coast Aquarium! We also help students get involved on campus. Check us out on Facebook @OSU Integrative Biology Club!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
As if that weren\u2019t enough, Milan is also a \u201cnewbie\u201d photographer who posts her work on Instagram (@msenphotos) and a passionate member of New Shoes, OSU\u2019s ballroom dance troupe, which last year took 2nd<\/sup> and 3rd<\/sup> place at the PDX DanceSport statewide competition. Interestingly, Milan didn\u2019t start dancing until she took a ballroom dancing PAC (Physical Activity Course) as a freshman, acting on a dream she\u2019s had since she was a four-year-old fan of TV dancing shows and demonstrating, in her own words, that \u201cIt\u2019s never too late to start!\u201d<\/p>\n
After graduation, Milan intends to combine a master\u2019s degree with her love of travel, applying to programs on the East Coast, Hawaii or even Australia. She hopes to carry on the spirit of generosity behind the Wei Family Foundation Scholarship, and, someday in the future, fund a student who like her might feel \u201cecstatic emotions\u201d and welcome financial relief upon learning that they were the recipient of \u201cthis amazing scholarship!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Half a world away in Australia, Milan Sengthep, a Wei Family Foundation Scholar, studied with world-renowned marine scientists at James Cook 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