About

I'm James Li

As an artist, musician, and leader, I aim to infuse art into the everyday lives of my community members, and the world as a whole. I strive to share my creativity of expression with millions of people, and inspire them to freely express themselves. My hope is that, by engaging with my art, you are moved to embark on your own creative journey. Below are some of my key experiences that shaped me into who I am today.

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Franklin Research Internship Program

May 2021 – June 2021

Research Intern

  • Worked with Professor Peng Ge from UCLA to design and implement an AI program that could automatically recognize/differentiate paintings from real pictures with a few hundreds of sample data
  • Continuously improved the accuracy rate, reaching 95.5% by the end of the internship

Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria in Soil Research

June 2022 – September 2022

Student Researcher

  • Examined the percentage of TET-resistant bacterial cells in various soil samples
  • Analyzed the factors of influence on the amount of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the soil
  • Produced a professional research report 

Electronic Arts Club

March 2020 – Present

Founder and President

  • Exploring a new concept of art public welfare
  • Expanding the practice of creating artwork through the use of technology
  • Weekly meetings, with each member uploading artwork on their online gallery
  • Organizing special events, like collaborating with a university to perform an electronic art demo for members

UC Berkeley UX/UI Design Summer Camp

July 2022

Student Intern

  • Redesigned the Venmo interface through Figma, leveraging the concepts of space, rhythm, composition, and structure
  • Learned the basics of the psychology behind interface design
  • Formed hypotheses, collected real data to test these assumptions, and applied my findings to the redesign
  • Utilized prototyping, sketching, and wireframing
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Global Philanthropy

December 2021

August 2021

Volunteer and Team Lead

  • Led a team of 7 students in the NingXia and Hunan China P2P Microfinance Loan Welfare project
  • Reviewed loan contracts and helped villagers calculate income statements and balance sheets on the Nano Seed project
  • Followed up with villagers and worked on a marketing plan for their small business
  • Prepared daily reflections, individual project reports, and a final group presentation
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BeHASSTic

March 2021 – August 2023

Chicago Chapter Director

  • Gathering a team of students to distribute and collect COVID screening forms for senior center health safety precautions
  • Leading public welfare performance at senior centers
  • Taught international elementary students English
  • Organizing weekly sessions teaching elementary students basic piano theory and skill

Awards

  • President’s Volunteer Service Award Gold Medalist 2021
  • Scholastic Art  & Writing Award 2021/2022
  • Golden Key Award – Drawing (Boy in White)
  • Honorable Mention – Drawing (A Boy’s Favorites)
  • Honorable Mention – Digital Art (Storm)
  • Green Honor Roll
  • The Northwest Suburban Music Teachers Association 2020 Beethoven’s Festival Gold Medalist
  • Illinois State Music Teachers Association Merit Award 2022 (Score 102.5 – Level 12)

Additional Extracurriculars

  • National Art Honor Society (NAHS)
  • Performance Fundraising Events 
  • Wharton Investment Competition 2020
  • Boy’s Swim Team
  • Model United Nations (MUN)
  • Key Club
  • Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
  • Toastmasters
  • Chinese Club
  • Boy’s Badminton Club