Two Joint PhD Students Named 2021 Karl Ma Endowed Scholars

PhD students Joonyoung Cho and Rita Hu have been selected as Karl Ma Endowed Scholars for 2021. The Karl Ma award supports students from Asia who wish to pursue careers in public service, particularly those in the schools of social work, education and nursing. 

“As an international student studying social work, which requires me to not only do research on campus but also commit to social work practices in our local communities, I face many unique challenges when wanting to engage with communities outside of U-M (i.e. limits on work hours and additional applications and justifications for off-campus work),” says Hu. “The Karl Ma Award will provide me the opportunities to focus on research and social work fieldwork. I plan to use the scholarship to participate in intervention and program evaluation projects, headed by our social work faculty, to further explore how to best serve older adults. 

“I am immensely grateful for the scholarship,” adds Cho. “For the first time, I will be able to focus exclusively on my research, and I will do my best to spend my time wisely and productively.”