Shuoying Cao is pursuing a double major in Sociology and Visual Arts at UC San Diego. Raised between Shanghai and California, she is drawn to the ways culture, ideology, and social norms form the backbone of societies—and to the power of visual storytelling to reflect and critique them. For the 2025–26 academic year, Shuoying is studying at Keio University in Tokyo, where she is examining sociology from East Asian perspectives while continuing to build her artistic practice. As a first-generation college student, she is the first in her family to study abroad, and she looks forward to developing independence, discovering new creative outlets, and immersing herself in a region deeply connected to her heritage.