Do What You Love: An Interview With Carolyn Meng From New Jersey

Aaryana Sethi

Welcome! Today, we’re talking to Carolyn Meng from New Jersey…

Hi Carolyn, thank you for your time! Would you please introduce yourself?

Hey, I’m Carolyn, and I’m a junior from the US. I went to Yale Young Global Scholars (Politics, Law and Economics) this past summer, and I’m basically addicted to quiz bowl; I’m the captain of my school team. I love reading, usually about politics or history.

That’s really amazing, and I think you embody our mission perfectly. So, let’s start with a couple questions directly about SHE! S is for Strength; I’d love to know what the word strength means to you.

Strength has a lot to do with resilience. It’s not just how well or confidently you can present yourself, but also how well you can recover for mistakes. Perseverance in the face of adversity is key to strength, but most of all, strength is having confidence in yourself, and showing it to the world. It’s knowing yourself, shortcomings and all, but accentuating your assets and using them to your advantage.

Yes! Young women face so many challenges today that remembering to be resilient and to know your own faults but still push forward is so so important. In that vein, what do you think the role of honor is in today’s world? What does the word mean to you?

Honor is doing things the right way, no unnecessary or unethical shortcuts. It means that you and the world can be proud of your success, and not doubt it because it’s tainted. If you regret doing something, then you haven’t done it with honor.

That’s really well-put. So often, we regret doing or saying something after the fact, and we just need remember how important it is to take a moment first and make sure to think through our actions and their consequences. I know that you’re involved in a lot of activities that require you to approach and interact with adults. Could you tell me a little about how comfortable you are with talking to adults in professional settings? What’s changed from where you started, and what advice would you have for other girls?

In general, I’m more comfortable talking to adults than my peers, especially in more professional or formal settings. I’d say it’s because these settings usually cover topics that I’m more comfortable with, such as politics. In general, I’d say to be yourself, but stay professional. Don’t goof around, but also don’t be so uptight that it’s clear to your audience that you’re uncomfortable. Many times, you’ll be talking with men, which I found intimidating at the beginning, but it’s not something to be afraid of. If you know your stuff, you hold power in your setting, so be prepared.

Perseverance in the face of adversity is key to strength, but most of all, strength is having confidence in yourself, and showing it to the world.

That’s really great advice; especially what you said about there being power in knowledge. No one can take that knowledge away from you, and I think you’re right in that being prepared is a great way to overcome any obstacle you might come across—especially being a woman in professional settings. Was there ever such a situation where you didn’t appreciate being a girl/woman? What’s changed for you since then?

I’ve never not appreciated it so much as others have regarded me as lesser as a result of my gender. I play on a co-ed high school golf team, and at tryouts my freshman year, I was shorter and smaller than all the guys, and obviously, a girl. Teammates have acted angry and surprised when I outplayed them, and would comment about how far I could hit it, yet I could consistently beat them and earned a varsity letter. I guess maybe there were times where I felt worthless because of my gender, but I always appreciated being a girl.

What you accomplished is really amazing for anyone, girl or not, and I think the fact that you haven’t let those sorts of remarks get to you enough to prevent you from your goals is admirable! Are there any other activities where you’ve felt the pressure to be perfect, or felt like you would never measure up just because you’re a girl?

Quiz bowl is a largely white-male dominated activity, and I’ve personally encountered male teammates who demeaned or questioned my worth to the team, despite the fact I was clearly better than them. It took so many games to prove my worth to them, and I always knew inside that if I was a guy, it would have made this proving ground easier. Yet by fighting on, being selected [as] captain by coaches, and by mounting more than a few comebacks, I was able to prove my worth to others, and myself.

You hold power in your setting.

Despite obstacles like the ones you’ve described, what have you accomplished that you’d regard as your biggest achievement?

Either captaining my quiz bowl team to nationals qualification, or being recognized both for my ability and leadership on my team and in the region. Very few girls have been quiz bowl captains, or even great players. Being recognized as a top-level generalist gave me a lot of confidence in my ability, and showed that you really can make others take notice. Quiz bowl captaincy showed that I was more than this; I could effectively lead a team. This started when I did timeout management and a lot of substitution organization at nationals last year, overruling our captain and coach to put us in the best position to win.

What made you pursue that path? How did you know Quiz bowl captaincy was your goal?

Quiz bowl is basically an addiction to me at this point, and I put a lot of heart and effort into it. I would say my interest in it was self driven, as I always like reading about the random facts that tended to come up.

Feminism: noun: advocating for equal rights AND responsibilities for all, regardless of gender or gender identity. It’s fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves.

Have you had any mentors in your Quiz bowl years, or any other times? What has mentorship meant to you?

Having mentors has really helped to influence me in two places: golf, and quiz bowl. My second golf coach was truly a mentor in the sense that he helped me grow and learn about life outside of the game, and instilled keeping a level head and getting over your mistakes. My quiz bowl team’s captain my freshman year was a girl, one of the few on the quiz bowl circuit, and to see a girl who was so respected as such a leader was amazing, and drove me to both be a better player and a better leader.

I see that female leaders in Quiz bowl have mean, and mean, a lot to you. How would you define feminism? What does it mean to you?

Feminism: noun: advocating for equal rights AND responsibilities for all, regardless of gender or gender identity. It’s fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves.

Wow! That’s a really great definition: equal responsibility, not just rights, is such an important concept. Have you seen it play out in other parts of your life? What cause are you most passionate about? How do you support that cause, and what do you think is the best way for people to advocate for what they believe in? 

I’m really not sure what cause I’m most passionate about, and I haven’t really participated in activism. If I had to pick, I’d say LGBT rights, mental health or female empowerment. To all of them, I’d say that my support involves being the best that I can be and representing them well, as well as always remembering the person. For general advocacy, I’d say to not be afraid. Read Madeleine Albright’s commencement speech to Mount Holyoke. That is how you should drive yourself. Don’t be afraid of what others say, but always remember the human on the other side.

To see a girl who was so respected as such a leader was amazing, and drove me to both be a better player and a better leader.

Clearly, you do a lot, and you do it all really well. How do you manage your workload? What does a typical day look like for you?

I usually get up around 6:30, and get to school around 7:45. School lasts until 2:45, and we have 6 classes per day. After school, I either go to the library to study and do homework, or go to extracurriculars (golf, quiz bowl, science olympiad last year). I spend a lot of my time organizing quiz bowl things, usually teams and events, and some studying for it. I’ll usually go to sleep around 11.

That sounds like a really packed day! I know you’ve mentioned how much you love to read in the past. What’s your favorite book today? Is it the same as in middle school? How about movies?

[My] favorite book now: probably Politics by Hendrik Hertzberg. [My] favorite movie: Bridge of Spies. In 8th grade, probably the Percy Jackson series and Mission Impossible series. How times have changed.

Classics! On a more serious note, where do you see yourself going from here? What’s your ten year vision for yourself?

I’d probably go to grad school, and would love to get a doctorate, so hopefully in a PhD program.

Thank you so much for your insights today, Carolyn. As a final thought, if you could give one piece of advice to your eighth-grade-self, what would it be?

Do what you love, and don’t worry about what others think of you for doing it.

Great advice! Thank you again, Carolyn!

Check out Carolyn’s amazing work and accomplishments on Instagram: @caro_meng