10 Years of Cardinal Quarter: Regina Kong
Regina Kong, ’23; Master’s Student in Geography, University of Oxford
Cardinal Quarter Placements: Tidelines Institute [formerly Inian Islands Institute] (2019)
What impact did your Cardinal Quarter experience have on you?
During my Cardinal Quarter in the summer of 2019, I was fortunate to be placed with Tidelines Institute (formerly Inian Islands Institute), working with their ecological field school on a remote island homestead in Southeast Alaska. My project involved hitching rides with local fishers and interviewing community members for an oral history project, now archived under the Library of Congress with the University of Alaska Fairbanks. It's hard to fully articulate the value of this experience, as it's one that continues to resonate over six years later. My Cardinal Quarter exposed me to new ways of thinking and living, introduced me to lifelong best friends, and challenged many worldviews I previously took for granted. Spending that summer in Alaska and working closely with community partners, I learned the magic that comes from a sense of openness and curiosity, gaining invaluable skills in listening, communication, and resilience. To this day, I'm immensely grateful to the wonderful staff and donors at the Haas Center for their generous support of these life-altering off-campus learning opportunities.
How did your Cardinal Quarter influence your academic, career, or life choices?
My Cardinal Quarter reinforced my interest in storytelling and working closely with rural communities. After graduating Stanford, I then pursued a graduate degree in geography at the University of Oxford, where I worked alongside NGOs and nomadic herders in Mongolia to investigate the effects of mining for communities in the Gobi Desert. More personally, my time in Alaska encouraged me to take on challenging projects, and to respond with humility and respect to different perspectives and viewpoints. As I pursue a career in journalism and the arts, I think back often to my Cardinal Quarter as a reminder that some of the best experiences in life are the ones that surprise you!
What is one memory or lesson from your Cardinal Quarter that has stayed with you?
Learning how much work and care it takes to grow, fish, hunt, and forage for food was a memorable moment from my Cardinal Quarter experience!
What does public service mean to you today?
Although I was raised in a single-parent immigrant family, I also recognize how privileged I am to have attended an institution like Stanford, which has so many resources—financial, intellectual, and otherwise—available to students. Especially when I reflect upon how my experience in Alaska was only possible with the support of the Haas Center, I think about public service in terms of being aware of what skills or privileges I might possess, then trying to imagine how I might make the best use of them. It means not being complacent or indifferent to what's going on around me, and to try my best to live my life in service towards a more fair, compassionate, and just world, both in terms of small actions and more public-facing activities.
