Embedded Files
Throughout the whole month, we will be updating this page to include the introduction and featuring interviews for the AAPI in the MEB department.
If you are in MEB and are AAPI or of Asian and/or Pacific Islander descent and would like to be featured in our content series, please fill out this form. If you would like to nominate someone, you can also do so through the same form.
Gwen Noda was born and raised in Los Angeles to second and third generation Japanese Americans. Her father, a retired zookeeper, and her mother, a school teacher, helped shape Gwen into the creative science educator she is today. Currently at C-DEBI and the Wrigley Institute, Gwen helps bridge the gap between doing science and communicating it to the public through non-classroom teaching initiatives and thinking outside of the box to implement programs for the next generation of young scientists. Though people often talk of that spark that ignited their career, for Gwen, it was more of a continuation of a natural path. Her diverse interests, family histories and vacations helped her discover and cultivate her passions. Frequent trips to the zoo as a child inspired her career in biology; a love of the ocean drew her to marine science. Trips to the beach and camping with family encouraged her adventurous spirit. She tunneled this essence into what drives her career; from field quarters in Hawaii and Tahiti, expeditions to both poles, leading courses for the California Naturalist programs, working at aquariums, scuba diving, and serving as a science educator, Gwen carved out a unique science career that fits her.
Gwen’s Japanese American heritage means that her family is tied to some of the most tumultuous periods of Asian American history. Her father, born in the Manzanar incarceration site at the end of WWII, is one of the many lives altered by rash fear and racism in response to Pearl Harbor. Despite her family immigrating before WWII, because they were not white, they are subjected to the ‘forever foreigner’ stereotype. This highlights how Japanese Americans, and by certain extensions Asian Americans, are incorrectly perceived as disloyal to the US due to a circumstantial connection to a different ancestry. The lived experiences and trauma her family went through in the Japanese incarceration sites echoes through generations, often making it difficult to find community in people who also share this intergenerational trauma. She can recall several incidents of verbal harassment from WWII veterans over fighting the Japanese, half a century after the war was over, ignorant of the fact that Gwen’s own family fought against the Japanese in the same war. The Asian phenotype forever marks many as being ‘un-American’, despite long-reaching roots in America.
Throughout her career in marine biology, she has often contended with prejudice and bias, but it was not always clear whether it stemmed from the fact that she is a woman or that she is Asian or both. Gwen found that, when she would stand up for herself or act contrary to Asian stereotypes, like the model minority myth, it was often to the surprise of her colleagues. Parsing out what about her identity drives these interactions, perceptions, and stereotypes hasn’t been a big priority for Gwen- she won’t let it get in the way of her passions and how she envisions her ideas coming to fruition.
Further Reading:
The Unlikely Story Behind Japanese American’s Campaign for Reparations (Rosario, 2020, NPR)
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Kunming, an inland city located in the southwest of China. Kunming has nice weather just like here in LA, people often call it the “Spring City”. It’s a popular tourist destination, where people can explore various ethnic cultures. Then I moved to the east side of China, where I did my undergraduate studies at Fuzhou and pursued my master’s degree at Xiamen.
What is your cultural, racial, ethnic background?
Ethnically, I’m Han people. Han is an ethnic majority in China, but I lived in a province that has a population composed of 26 ethnic groups. This means I grew up in celebrating many festivals and also means I can taste many yummy cuisines from different cultures.
Marine Science?
Xiamen is the place where I started my oceanography studies. I’ve been passionate about marine science ever since I went to a summer school on climate change and future oceans during my senior year. I was attracted by the fact that over 80% of the ocean is unexplored, I feel a strong sense of obligation to contribute to the greater understanding of our ocean. I really enjoyed the time during my master program, every cruise, every experiment and every ocean profile I plotted…I found my motivation there and now I’m happy I can continue my effort at USC. For me, becoming an oceanographer is a DREAM job!!
Where are you from? I was born and raised in Hanoi, Vietnam and I have moved to the US since 2013 following my bachelor’s degree to pursue higher education, meaning I have lived in the States for longer than 1/3 of my time in Vietnam up until now!
What is your cultural, racial, ethnic background? My parents came from small provinces, met in college, then chose to settle in Hanoi since I was born. Hanoi is the capitol of Vietnam and very dynamic city with people coming from diverse places. It is the hub for college education and also the political hub of Vietnam. Thanks to them, I was able to attend the best school and education growing up and knowing all the perks of living in the city! When I was 6, I wanted an eraser to learn how to write in Vietnamese, but I thought my parents couldn’t afford it. We lived in a very tiny studio without a bathroom unit and during monsoon season, the rain seeped through the ceiling, and I had to set up several rain buckets in the studio overnight for my parents. Later my mom found out that I didn’t have an eraser for school and told me that she would do anything for me to afford education and she wanted me to believe in education and that I can go far with high education! I dreamt of a day that I could travel to places that I have never been ever since! My family distilled so much in me and that I can dream big!
What inspired you to work in your field? Growing up in the city, I didn’t get to see so much nature and it was almost never part of my daily life. Only a few times a year we went on vacation to the ocean or to the country to visit my grandparents as a kid. I got so much joy out of each rare occasion that we got to be in nature, and I decided to go to college with a major in Environmental Science. I have always dreamt of being a naturalist who understands and can answer any nature-relevant question. That passion eventually led me to achieve a PhD degree in soil microbiology and biochemistry then to the current postdoctoral position in marine microbial ecology.
What has your experience been as an AAPI in marine science? When I completed my PhD in Soil science, I realized I was the very first Vietnamese PhD in the department that was found in 1970s!
Does your family have any traditions that are especially important to you? As family, we always gather with a warm and hearty meal together. For every gathering, food is always central. We celebrate the lunar new year as our biggest holiday of the year (typically fall into late January or early February each year) and it marks the beginning of a new cycle and the reset button! In Vietnamese, we refer to Lunar New Year celebration as “ăn Tết”. Ăn means Eat, Tết means Lunar New Year, so just to translate word by word, it means Eat lunar new year. That is to say that food is the soul of Tết and without food, there is no ăn Tết! I love food and I love celebrating holidays with food.
What are some interesting hobbies or talents that most people may not know about you? I am a Rubik cube enthusiast, and I can solve anything from 2x2x2 to 7x7x7 cubes in a reasonable time! Solving Rubik cubes is my coffee because I don’t drink coffee or tea. I also taught myself to be a home seamstress, quilter, knitter, and crochet-er and I always have a lot of projects going on in my house!
Share a few things about yourself that others may not know about you
I love hiking and I hike almost every weekend! I have a small garden with three raised beds in the heart of Korea Town. Back in Oregon, I once grew 22 tomato plants of 20 different varieties, colors, shapes, and tastes! That was the best collection of tomatoes that I have ever had in my garden record book!
Dr. Diane Kim
Dr. Diane Kim was born and raised in Los Angeles to Korean immigrant parents. Reflecting on her life, Diane believes that the community she has found in Southern California is like no other, in that she’s been able to find such support in virtually all aspects of her life both in and out of science. After her parents immigrated to the US in the ‘80s, they worked hard to navigate the balance between holding onto their Korean culture while also assimilating into American society. Much like her parents, Diane finds it difficult to keep Korean culture alive despite being only one generation removed from living in Korea, even living in Los Angeles, which has the largest Korean population outside of Korea.
Visiting Korea on a fellowship gave Diane a culture shock- highlighting a common theme for many Asian Americans on how hard it is to navigate being liminal between cultures. All at once, there’s a magical feeling of being connected to the land and culture your family comes from, and continues to emulate in their daily lives, while also feeling ‘othered’ or ashamed of the cultural dilution that occurs as families try to assimilate to life in the US. Battling the dichotomy between remembering your roots and speaking your parent’s language fluently versus trying to fit into white-dominated spaces and speaking English perfectly often leads to cultural whiplash. To fight this, she takes part in family traditions, like kimchi-making parties (including Shi-kae, a traditional kimchi of North Korea, where her grandparents were born) and re-learning Korean to help preserve connections to her heritage.
Growing up, her childhood subtly hinted at cultural connections to the ocean, like seaweed soup on birthdays, but a career in oceanography was never discussed or even a visible option. Despite this, she had always been drawn to bodies of water, being on boats, and scuba diving. In college, a group of female graduate students took her under their wings to mentor her, guiding her passions to help her get the most out of college, and showing her different career opportunities related to microbiology and marine science. They helped shepherd her into pursuing a PhD in Marine Biology at USC, where she graduated in 2013 from the Caron lab.
Over time, her interests changed from being a tenure track professor to being more involved in training the next generation of scientists with an emphasis on undergraduate education and outreach efforts. As one of the few in her cohort/department/field who identified as both Asian American and queer, she found it important to make connections with other Asian Americans and LGBTQ+ communities to help support her through school and navigate the different facets of her identity. Now, Diane feels confident bringing all of the different aspects of herself into one space instead of parsing up her identity into neat categories or leaving parts of herself out in certain spaces. As the DEI Manager at the Wrigley Institute, Diane continues to bring visibility to Asian Americans and hopes to do her part in making a thriving scientific community through diversity and inclusion.
Dr. Feixue Fu
Born and raised in China, Dr. Feixue Fu is the sole Asian faculty member of our department. She left China to pursue her PhD in Australia, following her brother who had already started his studies there. At the age of 28, she boarded a flight for the first time in her life, and began her work in the department of Chemical Engineering at Queensland University in Brisbane, Australia. Soon after her arrival, her advisor ran out of funding and suggested she apply to other labs to continue her studies at the university. By happenstance, the only lab accepting positions studied Trichodesmium, causing her to switch fields. Upon being given the advice to learn how to love what you do, Feixue fell in love with Tricho and marine science as a whole, inspiring her decades-long career as a marine scientist. Now, as a faculty member at USC, Feixue has carved out her own research path by combining her love of chemistry and the ocean by studying iron dynamics in a changing ocean and the impact on marine phytoplankton.
Though moving to Australia was isolating due to the lack of emphasis on community at the University of Queensland, she found other Asian students and faculty scattered throughout the institution to help support her throughout her career. The situation in the US was even more isolating, as she was one of two AAPI members of MEB in USC in 2007. Since then, the Hutchins lab has tried to help increase the diversity in marine science by recruiting more Asian students and is hopeful the trend will continue.
Feixue and her family maintain connections to their Chinese heritage with annual visits to China to see her parents. Learning the language, cultural traditions, and practices from her family helps her children hold onto their history and the identity they inherited from their mom. There is a larger emphasis on community building among Asian people in their neighborhood, where she gets to share in community celebrations of cultures and traditions that she had not been able to do before.
What is your cultural, racial, ethnic background?
I identify as Chinese-American, but I love telling people more about the details of my background. My father is from a village in China called Taishan, where his family was so poor that eating meat or eggs was a big occasion and the thing he most looked forward to was the can of condensed milk with a cracker that he got once a year. My mother (also Chinese) was born in Cambodia during a time of major political unrest. One of her earliest memories is being carried on her father’s back as he dug them a tunnel to escape to the jungle. They fled to Singapore, where my mother grew up before moving to the States in her early twenties. Unfortunately, her father died of malaria after returning to the jungle to save their extended family, so I never knew my maternal grandfather.
My father also moved to the States in his early twenties, where he met my mother (they bonded over the fact that they had the same birthday!) and my sisters and I were born here in SoCal. I grew up with both Mandarin, Cantonese, and English spoken at home, with lots of Singaporean quirks like Singlish and my mother’s eternal attempts to get me to like durian. (Still unsuccessful to this day.)
How has your heritage shaped the person you are today?
These types of questions are always painful for me because I spent so much of my childhood rejecting my Chinese heritage and wishing I had blonde hair and blue eyes like the princesses I saw on TV and read about in books. I remember being teased in school for my lunches and begging my parents for “American” lunches to fit in. I remember being teased for my last name because “He means you’re a boy!”…not exactly cutting wit these days but as a tomboyish girl who struggled with femininity it was devastating. Even now as I try to come back to my cultural roots, I feel like I’m on the outside looking in at the culture I’m supposed to be able to claim. I question whether I’m even “Chinese enough” to talk about my experiences as an Asian-American. I’ve lost almost all of my Cantonese and Mandarin, though funnily enough the phrase I know best in Mandarin is “I can speak a little [Mandarin]”—always a fun party trick to pull out when the aunties are gossiping in front of your face.
Share a few things about yourself that others may not know about you.
I write sci-fi/fantasy novels! I’m actually really involved in online bookish/writing communities but you’ll never find me, my names are infinite 😎 I’m a recovering video game addict, I’m femme but definitely not straight, and I’ve had the fire department called to USC for me twice—once when I fainted while biking and once when I got hit by a car while biking. Now I drive to school. 😉
Where are you from?
I was born in San Jose, California and have lived there all my life!
What is your cultural, racial, ethnic background?
Both of my parents are from Vietnam and immigrated here before I was born, so I classify myself as Vietnamese-American. They came to the US to provide me and my four siblings a better life and the opportunity to pursue a higher education. With no opportunity to pursue college themselves, they instilled the values of hard work and perseverance in me so that I could study hard and get into a good college. Although many other people in my high school shared similar cultural values, many came from upper middle class backgrounds. I felt out of place being from a low-income family and felt this shaped a unique identity of being AAPI, low-income, and the first to go to college. I also felt more detached from my ancestral roots compared to my peers because I never had the opportunity to visit Vietnam, but I hope to go someday!
What inspired you to work in your field?
I actually came into college undeclared in the humanities because I didn’t know what I wanted to do yet. I came from a very competitive high school that emphasized career paths such as doctors, engineers, etc (my parents also believed this was the most stable and prosperous outcome for me). However, my family often went to the beach and to the California Academy of Sciences on free days, and so I had always been interested in marine science. With some encouragement, I decided to pursue a career in marine biology. I had no role models or connections, so I had no idea what I was supposed to do- initially, I thought most people just graduated and found jobs and I barely even knew that graduate school existed. However, talking with faculty members and finding my own mentors at college helped me learn a lot more about my field, pursue research, and find my path to graduate school.
What has your experience been as an AAPI in marine science?
It’s been pretty strange! No other AAPI person from my high school pursued marine science, and I believe I am actually the only person from my entire year to study this field. Every faculty member in my marine and coastal science major in college was white, and nearly everyone in my major was as well. It became a recurring theme- in my internship at Santa Barbara everyone in my lab was white, and in my internship at MBARI I was one of the few POC in my program. It was disappointing to see how little diversity there was in my field, and so I hope to become an example for other AAPI students interested in marine science.
Where are you from? I was born and raised in Northern California.
What is your ethnic background? My family comes from Korea, but being raised in the US puts a lot of distance between me and where my family is from originally. Circumstances were such that my family may not have survived had they stayed, and the result is that I live a life full of opportunities they never had, but I still often feel far away from the culture that has effectively made me who I am.
How has your heritage shaped who you are today? There is an idea of what a typical East Asian household looks like and the values impressed upon me that relate to hard work, ambition, becoming a doctor, etc. But the important values I was raised with have nothing to do with what others perceive as a “tiger” parenting style, and all to do with understanding what a meaningful, fulfilling life looks like and how to live well. My family always ingrained in me that grit and dedication would carry me through difficult times because it is in my blood; my not too distant relatives escaped war and famine and poverty to bring my family new opportunities here in the US, and survival meant everything to my family.
What inspired you to work in your field? My biggest influences come from connecting with my heritage and my ancestors through stories and learning how my family lived by the ocean and relied on the sea to provide both nourishment and community from the earliest days of where my family comes from in Korea. I carry with me the hardships that my ancestors lived through to bring me to where I am today, and it is something I am proud of and proud to be able to speak on.
Where are you from? Being biracial means that my identity doesn’t fit into a box. I can pass as a lot of different ethnicities, so the undercurrent of this question is always “you aren’t white, but you aren’t what I thought you were - so what are you?”. I’m from Virginia- but if you want to know my ethnic background, just ask.
Marine Science? I always thought I wanted to be a doctor- I liked science and that was the only science career I had known about until I got to college. I slowly transitioned from doctor to veterinarian to realizing that I just wanted to learn- and you could just do research. Even then, I didn’t know the career options for someone in marine science and it was hard to make the decision to pursue it. I didn’t really settle on it until I had my time in infectious disease research and realized it wasn’t my cup of tea. We joke in my family that I’ll still be a doctor- just not the right kind :)
Representation matters! This one is hard for me- there aren’t a lot of AAPI in marine or environmental biology, let alone biracial or Indian-American ones. There’s a lot of diversity to the term ‘Asian’ in the first place, so figuring out I belonged in these spaces as a mixed race- Indian-American took a lot of time. It’s been really eye-opening to have a whole group of people who know what it feels like to be carving out your own path in environmental and marine sciences.
Where are you from? I am second-generation Chinese American. My parents immigrated from China to the United States in the late 80’s and I was born a few years later in New York City. My parents were poor and worked odd jobs to make ends meet. Partly due to financial reasons, I was sent to live with my grandparents in China for three years before coming back to start school. Growing up as the eldest child of immigrants, I carried the hopes and dreams of my parents who sacrificed their own to give me a chance at a better life. Successes weren’t celebrated, they were expected. Failure wasn’t an option.
Marine Science? My earliest career aspiration was to be a marine biologist (thanks Flipper!). In my parents’ world, success is defined as obtaining a “well-paying, stable job” in a respectable and familiar field (read: doctor, lawyer, engineer, banker). Marine biologist didn’t fit that bill. While I majored in Environmental Biology, I ended up pursuing a business career after college (well-paying + stable = success). It took five years post-graduation for me to muster the courage and conviction to pursue a PhD in marine science.
Representation matters! My experiences have shown me that representation matters. As an undergraduate, there were very few AAPI students in my major and even fewer who went on to obtain a PhD. One Asian American classmate and close friend did pursue a PhD in Environmental Sciences and got a “well-paying, stable job.” Realizing that there are career opportunities for people like me in these disciplines was ultimately what triggered my decision to apply to graduate school. At USC, I’ve spoken with many students, including AAPI undergraduates interested in marine science, about career prospects, managing parental expectations, celebrating successes, embracing and learning from failure, and overcoming the lack of representation in STEM. I’ve tried to be as involved and visible as I possibly can in the hopes of inspiring and empowering the next generation of students, including AAPI students, to overcome their insecurities and fears to pursue their dreams.
Where are you from? A coastal town named Yantai in eastern China. I spent most of my life so far in my hometown and came to the US for college about 7 years ago. It took me a while to adjust to the culture and lifestyle here when I first arrived. Now I am more used to living in the States, so I usually experience a reverse culture shock everytime I go back to China.
What inspired you to work in your field? I grew up by the ocean, so I am naturally drawn to it. I did competitive swimming throughout my youth and enjoyed swimming in the open water when I was not training in the pool. Ever since high school, I’ve been fascinated by biological sciences but wasn’t sure what specific field I should go in. After freshman year of college, I did a farm internship in the Midwest. One of the fellow interns just finished her abroad semester in Bonaire. After hearing about her cool experience diving on the local reefs and doing ecological surveys, I realized that it is possible to combine my passions for the ocean and science and make a career out of it.
Where are you from? My hometown is in Guangzhou, China. It is a port city in the southern part of China.
What is your cultural, racial, ethnic background? Guangzhou is also known as Canton. Though talking to people from different parts of China or the ethnic Chinese from all around the world, people mostly speak Mandarin, the native language in Guangzhou is Cantonese. Cantonese culture has some own unique traits from the diverse Chinese culture family. When you are in Chinatown in LA, you might have a better chance to meet more Cantonese speakers. While if you are at Monterey park, you might hear people talking more in Mandarin.
What inspired you to work in your field? I did my undergraduate and master study in Bioengineering, where I formed an interest in Quantitative Biology. This discipline aimed at a mechanistic understanding of how organisms as complex systems work. For their prevalence and significance to the global environment, marine bacteria are exciting and meaningful organisms to implement my interest in quantitative biology.
What has your experience been as an AAPI in marine science? As we share one Earth and one global ocean, there are many marine scientists in other parts of the world besides the US. Not to mention that since we are all living creatures, there are way more scientists interested in life science across the globe. I know that there are many AAPI researchers in the field of life sciences in the States and many enthusiastic AAPI researchers in marine science in other countries. However, their names and research are seemingly not well recognized by the marine science community in the States even though the research interests are so relevant.
Share a few things about yourself that others may not know about you. I have many nicknames. My favourite one is “Ahoy” (and it has been part of my Twitter, Github and Instagram handle). Besides it is the greeting word between sailors, “Ahoy” is how Ah(common first word as a Chinese nickname)-Kai (part of my first name) being pronounced in Cantonese. So, “Ahoy there!”
Where are you from? I’m from Tianjin, China. It’s a province at the Northern East of China, right next to Beijing ;) I came to the US in 2016 when I entered my Master’s program in Rutgers University in NJ!
Family traditions that are especially important for me? I’m super proud of this fact that in my family, all my grandparents and my parents they never hesitated to buy me any kind of book when I was a young girl, and they would give me books as birthday gifts, which really encouraged my interests in reading and seeking knowledge (as well as interests in comic books hahahaha). And they are super supportive for me to go into higher education. What they always say to me is that I’m their pride, and I should go get education as long as I want and I can. So here I am now!
What inspired me to work in this field? My major for undergraduate and my Master’s were both Environmental Sciences, and I found myself to be uniquely interested in microbiology during my studies at Rutgers (Thanks to Dr. Fennell!). Also my hometown is a coastal city so I have had interests in the ocean since I was very young.
Something you might not know about me.
I’m not an outdoor person but I love traveling A LOT
I’m a huge fan of all the Assassin’s Creed games
I can speak Chinese and English rather well (obviously lol), a little bit of Japanese and Korean, and know some (very little) German.
Where are you from?
I was born in Illinois and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
What is your cultural, racial, ethnic background?
I am a 2nd generation Taiwanese-American. My parents came to America from Taiwan for graduate school, and my brothers and I were born in America. Taiwan's history is complex with several indigenous cultures and other lineages within the main and surrounding islands. In the 17th century, the Dutch occupied the island for a period. During this time, there was also an influx of Hakka people from Fujian and Guangdong. Before he passed, my grandfather told me stories about how our ancestors fought off the Dutch, and that is the earliest knowledge I have of my ancestry. Taiwan has also been occupied by Japan, and my grandparents all grew up speaking the Japanese language and the Taiwanese dialect. Following WWII, the Chinese Communist Party drove out the Nationalist Party (aka KMT) to Taiwan where they established martial law. My parents grew up under KMT rule, and since their roots on the island pre-date the KMT, they have always favored Taiwanese independence. Since then, Taiwan has undergone democratic reform, and tensions remain regarding the international recognition of Taiwan's independence. With this history, I identify as Taiwanese-American rather than Chinese-American; but having been born and raised in America, my American identity is most central to who I am.
What inspired you to work in your field?
Growing up, I spent more of my free time outdoors than indoors. Every summer, my family would go to the beach where I grew to love the ocean. As a college student, I had an immersive experience at our marine lab campus. Professors there inspired me by taking us kayaking to the outer banks or wading up estuaries during low tide to collect animals to study in the lab. The connection between the natural world and the laboratory was attractive to me since it combined my love for the outdoors with my scientific curiosity.
Racial and ethnic background. Taipei, Taiwan. I was born and raised in Taiwan. My grandparents settled in Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War. I moved to the US after completing my bachelor’s and MS degrees to pursue my Ph.D. in biology. Moving to a new country sometimes makes me feel like following a similar path taken by my grandparents. Fortunately for me, there was no war involved.
Marine Science. I have always been interested in growing living things, especially ones that I can grow from the earliest stage of the life cycle. Growing up in Taiwan, island with a ~1,000-mile coastline, there were lots of opportunities to study marine and aquatic sciences. I started my laboratory journey from studying the physiology of growth and development in fish. At USC, I was exposed to research using shellfish as model organisms and have been fascinated by sustainable aquaculture of herbivorous shellfish species.
Representation matters. It has been eye opening for me to experience the sensitivity to racial and ethnic diversity in the US. There is a lot less racial diversity in Taiwan. Living in the US has helped me appreciate and understand more about ethnic diversity in Taiwan and elsewhere. I’ve also learned a great deal from friends and colleagues who grew up as a minority in the US. It is great to see many inclusion initiatives to celebrate and appreciate diversity!
Names, nicknames? There had been some interest in knowing more about my names (usually from people outside academia). I do have a name that sounds more Mandarin, and it is ‘Tien Chien.’ I was also given the name ‘Francis’ when I was born. It is common for Taiwanese to have a combination of names that appear on their documentations. Now my secret identity has been revealed.
Where are you from? I grew up in the SF Bay Area and have lived in LA since 2012.
Racial and ethnic background. I am biracial - half Korean and half white. My mom’s family immigrated from Korea to the US in 1973. My dad’s family is Jewish and I was raised Jewish. Since my childhood, I have struggled to reconcile these two parts of my identity and the intersection of race and religion. I am too Asian for some spaces and too white/Jewish for others. I have been told that I can’t be Jewish because I am Asian and I often feel like an outsider in my own family, especially because I can’t speak Korean. Despite this, I have been making an effort to learn more about both of my cultures through cooking (one of my favorite hobbies), so if you’d like to try some Korean/Jewish fusion food, let me know!
What inspired you to work in your field? I have always been interested in space and the origin of life. I was fortunate enough to have my first research experience with the Planetary Protection group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Since then, I have focused my research on exploring the limits of life on Earth in extreme environments and the potential for life elsewhere in the universe.
How has your heritage shaped the person you are today? My grandmother’s experience as a young adult during the Korean War has been a huge motivation for my own career aspirations. My grandmother’s dream was to study mathematics at Seoul National University, especially because it was only the second year that the university had begun accepting women. Unfortunately, she became a refugee of the Korean War and had to delay her career aspirations. She was further discouraged from pursuing her education by her family, who expected her to get married instead. Finally, in 1956, she graduated from Seoul National University as the only female math graduate and went on to earn a master’s degree in math in 1961, which was rather unheard of at the time. My grandmother gave up her career in mathematics when she moved to the US in search of better opportunities for my mom and her siblings. Because of my grandmother, I never take my education for granted. My grandmother was somewhat of a trailblazer as a woman in STEM and because of her, I always strive to pursue the opportunities that were not available to her at the time.
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