C14 THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE
Voices of America
Renee Xiang: Witness to opportunity By Edward Booth Enterprise staff writer Renee Xiang, a recent graduate of Davis Senior High School who’s lived in Davis since she was 1 year old, will be off to Chicago in the fall to study film at DePaul University. Xiang also worked as a print editor for The HUB, the DHS student newspaper, last year, over a period of time in which students were learning from a distance and were relatively disconnected from their classmates because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Xiang said in an email that she feels like she grew up between two different spheres of influence, in a way — though she’s lived in Davis pretty much all her life, she’s also spent quite a few summers visiting her grandparents in Wuxi, China, a city of several million people. Xiang added that though she’s excited for change and to explore Chicago, Davis has been an amazing place to grow up in. “Compared to Wuxi, I would say that Davis is definitely a much more quiet and sheltered community, which of course has its pros and its cons,” Xiang said in an email. “It’s hard to know a big city with the kind of familiarity with which you can know a town like Davis, and that has both made me feel more connected to it and — as I’ve gotten older — has made me a bit desperate for some change in scenery.” Xiang said that, as the daughter of firstgeneration Chinese immigrants, she’s never had to interact directly with the American Dream in the
“It’s hard to know a big city with the kind of familiarity with which you can know a town like Davis, and that has both made me feel more connected to it and — as I’ve gotten older — has made me a bit desperate for some change in scenery.” Renee Xiang
FRIDAY, JULY 2, 2021 way her parents have. She said she feels like her whole childhood consisted of her witnessing her parents carry out their version of the American Dream firsthand, and, despite the prejudices and flaws that exist within the American socioeconomic system, their story will always be immensely inspirational to her. Xiang added that though she and her family don’t typically do anything special to celebrate the Fourth of July, she believes that the holiday should be a time for both celebration and reflection. Xiang hopes to eventually work in the film industry. She’s inspired by films such as “Parasite” and the “Florida Project,” which she said are not only completely original screenplays with sizable budgets — “which is seemingly becoming increasingly rare in the film industry (and especially in Hollywood), she said — but are also pioneers for diverse representation on and off the screen. Xiang, in an interview for a previous story, said her work in journalism, and especially the mission to “give voice to the voiceless,” resonates with her personally when it comes to filmmaking.
Courtesy photo
Renee Xiang, right, connects with HUB classmates Allyson Kang, left, and Priscilla Lee.
“Even though the Oscars were a bit of a disappointment this year, seeing filmmakers like Lee Isaac Chung and Chloé Zhao being nominated for and winning major awards is a huge step forward in a largely white male-dominated industry,” Xiang said.
Renee Xiang takes a selfie from the top of Willis Tower in Chicago. She will be off to Chicago in the fall to study film at DePaul University. Courtesy photo
