My Lantern Scholars Story: Jules Chapin-Tsai '28

My name is Jules (she/her) and I’m a sophomore, class of 2028. I grew up in Tucson, Arizona, but just recently moved to Asheville, North Carolina. I’m a prospective French and Political Science double major with a Growth and Structure of Cities minor.

I first learned about the Lantern Scholars program through an email, after joining Bryn Mawr’s mailing list as a junior in high school.

I decided to apply and ended up participating because I was very enthusiastic to learn more about Bryn Mawr’s community and was thrilled to have the chance to visit campus and interact with current students for a weekend. I was deciding between a couple of other schools, but after this weekend, I knew that Bryn Mawr was the right fit for me.  

The chance to be a Lantern Scholar is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. When I stepped on campus, it was a dream come true. I was in awe of the beautiful castle-like architecture and the Mawrter's achievements, but my favorite part was meeting new people I could easily click with. Bryn Mawr students are the kindest, most creative, and compassionate people I have ever met in my life. They have an academic curiosity and a strong sense of community that makes our campus life thrive, especially with our hard-working Student Government that makes Bryn Mawr an inclusive friendly space for all.  

I got the chance to spend the weekend with a current sophomore at the time Glory Zhang, who is now a senior and has become my mentor (my rose to my bud) and close friend. During the fly-in program, she gave me a campus tour and showed me her favorite spots. The highlight of my experience was when I visited her dorm floor, which was the Pan-Asian Floor of the Intercultural Learning Living Center (ILLC), which is one of two themed housing options on campus. The interactions I had with the residents on the Pan-Asian floor made me feel like Bryn Mawr could be my home away from home.  

"The interactions I had with the residents on the Pan-Asian floor made me feel like Bryn Mawr could be my home away from home."  

After the Lantern Scholars weekend, I decided to apply to live on the ILLC.

The other themed floors within the ILLC are the BIPOC belonging floor and the Interfaith floor. Each floor has monthly hall hangouts called "Apps" where we pick a restaurant to cater appetizers from, and gather together to talk about shared experiences. These types of events foster a friendly, welcoming community, and I truly loved living on the Pan-Asian floor my first year. I made a lot of friends and made connections with upperclassmen that helped my transition from high school to college a smooth one.  

Now, I'm an executive board member of one of Bryn Mawr’s Alliance of Multicultural Organizations (AMOs) and the treasurer of Bryn Mawr’s Asian Students’ Association (ASA).

We coordinate hosting biweekly events like Night Market Game Night, Paint and Sips with boba, Flower Crown Making, Movie Nights with snacks and more! Our biggest event happens in the Fall, the ASA Fall Culture Show where we have student performances (dances, spoken word poetry, musical performances, etc), guest speakers, and a fashion show (modeling traditional clothing). It is a night filled with fun performances, open to the whole campus, including the tri-co (Haverford and Swarthmore).  I also recently started my own Argentine Tango Club where I teach once a week, and I am a French TA for elementary French.  

My advice for prospective students is to take the opportunity to explore our academic opportunities, our 100+ clubs and student organizations on campus, and talk to current Bryn Mawr students if you would like to learn more about campus culture to see if it is the right fit for you. You can reach out to tour guides on !  

I highly encourage prospective students to apply to the Lantern Scholars fly-in program.

You learn a lot by being on campus and interacting with community members. I personally love Bryn Mawr for its student life, small liberal arts classes, friendly community, traditions, our diverse community organizations, and its proximity to Philadelphia by train.