Duke Student Thang Lian Named Beinecke Scholar

He is among 19 students nationwide selected in the 2024 class of scholars

Thang Lian

Duke University junior Thang Lian is among 19 students nationwide selected as one of the 2024 Beinecke scholars. Beinecke scholars receive $5,000 immediately prior to entering graduate school and an additional $30,000 while attending graduate school to study arts, humanities, or social sciences. Lian is the 13th Duke student who has received the scholarship since the program welcomed its first class in 1975.

Lian, a Rubenstein Scholar and a Mellon Mays Fellow, is majoring in history and international comparative studies and minoring in Asian American and diaspora studies. Being from a refugee family from Myanmar shaped his interest in exploring critical refugee studies and how knowledge produced by refugees can be used to orient us towards better worlds. As a part of his Mellon Mays Fellowship, he spent his summer conducting oral histories with Chin refugees in the United States. The Chin people are a diverse group of peoples indigenous to the Chin Hills of Myanmar who have become refugees following persecution by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military). He also plans to expand a program he founded called Roots, which supports Chin youth in high school with mentorship and resources.

“My dream is to engage with scholarship in ways that benefit my community by funneling all that I have learned and am doing back to the Chin people. This moment is so much bigger than me.”

Thang Lian

“My main goal in life is to put the Chin community first,” said Lian. “My dream is to engage with scholarship in ways that benefit my community by funneling all that I have learned and am doing back to the Chin people. This moment is so much bigger than me. This is for my family, my community and my ancestors.”

Lian is also thankful to his mentors, among them Calvin Cheung-Miaw, Susan Thananopavarn, and Wesley Hogan. “[They] have been instrumental in shaping not only my scholarship, but who I am,” he said.

The Beinecke Scholarship Program, established in 1971 to honor Edwin, Frederick and Walter Beinecke, seeks to encourage and enable highly motivated students to pursue opportunities available to them in a graduate school of their choice.

Duke juniors who are considering applying should contact a Nationally Competitive Scholarships advisor. The deadline for individuals applying through the Duke campus process for the 2025-2026 academic year is February 21, 2025. For more information about the Beinecke Scholarship Program, visit https://beineckescholarship.org/