Cameron Leung `22 had a secret plan. For the past few years, he’s been saving Joker cards from 52-card decks. He knew that one day, he would find a use for them; he just didn’t know when.
Leung moderates Nerf@Noyce. In a game called Traitors in Terrorist Town (TTT), every player is divided into two teams. Each player receives a card, and if the card is a joker, then that player is a traitor to their team, unbeknownst to anyone else.
“And one night, we decided to change all of the cards into Joker cards without telling anyone and it was one of the best blood baths,” Leung said with a smile.
Apart from moderating Nerf@Noyce, Leung is the co-founder of the Grinnell Disability Alliance, the manager of the STEW Makerspace, a member of the Working Group for Diversity and Inclusion and a computer science major.
As someone with multiple close friends who have disabilities, Leung said he is deeply passionate about disability rights advocacy.
In 2019, Leung took the Global Learning Program course “Disability in Society: Art, Architecture & Activism,” led by Autumn Wilke, assistant dean for disability resources, Professor Casey Oberlin, sociology and Professor Justin Thomas, theater. The class traveled to Washington, D.C. and Japan. It was through this course that Leung connected with Wilke to eventually form the Disability Alliance.
The work he’s done with the Disability Alliance is some of Leung’s proudest work while at the College, he said.
Before Grinnell, Leung attended the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology school in Atlanta, Georgia. While there, he focused on developing skills in mechanical engineering and design, thinking how to make products and interfaces more accessible.
While the primary reason Leung attended the College was his QuestBridge scholarship, he added that the open curriculum motivated him to balance computer science (which, in his opinion, is the flipside of engineering) along with courses across other disciplines.
While studying abroad last fall in Copenhagen, Denmark, Leung completed courses called “Entrepreneurship and Innovation” and “Innovation Through Design Thinking.”
Both courses made Leung remember his penchant for design thinking, a problem-solving approach with the intention to improve products, which he had felt so passionately about in high school. He wanted to study design thinking further and thus spent his winter break applying to graduate school for programs incorporating elements of this approach.
This fall, Leung will attend the University of Pennsylvania’s master’s in Integrated Product Design. The program combines coursework and research in design thinking, human-computer interaction and business planning.
Design thinking was not the only way Leung spent his time in Copenhagen. While there, Leung took countless photos in his spare time. He wandered around the city with his DSLR camera hanging from his backpack, ready to snap a photo at any opportunity that presented itself.
He received the camera during the pandemic and practiced taking photos around his neighborhood in Atlanta.
“But I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as when I actually went to Copenhagen. It was an amazing pastime for me,” Leung said. “Photography was basically my escape.”
Leung’s photography can be viewed at www.cameronkleung.com.
