Tiffany Li presents donation to AIUSA Executive Director Paul O’BrienPhoto credit: Amnesty International When Gaoyi Li played dress up as a child, she donned a black robe with a red buttoned strip down the center. It belonged to her grandfather, a Judge in Tianjin City, China, who she affectionately called “Ye Ye.” Esteemed for mediating spats at street markets as well as formally administering justice in the courts, Ye Ye exuded a quiet dignity. He tutored his grandchildren in the Confucian canon, setting an example of civic duty by earmarking a portion of every paycheck for a humanitarian organization. Upon emigrating to California at the age of five, Gaoyi swiftly Americanized: she adopted the nickname “Tiffany,” watched baseball games, and munched on popcorn. In true Ye Ye style, she became the go-to girl for de-escalating playground tensions and negotiating truces between friend groups. AIUSA Director of Racial Justice Terrance Sullivan with Tiffany Li As a teenager attending the Chadwick School, Tiffany gravitated to the field of political science. She was fascinated to learn that the Founding Fathers of the United States were interested in Chinese philosophy and that the east pediment of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., bears a statue of Confucius with the words “Justice the Guardian of Liberty.” When the Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation held a high school essay contest, she submitted the entry “The Evolution of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Assessing Effectiveness and Charting the Path Forward.” Tiffany won the Shared First Prize of $2,335 and promptly opened her very first bank account, writing a check for the full amount to Amnesty International, where she serves as Campaign Manager of the LA Chapter. Invited to deliver the donation in person at headquarters in Washington, D.C., Tiffany interviewed Amnesty’s Director of Racial Justice, Terrance Sullivan. “The hope for enduring human rights success is dependent upon youth being part of the movement; it was so inspiring to talk to Tiffany and learn about her aspirations,” commented Sullivan. Tiffany holds a leadership position in the Empathy Innovation Initiative Student Advocacy Group of Harvard faculty member Catherine Eaton which has produced the mini-documentary film project Bound by Myth: Confronting Black and Asian Narratives in Mass Incarceration. Tiffany Li at the U.S. Capitol Whether Tiffany is gathering signatures to oppose the new $3.5 billion LA jail construction project, encouraging Angelenos to vote in the next Grants Challenge as an LA2050 Youth Ambassador, or fighting for legislation to aid the world’s poor as Student Advocate of The Borgen Project, she continues to draw strength from Ye Ye’s unwavering commitment to justice. In fact, Tiffany aspires to one day apply her well-honed bicultural diplomatic skills to help remedy Sino-American conflict on the world stage. Meanwhile, Ye Ye’s example remains a powerful guide for this young changemaker as she charts her own path 7,233 miles across the globe. The post LA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT DONATES KEMPER PRIZE TO AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL appeared first on LA Weekly.