Michelle Miao ‘26, from Oxford, Ohio, is majoring in Politics and minoring in History and East Asian Studies. Her academic interests center on international relations and foreign policy, with focus on European Union enlargement and democratic backsliding, US-China relations, and post-colonial politics in Hong Kong. She is also interested in queer history, and is currently researching twentieth century AIDS activism among women and minority groups. Additionally, she is interested in housing affordability, domestic electoral politics, and voter mobilization. Last summer, Miao interned at the Center for the Study of Democracy in Sofia, Bulgaria. As part of the Security Program, she researched ethnonationalism and right-wing extremism in the Western Balkans and facilitated interviews with leaders across EU member states to evaluate the effects of internal security funds on migration, human trafficking, and other cross-border issues. In the summer of 2023, she studied advanced Chinese language and Chinese current affairs through the Inter-University Program at Tsinghua University in Beijing. On campus, Miao is an International News editor for the Princeton Political Review, a former News and current Opinion contributor for the Daily Princetonian, and former president of Princeton College Democrats. She also currently serves as Communications Director for the College Democrats of New Jersey and Vice Chair of the College Democrats of America AANHPI Caucus.