New Horizons: How an Eastern Kentucky native found his path to China — by way of Centre

Robbie Harper’s journey has been anything but ordinary.

The Morgan County, Kentucky, native learned Chinese in high school and carried that love of language with him throughout his Centre College career.

“I started (Chinese) in seventh grade,” said Harper, class of 2025 and a Grissom Scholar. “I wanted to challenge myself — and that is where it really started.”

From Chinese speech competitions to a journey to China thanks to the now-retired University of Kentucky Confucius Institute, Harper immersed himself into all things China. Naturally, his college choice had the most immersive study abroad opportunities.

“I’ve benefited from having that (trip to China) and it really changed my worldview,” he said. “If I hadn’t gone to China in 2019, I don’t know that I would have the same mindset, or the same open-mindedness about collaboration and cultural exchange. In my future work, even as a physicist or an engineer, I really want to be aware of those things and acutely in tune with international relations and talking about how we can better improve those things.”

Engineering has always been Harper’s career goal, and as a physics major, just getting the language credit was his initial thought process. A Chinese degree didn’t fit into that plan — but he quickly found out that it could, thanks to Centre professors of Chinese Jingjing Cai and Mei Li Inouye. As a result, he is on pace to graduate with dual degrees in both physics and Chinese.

“Dr. Cai and Dr. Inouye were really instrumental in helping me see the aspects of the language that I hadn’t been able to see before,” Harper said. “I started to realize the deeper meaning and etymology of the language.”

Harper published an essay comparing generations of factory workers at his mother’s job in Kentucky to worker experiences in a Chinese factory, and it was Cai who challenged Harper to build that class essay into a research paper for Chinese language learners.

“Dr. Cai was quick to help me toward that opportunity,” Harper said. “She really cares about teaching Chinese and also finding better ways to teach Chinese.”

Along with physics and Chinese, Harper participated in a research experience at the University of Kentucky with Centre chemistry professor Daniel Scott, and last summer worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado. He participated in a CentreTerm study abroad pro-gram in Malaysia and worked on his Chinese language skills. He’s receiving the full Centre experience with two areas that normally would never meet.

“I never thought I could get (to where I am today),” Harper said. “I didn’t believe in myself, but Centre faculty believe in you.

“Every time someone asks me about Centre, the first thing that I identify Centre with is the faculty. That’s the first thing. Centre does teaching right. The faculty members truly want you to realize your potential.”