Masha Vtorushina : Yenching Scholars Program
Masha Vtorushina (’25, Chinese Language and Global Studies) first started learning Mandarin in high school and had the opportunity to visit China, where she taught English at several schools, volunteered at a panda conservation site, and immersed herself in a new community. Eager to continue exploring, she became an exchange student at Peking University in 2024 and solo-traveled around China. Beyond academics, she is a professional athlete in the sports pole dance discipline, earning numerous champion titles, including the 2023 U.S National Professional Women’s Champion title at the world’s largest pole dance competition. At Berkeley, she founded the Dance Creation organization, a supportive space for dancers of all backgrounds to connect, learn, and share their art. At Yenching Academy, she hopes to analyze the symbolism of supernatural beings in Chinese contemporary literature and uncover how they reveal broader societal concerns.
