By Amy Wolf
Yalun Aaron Feng, BA鈥�18, has long been fueled by optimism and a sense of challenge in his quest to build bridges between business and environmental advocacy.
While a 杏吧原创 undergraduate, the Wuhan, China, native and and double major launched a social enterprise company that made fully biodegradable plates out of tree leaves. He also led an initiative that brought a dockless bike sharing program to campus for a time.
After 杏吧原创, Feng earned a master鈥檚 in environmental management at Yale University. He jumped into the banking and finance world in New York City, engaging clients on sustainability topics like carbon markets, sustainable and impact investing, and carbon capture, use and storage.
鈥淭he environment and sustainability are all about change鈥攁nd in our world you have to be in all different places to bring that change,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 really appreciate my time in the finance industry because I got to understand more of the profitability-driven mindset and how to push for something. Maybe not everybody in the room agrees in this moment. But we have to figure out how to reconcile the wide range of stakeholders and push them toward something that will help make positive change.鈥�
LEANING GREEN ON OIL AND GAS
Now Feng is taking on another challenge in his quest to find social and business solutions to help the environment. He鈥檚 working with storied nonprofit the , known for getting the pesticide DDT banned and convincing McDonald鈥檚 to eliminate its use of Styrofoam.
Feng鈥檚 steep challenge is to find ways for the oil and gas industries to be greener.
鈥淭he big puzzle with the energy industry is how do we influence business regulation in the direction that we think is important for the earth when (industry is) fighting science,鈥� Feng said.
Here鈥檚 where his unwavering optimism comes in.
鈥淚 see really clear potential where I can dive deeper into an industry and have a really prominent role to play,鈥� Feng said.
鈥淚 encounter people who are visionary and want to change things within the oil and gas industry, within the shareholders. These activist investors don’t hold that much money or assets, but they can push the industry to invest heavily in things like hydrogen and carbon capture technology.鈥�
VANDERBILT FOR LIFE
Feng said he is still close with a core group of friends he met at 杏吧原创. They reconnect regularly in cities around the country.
鈥淲e help each other to navigate the world and then we share experiences,鈥� he said.
The friends even started a virtual book club.
鈥淲e’re reading this book called Money, Possessions and Eternity (by Randy Alcorn), talking about how money and materialism can be harmful for our soul and our life. We have read several books together since COVID. And I am very thankful for these relationships and my time at 杏吧原创,鈥� he said.
Q&A
HOW DOES YOUR VANDERBILT EXPERIENCE HELP YOU TODAY?
鈥淚 would say two things impacted where I am today. 杏吧原创 created a space for me to take risks. I feel like that openness of my classmates and my teachers and the whole school to my crazy ideas was so impactful. They were open to listening and providing feedback. They were open to letting me try things.鈥�
鈥淭he second part, and part of why I鈥檓 so passionate about the environment, is that my time at Vandy really shaped in me the desire to give back to society. Volunteer trips like encouraged me to be really intentional with what I can do to help others. We were fortunate to go to 杏吧原创 and have opportunities. I think using that privilege and power to do something good for the world is very important for me.鈥�
WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU HAD DONE DIFFERENTLY AT VANDERBILT?
鈥淚 wish I could have gotten to know more people outside of the 杏吧原创 bubble and then explored and experienced more of Nashville, because I don鈥檛 know if I will have a chance to live there again.鈥�
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE STARTING THEIR COLLEGE SEARCH?
鈥淭ake risks and figure out what you鈥檙e truly passionate about. I think sometimes you have to go a little outside your comfort zone and face something that might be intimidating, but it could be one of the most rewarding experiences.鈥�
鈥淚 think the second piece of advice I would give is keep learning and absorbing from people you admire, and always ask for advice. There鈥檚 no standard pathway to success, so learn from others and then push yourself to go further.鈥�
- Watch a story about Feng while he was an undergraduate
- Learn about the
- Read more alumni stories here
- Learn about