Students
Jieun Kang
My Journey from Russian History to Asian American History:
I began my graduate career as a Russian history major at OSU in 2004. My first exposure to Asian American Studies was while I was working as the graduate research assistant for Prof. Judy Wu during Winter Quarter 2005. During this time, I attended Asian American Studies Committee meetings, assisted with Month of Remembrance events, and had a chance to dialogue with other Asian American students through whom I became involved with APAC (Asian Pacific American Caucus). The cumulative effect of these activities led me to an increasing interest in Asian American history and issues. Although I did not lose my original interest in my Russian history major, I felt more of an affinity with the experiences and histories of Asian Americans. After much consideration and conversations, I decided to switch my major to Asian American women’s history, focusing my interests on first generation Korean American adoptees, those who were the product of the Korean War, particularly those from the years immediately subsequent to the War. Most of these individuals are biracials with Korean mothers and U.S. military fathers. I am currently in the process of narrowing my topic down for my master’s thesis and I hope to continue research in this area for my doctoral studies as well.
Deborah Kwon
I was born in Korea and immigrated to New York when I was 5 years old with my parents and younger brother. Even having grown up with a decent sized Asian American community in New York and New Jersey, I still encountered some culture shock when I returned with my family during my junior year in high school to Seoul, Korea. Having graduated from an international school in Korea a student body comprised predominately of Korean American was a unique experience and it wasn't until I came to Ohio for my undergraduate studies and became involved with Asian American Community Services (AACS) that I began to realize the importance of community and taking an active part in developing my ethnic identity. After obtaining my bachelor degree, I continued my work with AACS as the project director of a mentoring and tutoring program for Cambodian youth living in the Southeast side of Columbus for a couple of years. It was also during these years that I developed a passion for education and decided to pursue an advanced degree in educational program evaluation. Considering that I am somewhat of a "late-bloomer" into Asian American Studies, my roles as graduate assistant in the Office of Asian American Studies in the Multicultural Center, as part of the Asian American Studies committee, as graduate assistant in the Office of Minority Affairs conducting a campus wide needs assessment of Asian Americans, and as part of APAC have been integral in building my knowledge about Asian Americans, particularly, in the Midwest.
Nancy Yan
Nancy Yan is a doctoral candidate in folklore through the English Department at the Ohio State University. She graduated from the the George Washington University in Washington DC in 1994 with a degree in international affairs. After working in DC, she relocated to San Francisco and became involved with grassroots organizing, working on immigrant rights issues, youth leadership, and electoral politics. She served as a field organizer for the California Democratic Party in 1998 and a District Organizer for the San Francisco Labor Council's electoral efforts in 1999 and 2000. Her dissertation research examines Chinese restaurants in the American context as sites of contested authenticity and American identity. Currently, she is the Graduate Research Assistant for the Center for Folklore Studies at OSU and the Graduate Research Assistant for the development of the Graduate Interdiscplinary Specialization in Asian American Studies.
