Welcome
Learn more about our current members and join us on our quest for knowledge and excellence!
Vision
In today’s age, the humanities have come increasingly under scrutiny as an unproductive field of study. However, this is simply not the case. The humanities offer an opportunity to improve one’s literary and artistic prowess, and to satisfy the innate urge to create and to connect with people across the globe. The Laurel Journal of Humanities was founded to make the field of humanities more accessible for avid high schoolers. We invite writers, artists, and readers from all backgrounds to share their passions and exchange perspectives and insights. We also endeavor to publish outstanding research papers, creative writing, and visual artwork all in one place. Finally, we value each and every perspective because we believe that diversity fosters inspiration and excellence. The ability to mentor, develop, and promote every contributor is the ultimate reward for us.
Mission
Our journal began with a small group of passionate high schoolers who shared the same vision: to provide students with a space to create, share, and engage in the Humanities. We endeavor to publish features such as outstanding research paper, creative writing, and visual artworks all in one place. We invite submissions and readers from every genre and from diverse backgrounds. We founded the Laurel Journal of Humanities, an online non-profit journal where artists and writers easily connect with other talented people from across the globe, to mentor, develop, and promote its contributors by including a diverse staff because we believe that every perspective should be honored and has the potential to be the catalyst for inspiration and excellence. Welcome to the Laurel Journal of Humanities!
Founders & Board Members
Meet the Board
Mira Lu
Mira Lu is a senior at Milton Academy, and she is excited to serve as the Editor-in-Chief at Laurel Humanities. Her favorite aspect of the humanities is using interdisciplinary thinking to probe the core of human consciousness, an interest that extends to her research in development economics focusing on social policy and rural economic equity. Her work has been recognized by the National History Day Competition, The New York Times, Harvard International Review, and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Some of her hobbies include playing classical piano, running cross country, skateboarding, and listening to music.
Sofia Wu
Sofia Wu is a senior at Miss Porters, and she's excited to serve as the Editor-in-Chief. Sofia is passionate about East Asian studies and international relations. Her research spans CCP censorship policies and the evolution of deaf education in the United States, consistently prioritizing a lens that uplifts marginalized narratives. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and playing tennis.
Chelsea Lee
Chelsea Lee is a Senior at The Hill School in Pennsylvania. Her role in the journal is Managing Editor. She has a deep interest in the humanities and loves exploring topics that impact society today as well as the past. Some of her work has been recognized by Scholastic Writing Awards and published in public journals. Fencing, baking, and gyming are a few of her hobbies.
Dora Mou
Dora Mou is a Senior at Boston University Academy, and she is more than honored to take on the responsibilities of LH’s Managing Editor. The aspect of humanities that she particularly loves is the lack of straightforward answers to any aspect of humanities; either one form informed opinions, or ask more informed questions. Recognized by both International and national outlets like The New York Times, Harvard International Review, The Concord Review, National Congress, and Scholastic Arts & Writing, she's more than ready to run wild into the garden of academia and share its fruits with the wider public through her sharp prose and original art pieces. In her spare time, She likes to realize her dream of publishing an asymmetrical survival board game version of her daydream fantasy novel Archea; randomly throw up oddly lyrical verses of Poetry; and practice her Olympic winning sport, air pistol.
Angela Yan
Angela Yan is a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School in northern Virginia, and she is excited to serve as Managing Editor for Laurel Humanities. An avid scholar in both STEM and the humanities, she is especially interested in interdisciplinary fields, such as digital classics and computational linguistics. She loves how the humanities encourage nuance and perspective across different cultural and historical contexts. Her work has been recognized by the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, Harvard International Review, and Threshold Literary Magazine. In her free time, she enjoys singing and songwriting, playing volleyball, and reading fiction.
Annie Song
Annie Song is a junior at Culver Academies in Indiana, and she is excited to serve as Senior Editor for Laurel Humanities. She likes tennis, air-rifle, and drawing. The aspect of humanities that she particularly loves is the aesthetics of languages. By emerging herself into creative writing, she believes that words can convey feelings that couldn’t be otherwise expressed through other media. She believes that good literature should evoke resonations. She is also interested in how humanities influence the society in the aspects of politics, psychology, gender equality etc, and how the words of ones could influence the community. Some of her work has been recognized by Scholastic Writing Awards and The John Locke Essay Competition.
Ethan Zhang
Ethan Zhang is a senior at La Jolla Country Day School. He is a senior editor of the Laurel Journal of Humanities. He enjoys playing chess and reading novels in his free time. His favorite aspect of humanities is how they help him understand the ideas, values, and experiences that shape people’s lives.
Cathy Liu is a senior at BASIS International School Park Lane Harbour. She is excited to serve as one of the senior editors at Laurel Humanities. She especially loves how the humanities allow us to question the world around us and rethink the stories, identities, and systems that shape our lives. Also, she believes that the humanities can be powerful tools to create safe spaces for the unheard voices. Her work has been recognized by National History Day, John Locke, and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. She’s a huge fan of all types of media, including films, theater productions, TV shows, manga, and music.
Dora Wang
Dora Wang is a junior at Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School in Pennsylvania. She is excited to serve as a Senior Editor for Laurel Humanities. She is particularly interested in history, literature, and the ways humanities connect the past with contemporary social issues. Her work has been recognized by the National History Day Competition and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. In her free time, she enjoys creative writing, playing tennis, and listening to music.
Cathy Liu
Jeffery Liu
Jeffrey Liu is a senior at the Webb Schools in California, and he is looking forward to serving as Senior Editor for Laurel Humanities. He uses literature as an extension from his practices of Chinese culture, including calligraphy, poetry and aesthetics. He holds the opinion that proper literature works preserves a universal virtuosity that endows human the ability in self-reflection. His works have been recognized by Scholastic Writing Awards.
James Lei
Allen Ma
Allen Ma is a junior at the Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science in New Jersey. Allen enjoys both STEM and the Humanities, especially the effects of technology on human nature and society. He is excited to serve as the Outreach Manager for Laurel Humanities. His work has been recognized by the John Locke Essay Contest. Some of his hobbies include playing volleyball, improvising new age piano music, and going for a run.
Caitlyn Wu
Caitlyn Wu is a junior at Beijing National Day School. Her role in the journal is Design Director. She holds a keen interest in the humanities. She loves studying how the media shapes public perspectives and enjoys exploring how ideas spread through art and communication. Singing and badminton are some of her hobbies.
Founders
Sherry Chen
Chief Executive Officer
Education:
Columbia University + Paris Institute of Political Studies
Alumni of The Baldwin School
Hometown: Shanghai + Bryn Mawr, PA
Personality: Genuine, Passionate, Curious
Statement:
I love the humanities because it helps me find connections between various societies and time periods. As one of the co-founders of Laurel Journal of Humanities, I am excited to see the intellectual fruition of scholars and artists all over the world.
Derek Days
Editor in Chief
Hometown: Newton, MA
Personality: Driven, Friendly, Capable
Statement:
The humanities brings together the beliefs, ideas, and logic of people across the world and across times. As one of the co-founders of the Laurel Journal of Humanities, I would love to share this infinite field of human expression with a diverse group of diligent scholars.
Thomas Guo
Chief Marketing Officer
Education: Culver Academies 23’
Hometown: Guangzhou + Culver, Indiana
Personality: Outgoing, Talkative, Enthusiastic
Statement:
I am a STEM-oriented student but I am passionate about literature and history as well because the humanities inspire me to think in different perspectives. As one of the co-founders of Laurel Journal of Humanities, I can’t wait to see the outstanding works of diverse global scholars.
