Correspondents

So Yoon Lee

Duke University | International Comparative Studies / Political Science, '19

ABOUT ME: I’m a freshman at Duke possibly majoring in International Comparative Studies or Political Science. I have a broad interest encompassing history and contemporary foreign affairs, with a focus on East Asia. Growing up in Korea, a nation intertwined with multiple interests and connections as well as participating in Model United Nations for 5 years greatly contributed to the formation of these interests. A genuine passion I have for East Asian languages also led me to immerse myself in not only Chinese and Japanese but also the culture and history of each nation. Of the many issues that concern East Asia nowadays, what most concerns me is the ongoing territorial disputes such as the Dok-Island dispute and that in the South China Sea. However, contrary to the common view that such disputes are mostly of political or economic character, I consider culture and historical perspectives equally significant factors in understanding territorial disputes, and will shed light on these aspects as a DEAN correspondent.

Peter Loftus

Johns Hopkins University | International Relations (M.A.) '17

ABOUT ME: I recently graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Chinese. During my under-graduate career, I spent four summers and one semester in China courtesy of three Project Global Officer scholarships and a Fulbright-Hays grant. Upon graduation, I commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. Over the summer, I worked in the Pentagon for Air Force International Affairs, supporting the China/Philippines/Vietnam and Singapore/Brunei/Indonesia desk officers. My academic focus is on geopolitical issues such as the conflict in the South China Sea and China’s military modernization. I’m also very committed to promoting ways for the U.S. and China to cooperate, such as in counter-terror operations, anti-piracy, and in peacekeeping ventures. I am pursuing a Master’s in International Relations through the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). I am currently spending two semesters learning IR and Economics in Mandarin at the Hopkins Nanjing Center, a joint venture between Nanjing University and Johns Hopkins.

Alexander Melnik

University of Southern California | International Relations, Policy Planning & Development '18

ABOUT ME: My interest in East Asia began in high school, when I represented China in a Model UN conference and debated exclusive economic zones. Since then, I have further explored East Asian studies through Model UN, research, and travel. Last summer, I visited D.C., Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur, researching America’s Rebalance. At each stop, I spoke to NGOs, think tanks, politicians, etc, listening to their own thoughts and perspectives on “America’s Pacific Century.” Since then, I’ve become extremely interested in the roles of narratives in state-level interactions. This year, I look forward to learning Chinese. I also intend to research the Rohingya Refugee Crisis and how China could alter its image by playing a humanitarian role here.

Nicholas Reiter

Duke University | International Comparative Studies & German Studies '18

ABOUT ME: I'm currently a Sophomore at Duke University thinking about majoring in International Comparative Studies and German Studies with a minor in Japanese. My interest in East Asian affairs started during high school, where I captained the policy debate team and researched topics such as U.S. military presence in South Korea and Japan and future space development and exploration projects (which I find particularly interesting in the context of Japan's current trend towards remilitarization). This past summer I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in the Japan-America Student Conference (日米学生会議）, held in Hiroshima, Shimane, Kyoto, and Tokyo, during which I spent an intense month touring, meeting officials and businessmen, and researching the topic "Security and Non-Traditional Threats" in the context of the bilateral US-Japan relationship alongside other American and Japanese students. Although my knowledge is mostly military-relations-related, I'd like to use this opportunity as a DEAN correspondent to broaden my perspectives on social, historical, and religious issues and to explore countries besides China, South Korea, and Japan. Because I'm a dual-citizen (father German, mother American), I'd also like to research and discuss the relationship between Japan, Germany, and the U.S.

David Shou

Duke University | Biology '14

ABOUT ME: As the son of Chinese immigrants, I have always felt connected to social issues that affect China. At Duke, I majored in Biology but developed an academic interest in Chinese ethnic minorities and health policy. During my freshman year of college, I enrolled in a writing class that examined the Chinese migrant worker experience. Learning about how migrant children were denied access to public education inspired me to spend a summer teaching English at a migrant middle school in China. When I returned to Duke, I co-taught a House Course entitled Social Inequality in China that prepared Duke Engage students who planned to teach in migrant communities. I'm currently a Post-Baccalaureate Fellow at the National Center for Advancing Translational Studies and NIH Academy Fellow at the National Institutes of Health. My research employs high-throughput screening to identify novel cancer therapies that target epigenetic pathways.

Hillary Y. Song

Duke University | Public Policy '19

ABOUT ME: I’m a freshman at Duke planning to study Public Policy and Asian Studies. I have a wide range of interests in foreign policy, with the relationship between East Asian countries and the United States being my main focus. In the past years, I have done research with Canadian NGOs on human rights and social justice issues within the region that shed light onto surprising, and very shocking, situations in all East Asian nations. I have also worked with migrant children in Beijing on building their confidence in school. With a range of economic and cultural backgrounds that are in fact extremely connected, East Asian nations have and will continue to be large players on the world stage. Thus, their ties with the United States will inevitably be extremely important. I hope my additions to DEAN will provide insights into these relationships with possibly an alternative lens from mainstream media.

Pranav Sridhar

Duke University Fuqua School of Business | MMS: DKU ‘16

ABOUT ME: Curiosity, passion, and enthusiasm are at the core of who I am. As an undergraduate at Shiv Nadar University, India, I immersed in a multidisciplinary curriculum and focused on Engineering and Mathematics. I am currently a graduate student pursuing the Master of Management Studies: Duke Kunshan University program at The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. I thoroughly enjoy engaging with individuals from diverse cultural, academic, and socio-economic backgrounds. Education and its power as a tool for transformation fascinates me. I enjoy taking long walks, sipping steaming cups of tea, and eating good vegetarian food.

John Patrick Thomas

I am John Patrick Thomas, a junior at Duke University. I am a Chinese Language and Political Science major. I am not only interested in Chinese politics, but also Chinese-American diplomacy. I have studied in Shanghai, Beijing, and Washington DC. I also study refugee policy at Duke's Kenan institute. I took part in Duke Engage Dublin, working as a social worker to refugee children in Ireland. I have always been interested in working young people, whether that be as a camp counselor or a tutor to refugees in Durham. I am an active member and philanthropy chair of my fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega. I am also a proud Bostonian.

Liu Yi

Wuhan University | English Translation and Interpretation '16

ABOUT ME: Hi, my name is Liu Yi, you can also call me Liz Lemon. I am studying at Wuhan University in China, last year I was lucky enough to exchange to Duke Kunshan University. I like communicating with people from different backgrounds, and listening to their unique stories. During my encounter with a special group in China—migrant workers, I truly understood the meaning of never judging a book by its cover, and everyone has his or her own strong-suit to be proud of. An interview with the monks and nuns in a temple in Thailand taught me that everyone deserves the right of being treated equally; they are also human beings not monsters. I hope that I can make full use of each chance of being in a society and make every interaction worthwhile.

Veronica Hernandez

NYU Shanghai | Global China Studies '17

ABOUT ME: I have been interested in Chinese language and culture since a young age, starting Chinese classes and traveling to China frequently since middle school. In addition to language learning, I also like to study art history and spend a lot of time visiting museums and galleries. Outside of school, I spend my time either fencing or traveling with my friends.

Lucy Zhang

Duke University | Pratt '19

ABOUT ME: I am an undergraduate engineering student at Duke University. As a child of Chinese immigrants, I am deeply interested in the politics and international relations surrounding China (and East Asia as a whole). As a connoisseur of all things anime, I am fascinated by Japanese culture and the way it manifests itself in media. Outside of class, I enjoy writing anime satire, browsing the NY Times, and learning new programming languages.