Department of Education

Hometown: Beijing, China 

Education: Brown University, Bachelor of Arts in Education Studies (Honors), East Asian Studies, and Music, Class of 2025

Leshan “Raul” Shui (he/him/él/er/他) is a graduate student at Brown University, pursuing a degree in Urban Education Policy. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in three concentrations from Brown University: Education Studies (Honors), East Asian Studies, and Music, where he developed a strong foundation in qualitative approaches to investigating education policies as well as understanding social issues from humanistic and artistic lenses. In his Honors Thesis for Education Studies undergraduate concentration, Raul examined a critical public high school admission policy resulting from a complex, social classification system in his home city in terms of its effects on schooling opportunities of certain categories of migrant students. He has conducted this study for five consecutive years – since his senior year of high school, by continuously collecting qualitative data based on first-hand interviews with a purposeful sample of families, students, policy experts, and educators. He has also gathered expertise from numerous faculty members from the Brown University Department of Education during his four years of undergraduate studies and ultimately presented his research in a 75 pages comprehensive analysis. Raul aspires to a career in educational policy analysis and development at international educational organizations, where he can utilize his research skills earned during his five years at Brown, along with his international vision and language strengths (in Chinese, German, and Spanish) to contribute to creating more holistic, equitable, and effective educational systems on the global stage. Outside of the classroom, Raul has served as Program Coordinator for Brown Jazz Jams, Co-President for Brown Mahjong Club, French Horn Player for Brown Jazz Band, and Actor for Brown Chinese Theater Club, and he will keep his position in Brown Jazz Band (the flagship big band of the university) during his fifth year.