On April 8th, 2021, The Lotus hosted its first ever Asian Studies Alumni Career Panel. The purposes of this career exploration event were to better understand post-graduation opportunities for students who studied Asian Studies; discuss work or fellowship experiences in Asia; and more broadly, address post-CC trajectories, questions, and concerns.
The CC alumni that The Lotus had the privilege of inviting and hearing from were: Shayna McClure ‘18, Rishi Ling ‘18, Keita Moore ‘11, and Deme Yuan ‘02.
Shayna McClure ’18 majored in Molecular Biology and minored in Asian Studies. Shayna studied Japanese for 4 years and studied abroad in Japan for 5 months at the International Christian University in Mitaka, Tokyo. She is currently a 2nd year pharmacy student at The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy. Her long term goal is to represent the underrepresented in healthcare.
Rishi Ling ’18 majored in Music. Following graduation, he worked for one year as a Paraprofessional at the Colorado College Music Department and one year as a Princeton in Asia (PiA) fellow at the University of Macau. Upon returning to the US, Rishi continued to support PiA as an intern and outreach coordinator, and he remains an active alumnus. He is currently teaching guitar to young and adult learners while co-facilitating speech communications classes at liberal arts and community colleges in the North Shore Chicago area.
Keita Moore ‘11 majored in Asian Studies, with a distinction in International Studies. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in the East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies program. His research considers the cultural politics of videogame design as it has both responded to and informed the production of social spaces within contemporary Japan. He completed his M.A. at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in Asian Studies with a thesis on the intersection of gender, war memory, and violence within Japanese videogames. Before that, he spent several years as an in-house localization specialist with Square Enix in Tokyo, where he translated games including FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn.
Deme Yuan ’02 majored in Sociology and minored in Asian Studies. Following graduation, she took part in two research projects, including a National Science Foundation-funded study on perceptions of the environment in South China. After deciding that research was not her calling, she moved to San Francisco to work with adults with developmental disabilities. In 2007, Deme moved to Asia to teach English and volunteer at various NGOs. Her travels took her to China, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma, Nepal, and Tibet. Deme returned to the U.S. to get her Masters of Social Work from the University of Denver (’11). She served as Program Director at two Denver-based nonprofits. At Building Bridges, she worked with her counterparts in Colorado and Jerusalem to run programs to equip young leaders with skills to transform divisive attitudes in their communities. At Chinook Fund, she implemented a new model of social justice philanthropy to support grassroots social justice organizations. Three years ago, Deme and her partner started up a tech company that aims to disrupt the long-haul trucking industry for greater sustainability, profitability and equity. These days her trips to Asia focus on India, both for business and for visits to see her in-laws.
These four alumni shared about their CC and post-CC work experiences, study and work abroad experiences in Asia, job-seeking advice, and more. They also addressed various questions from the attendees pertaining to “adulting” (i.e. how to make friends after graduating), finding work abroad in Asia, dealing with homesickness, and leveraging their liberal arts education.
This event showed how meaningful and important it is to maintain CC connections, in order for knowledge and insights to be passed on. The Lotus looks forward to continuing the Asian Studies Alumni Career Panel series in future years.
