Tenzin Kunsang is a graduate of Cornell University with a BA in biology and society, and a minor in inequality studies on the Health Equity Track. During her time on campus, she was involved in public health and education initiatives with a specific focus on equity, social justice, and cross-cultural dialogue. This included clubs and organizations such as Cornell Center for Health Equity Undergraduate Chapter, College & Career Readiness Initiative, Community Learning and Service Partnership, and the Arts & Sciences Ambassadors Program. She also has experience in communications, having worked as the science editor for her school’s newspaper and as a communications intern at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. As a Gilman Scholar and Laidlaw Scholar, she traveled to Fiji, Nepal, and India during her undergraduate years.
A six-decade-old institution founded in Dharamshala, India, the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) has evolved in tandem with the sociopolitical “Tibet issue” within the India-China-U.S. triangle. As a result, there has been a rise in Himalayan descendants and overseas Tibetan refugees in TCV, but a decrease in Tibetan refugees directly from Tibet. Tenzin’s Fulbright-Nehru project in Dharamshala is particularizing the term “Himalayans” to analyze which regions are experiencing the most outmigration into TCV and why TCV is a more favorable schooling option compared to more proximate schools. Through semi-structured interviews, archival and ethnographic fieldwork, and participant observation, she is also examining how TCV students have become key components in promoting identity formation and kinship networks. On completion of the project, Tenzin plans on transferring the skills she acquired from it to pursuing an MPH at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health.