Chester Eng MGA ‘22

Fletcher MGA candidate Chester Eng, whose field of study is International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, shares a reflection about his AAPI background and how it has shaped his ability to navigate the multicultural world around him.  

A getting-to-know-you conversation I had with a fellow Fletcher student I met for the first time within the past week recently inspired pride in my heritage. As the first child of immigrant parents who are from two different countries (father from China and mother from Indonesia) born in the United States and raised in a fairly homogenous community, I instinctually learned to navigate, understand, and reconcile multiple cultures growing up.

For as long as I remember, I've always been in places where I'm much different from those around me, which has made me constantly consider how I find common ground with others. I think such a lifelong intensive social and cultural experience has made me adept at empathizing with those who are ostensibly unlike me and bridging divides by seeking commonalities with them.

Such an ability to connect with others has helped me extract even more value from my time at Fletcher, a vibrant academic and social mosaic. I take immense pride in my capacity to view the world multidimensionally, a product of my heritage.