Jemimah Wei
Class of 2015 (UG) & Class of 2018 (PG)
MFA Candidate at Columbia University | Host | Writer

My time at NTU was very precious to me - not just in terms of studying under the stellar, committed cast of professors, but also in terms of the community of writers and readers I forged in my time there. Given the massive range of courses both within the School of Humanities, the larger College of Arts and Social Sciences, and the University as a whole, we were constantly encouraged to dabble, to diversify, and as a result, saw learning not just as study, but also as play. This took shape in my media work later on, both onscreen as a host, and behind the scenes as screenwriter and producer.

Since graduating, I've returned to NTU to do my MA in English, Creative Writing, which included a year of teaching, and am now pursuing my MFA in Fiction at Columbia, where I've recently been named a 2020 De Alba fellow. Writing is solitary but a writer's life is not. Finding mentorship in NTU's writing department was absolutely essential to me in illuminating the ways a writing practice could manifest, especially with regards to sharpening my concerns as a writer. It also solidified my belief in the importance of a reading and writing community, which later led to my work with local booksellers on in-store curation, and with regional organizations on establishing a scholarship and mentorship program for students interested in pursuing an education in the arts and humanities.