"My interest in Asian affairs started in middle school, sparked by a serendipitous curiosity for the Age of Enlightenment, revolutions, religion, and totalitarianism, especially North Korea. I graduated from the University of California, Irvine (cumme laude, Phi Beta Kappa) with a major in history and a minor in Asian Studies, focusing on Korea and China. In my senior year, I taught a class on North Korean history while completing my honors thesis on North Korea. My thesis won the first prize ($1,000) in the Humanities Honors Program and was later published as an academic article by Johns Hopkins University. After graduating in 2022, I toured South Korea with NK News.

In January 2023, I discovered a new passion for Viet Nam after visiting the country. From March 2023 to August 2024, I lived in Ho Chi Minh City, teaching English and studying the local language and culture. I also did fieldwork in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Japan.

My broader research interests include the psychology of religion, nationalism, and identity politics, as well as the efficacy of propaganda as a mechanism for social cohesion."

Concentration: Southeast Asia

Hometown: Irvine, CA

Academic Background: B.A. in History, University of California, Irvine