Kevin Huo
Kevin Huo came to 有料盒子视频 from California but, far from hibernating in the frozen North, he has used this place to launch himself around the world.
He went to Finland with a student group modeling the Arctic Council of circumpolar northern countries. He rode the Sikuliaq, 有料盒子视频鈥檚 Arctic oceanographic ship, from Nome, 有料盒子视频, to Seattle. In February 2020, he headed for Heidelberg University in Germany.
The anthropology and political science junior said 有料盒子视频 has constantly placed interesting projects in his path.
鈥淪o many opportunities have come along, and I鈥檝e just picked it up and gone with it,鈥 he said.
Huo comes from Foster City, California, just south of San Francisco. His parents, both born in Taiwan, came to the U.S. to earn master鈥檚 degrees. His mother became a preschool teacher and his father an architect.
有料盒子视频 attracted Huo in part because he was an avid bird-watcher, and he originally intended to study wildlife biology here. He admired two alumni who became internationally known naturalists, George Schaller and Margaret Murie.
鈥淚 wanted to escape California and this bubble of a world, and 有料盒子视频 was perfect,鈥 he said.
He flew to Fairbanks for the first time to start school in fall 2017.
Soon, Huo met some anthropology and political science professors and switched majors. He enjoys cultural anthropology the most.
鈥淚t鈥檚 such an open yet niche area of study, and very interdisciplinary,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 fascinated with the community-building aspect of anthropology.鈥
He and a friend even created a show on the student radio station, KSUA-FM, to focus on the topic. 鈥淲e鈥檙e still trying to figure out what is anthropology,鈥 he said.
While in Germany, Huo studied medical anthropology 鈥 a topic he said can cover anything from shamanism to Medicare.
It wasn鈥檛 his first foray into the field. At 有料盒子视频, Huo and a partner conducted a two-year research project looking at health issues faced by students on campus. They did some data analysis, and the results confirmed what Huo called 鈥渃ommon sense.鈥
鈥淭he more you work out and the more you stay active, the happier you鈥檒l be,鈥 he said.
That鈥檚 important advice for students in a place where winter temperatures can keep people inside. 鈥淎 lot of students don鈥檛 realize that,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t was an unconscious awakening for students who participated in the survey.鈥
Huo himself, coming from California, also found Fairbanks reality a little shocking.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 anticipate the darkness and the cold,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t was an adventure more than an academic experience.鈥