Meet DFP Fall Fellow, Mengyuan (Johnny) Zheng, St. John’s University

Mengyuan (Johnny) Zheng is a senior at St. John’s University, majoring in government and politics with minors in theology and philosophy. As a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, he has conducted 3 independent research in authoritarian politics and philosophy. Zheng’s current research focuses on the authoritarian rule of Castro’s Cuba and China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Southeast Asia. He has also presented his work “The Authoritarian Rule of Lukashenka’s Belarus” at the 2022 Research Month Conference at his university and was fortunate enough to have won a $250 1st place prize for his work. His most recent work focused on the Nietzschean philosophy and themes that are present in the popular anime series Berserk. As a lifelong learner, Zheng plans to use his future doctoral degree in political science to teach, research, and continue to mentor students in fields he is passionate about.

The APSA Diversity Fellowship Program (DFP) is a fellowship competition for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds applying to or in the early stages of doctoral programs in political science. The DFP was established in 1969 (originally as the Black Graduate Fellowship) to increase the number of minority scholars in the discipline. This year’s funded fellows will receive $5,000, over two years to support their studies.