Ruopeng and Ruokun Wu: World-Class Ambassadors

Twin brothers Ruopeng and Ruokun Wu are model students who want to make the world a better place.

By Sterling Giles

Ruopeng and Ruokun Wu are twins in every sense of the word. For practically their entire lives, the brothers have gone to the same schools, attended the same institutions of higher learning and have similar hobbies and interests. But somehow, they still manage to get along swimmingly.

In 2017, the duo were uprooted from their hometown of Beijing, China and sent stateside by their family to get the best education possible. They paired with a host family in New Jersey and attended middle and high school in Jersey and New York respectively. From there, the brothers matriculated at Richard Bland College of William & Mary (RBC). They considered attending four-year universities but RBC’s affordability and guaranteed admissions program to the Commonwealth’s top four-year universities won them over.

“I think it was a good idea to spend the first two years at Richard Bland College,” Ruokun said. “We got the opportunity to save money and have time to explore what fields we were interested in.”

The guaranteed admissions program was a sigh of relief for both the brothers and international students at the college.

“The international students can relax and don’t have to be too nervous about their futures,” Ruokun said. “They can just do their best and strive after their goals.”

This isn’t the norm for most international students at other colleges and universities. They’re not only bearing the weight of expectations from their families back home, but they’re also working tooth and nail to get into top universities, which isn’t guaranteed. RBC removes this stress via its guaranteed admissions program, which empowers students to simply focus on performing at their best in the classroom.

Both Ruopeng and Ruokun felt supported by the college’s staff and connected with their fellow students in the iRBC International Student Success Program, which supports the college’s international students. 

“RBC is a relatively small campus, so everyone knows each other and everyone knows what resources are available, so it’s easier to access them here,” Ruopeng said. “As far as accessibility is concerned, I feel RBC is better than Michigan because for my research I spend a lot of time sending cold emails to my Michigan professors.”

“But at RBC, I knew the professors and I could just walk in and talk to them.”

While at RBC, Ruokun and Ruopeng both majored in computer science (Ruopeng also majored in math). They were also very active within the college community.

Ruopeng and Ruokun served as international representatives for the Student Assembly. They were also the Coding Club president and vice-president, respectively. The brothers interned under RBC Vice President and Chief Research & Innovation Officer Dr. Kimberly Boyd and participated in various projects.

A standout experience for them was attending the Aviation Symposium in Orlando, Florida where they learned more about aviation, aerospace, and drones, as well as networked with professionals in the field.

“Ruopeng and Ruokun were fantastic interns,” said Dr. Kim Boyd. “They are both diligent, intelligent, hard-working students who are model ambassadors of the iRBC International Student Success Program.”

“I know they’re going to make great strides in their future endeavors and impact the next generation of mathematicians and computer scientists.”

The twins are both majoring in math at The University of Michigan. However, they’re planning to splinter off into different fields of study for individual intrinsic callings.

In high school, Ruopeng needed emergency surgery on his broken jaw, but the doctors botched the surgery. He didn’t feel heard or seen during the procedure and recovery process. He even had to return home to China to correct the malpractice. 

“After that experience, I decided I wanted to be a doctor,” Ruopeng said with conviction. “Because I’m not going to do these types of things to my patients.”

On the other hand, Ruokun would like to become a programmer to use artificial intelligence (AI) to help bridge the gap for people, businesses, and organizations, particularly those with limited technological access and resources.

“I want to invest in AI so I can create welfare for all of society,” Ruokun declared.

The brothers have enjoyed their time so far at The University of Michigan. But they do miss RBC’s modest, intimate campus and community. Even as Michigan students, they continue to show their RBC pride.

“Everyone here is wearing a Michigan shirt,” Ruopeng said. “But I’m like ‘No, I’ve got to wear my RBC shirt—I’ve gotta tell them I come from RBC.’”