Diving into the Stanford Community

Meet Bowen Jiang!

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Ryan: If money were no object what would you do? Bowen: Finish this tiresome class, Chem 33, and go spend time in a coral reef somewhere with a camera and my own dive gear all day every day.

Ryan: Have you always been passionate about marine bio? Bowen: As a little kid, I took baths with a dishrag I pretended was a manta ray. I’d beg my parents to take me on yearly trips to the Monterey tide pools and aquarium. Then, in middle school I curated my own saltwater aquariums and started voraciously reading about marine biology! Ever since I was young, I’ve loved the ocean!

Ryan: What intrigues you about the ocean/beach? Bowen: The vibrant life! We think the beach is just some blue sky, blue water, and yellow sand but the second you look closer, there is much more life than you ever expected. In the coral reef, you’re drowning in life. The vastness of the ocean makes it very possible that I could be the first person ever to discover a particular species. The feeling of discovery is my way to get in the jelly.

Ryan: The jelly? Bowen: Yes the jelly, GET IN THE JELLY!!1!

Ryan: Like pb&j, jelly? Bowen: No! Jelly is when you have an “aha” moment or you’re really in the zone. Jelly is something like the feeling of universal alignment when you’ve finally gotten the perfect photograph, the perfect line in a poem, or an advanced movement in athletics.

Ryan: Has there been a particularly memorable jelly moment for you? Bowen: Definitely, probably the most memorable moment I’ve had in the jelly was the first time I read the DNA of algae that I cultured myself from a pond near where I grew up. When I unveiled the patterns of life governing the very existence of the algae, I ran around the house screaming, consumed by excitement, letting my sheer joy spill out into the world!!

Bioengineering has since encouraged me to look smaller to uncover the hidden treasures in this world. Using the power of life to help people is self-consistent and natural, a wonderful way to do social good.

*listener joins conversation and comments on how it is reawakening her interest in bioengineering*

Ryan: Do you think jelly is another way of talking about the state of mind when you achieve perfection? Bowen: Jelly is NOT no mistakes or flawless accomplishment, rather it is the moment of realization in which you become aware that you’re doing something amazing, who you are is inherently amazing, and life is amazing. When everything clicks, you’re in the jelly. The hunger for being in the jelly powers the world more than fame or fortune.

Ryan: Can one exist in the jelly for a sustained amount of time or is it strictly a transient moment of euphoria? Bowen: Being at Stanford is living in the jelly. When I sit down and think about the work I put in to get here, when I think about the potential that I, my peers, and this institution has, that is a jelly moment. I’m living -- no, drowning, in the jelly.

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Drip, drip!! We’re soaking in the jelly, so do like the porifera calcarea and SPONGE it up folks!!