Zhiqiao Huang's family didn't understand her choice to pursue Africana Studies at Binghamton University, but the international student from China wasn't deterred.
"Injustice does exist and we have to be aware of what we do, no matter if you are the one who benefits or you are the one having your rights taken," said the 2024 graduate. "Our words and our actions represent the ideas we stand for. And for people who graduate from Africana Studies, we have a better sense of who we are and what we can contribute to society."
Huang earned bachelor's degrees in both Global Public Health and Africana Studies. She also holds two minors in biological anthropology and global studies.
She first came to Binghamton from Berkeley City College as a junior transfer student and a computer science major, in part due to familial pressure to follow a well-paying field. But Huang said she wasn't invested in the topic at all.
Her path to her passion, meanwhile, started with a single class.
"I was following the computer science major path, but I also had some general education courses to fulfill. I saw global health, taught by Dr. Titilayo Okoror, and I enrolled in that course," she recalled. "After taking the global health course, I realized that's what I want to do, no matter what."
At the time, global public health wasn't yet a major; it attained that status the following year. Okoror, the founding director of global public health and chair of the Africana Studies Department, advised Huang to major in Africana Studies first, since many of the courses overlapped.
She delved deep into the field, studying African dance and music, as well as topics such as globalization and the diaspora. But her real interest remained helping as many people as she could - before they even have the chance to suffer, if possible.
"When we think of health, we might think of medical health or pharmaceuticals. We treat people after they get sick. But public health is very different; we want to prevent people from getting sick," she said. "We want to create better infrastructures, create a better environment for physical and mental health. We want people to live in a healthy society. That's what I really want to do in my future: to create diversity, to help people with disadvantages and create an equal and happy place for all."
Beyond Binghamton
Huang had a chance to put her work into practice in 2023, when she travelled to Ghana and Vanuatu through the Provost's International Internship Fellowship program.
In Vanuatu, part of the Pacific Islands, Huang helped conduct a longitudinal study looking at chronic diseases under Koji Lum, a professor of anthropology and biological sciences who has been working in the country for several years.
"In Vanuatu, they are experiencing a health transition. Because of modernization and globalization, processed food has been coming into the country, and people started to eat food that was bad for their health," Huang said. "Obesity has increased dramatically, especially for women. We are collecting surveys and measurements from the islanders and, later, we use data analysis to evaluate that information."
The critical thing I learned in Binghamton is the concept of belonging. Cultures and institutions can transform, and we can all have a positive experience. If you are the only minority in the room, you feel isolated, and that is not a safe place. An environment without belonging is not a place that people can really thrive in. If we want people to feel like they belong, then we must create the conditions for belonging. If we try to create this culture of diversity, we can then feel conscious of embracing or even developing diversity within ourselves.
She had the opportunity to work with Okoror in Ghana, on a research project exploring traditional birth attendants' role in delivery and maternal childcare, and factors that influence nursing mothers' use of healthcare services. While there, Huang realized that improving health is never a straightforward path but must combine with local needs to create culturally appropriate interventions.
Huang recently received partial scholarship offers from New York University, Boston University, George Washington University and Emory University, as well as acceptance into a highly competitive and selective doctoral program at Penn State University for the Fall 2025 semester - the same program that Okoror graduated from. She will receive full tuition and a stipend to pursue her long-term goals: a PhD in bio-behavioral health.
"It really pointed out the direct path I wanted to take - to help disadvantaged populations in the current society who experience racism or socioeconomic discriminations," she said. "I want to not only study problems but actively work on solutions."
Ultimately, Huang finished her time at Binghamton with great connections and experiences under her belt - and a career to look forward to.
"If I didn't end up at Binghamton University, I would have never changed my major, and I feel very lucky because of the professors and all the people I've met," she said. "Binghamton's program looks at health with a holistic approach. People in the department may be studying very different things, but in the end, we all have the same goal: to improve health."
