Hunter Juniors Win Public-Affairs Fellowships at Princeton University

Congratulations to Crystal Yeh and Erika Larsen, both juniors at Hunter, who have won highly competitive Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowships.

As PPIA Fellows, they will receive generous grants for graduate school and will spend next summer completing intensive studies in economics, statistics, public policy and public speaking at Princeton University.

Yeh, a Queens native passionately committed to environmental protection, is pursuing a double major in Chinese and environmental studies, with a minor in public policy. She is enrolled in Hunter's Chinese Flagship Program, which includes a year in China and strives to graduate students with a professional level of proficiency in Chinese language and culture.

This fall, Yeh began her 2013-14 year in China with courses at Nanjing University. Next, she will take up a spring internship at the Beijing office of the World Resources Institute, a top environmental think tank. She plans to earn a master's in public policy and, ultimately, to work for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Yeh reacted to the news of her PPIA Fellowship with this advice to her fellow students: "I encourage all those interested in a public service career with previous volunteer experience to apply - and continue to show the world what Hunter students can achieve!"

Larsen, a student in the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter, is pursuing a major in philosophy and a certificate in public policy. A native of Staten Island, she has supplemented her Hunter education with a host of internships in city government; she is currently a legislative aide in the Manhattan Borough President's Office. Larsen plans to earn a law degree and a master's in public affairs and remain in her beloved city, working in the public sector.

"I feel blessed to have the opportunity to attend the PPIA institute at Princeton this summer," she said. "I'm looking forward to using this experience to expand what I know about policymaking and the public sector."