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The Department of Asian Studies is delighted to invite you to our annual C areers Night! Navigating life after graduation can be hard\, so each year w e bring in reputable guests and alumni with diverse experiences – at home a nd in Asia – to inform and inspire current students.
This event will feature keynote speeches from an Asian affairs luminary and a UBC career st rategist\, as well as round-robin networking sessions where you can connect face-to-face with fellow Asian Studies graduates from a wide array of back grounds.
You will also have a chance to win various raffle prizes\, i ncluding an invaluable opportunity to job shadow a faculty member from the Asian Studies department\, dining at the stunning Top of Vancouver Revolvin g Restaurant (where you can literally reach for the sky!)\, as well as a my riad of Asian Studies swag!
Careers Night is the perfect opportunity to gain career insights\, make connections\, meet fellow Asian Studies stud ents\, and feel more confident in taking the next steps on your career path .
As a student:
* Ask your burning que
stions about what a degree in Asian Studies has to offer
* Gain helpfu
l networking tips and experience (e.g. How to Use LinkedIn 101)
* Meet
your fellow undergraduates and learn about their career and academic plans
* Get an excellent head-start in planning your next move during and a
fter UBC
As an alumni:
* Share what yo
u did at UBC that helped you succeed
* Give back to your alma mater by
providing helpful insights to students on what they should expect post-gra
d
* Meet and make connections with other alumni and students
* Me
et potential future hires among our diligent and passionate students
H.E. Mr. Shawn Steil\, Am
bassador of Canada to Vietnam
Shawn Steil joined the Global Affairs Canada in 2002. In Ottawa\, he has served as director for foreign p olicy planning and executive director for Greater China. In 2004\, he began back-to-back postings in China\, first in Beijing\, with responsibility fo r foreign policy and relations with Mongolia\, then as head of the consulat e in Chongqing. From 2011 to 2014\, he served as head of the consulate in I stanbul\, Turkey\, and as senior trade commissioner for Turkey\, Georgia\, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. In 2014\, he was appointed ambassador to Kazak hstan\, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. Mr. Steil presented his credent ials and officially became the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Vietnam on May 26\, 2022.
Robyn Stalkie\, Career St
rategist\, UBC Career Centre and Faculty of Arts
Robyn Stalkie (she/her) is the Career Strategist for the Faculty of Arts. As an Arts graduate herself\, she is committed to supporting students within the Faculty to feel confident as they seek out meaningful work during their deg rees and beyond. In her role as Career Strategist\, Robyn spends time deliv ering workshops (resume/cover letter\, interview tips\, job search strategy \, etc.)\, facilitating career development events like the Arts Career Desi gn Studio\, and having 1-1 advising conversations. Outside of work Robyn lo ves to play word-/video-/board-games of all sorts and dive into on her cour sework for the Certificate of Organizational Coaching program through UBC!< /p>
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Please includ e a short connection message letting Robyn know that you found her profile through the Asian Studies Career Night event!
Kayla holds a Bachelor of Arts in Kor ean Language & Culture from the University of British Columbia. One of the highlights of Kayla's time as a student was studying abroad in Seoul\, Sout h Korea. Currently Kayla works at the Law Foundation of BC as the Team Lead of Digital Transformation where she works cross-functionally with staff an d grantees\, leveraging experience and expertise with technology\, operatio ns\, process improvement and change management to optimize processes.
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Ellie Cho\, BA ’16 – CG Artist
Ellie Cho graduated from UBC with honours in Asian Languages and Cultures (Mandar in) and a minor in English (literature). She found her passion in learning the language in Taiwan through scholarships and went back again through Go Global. During her time at UBC\, she also studied and worked under Dr. Ross King\, as well as studying translation in Korean. After graduating\, she f ound a position in a credit union\, but she left in order to pursue a more creative career.
After further schooling\, Ellie is now in the visual effects industry as a CG artist and has worked on games\, feature animatio n\, and live action films in companies like Electronic Arts\, MPC\, and Son y Pictures Imageworks. She has also taught as an instructor at Centre for E ntertainment Arts at Langara and as a trainer for Technicolor Academy.
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Karen Fayemi\, BA ’21 – Canada Emergency Benefits Offi
cer\, Canada Revenue Agency
Karen Fayemi is a UBC graduate c urrently working at Canada Revenue Agency as a Canada Emergency Benefits Of ficer. She has experience working as a legal assistant\, cultural assistant and coach/camp leader for English language learners.
Karen grew up i n Vancouver and lived here her whole life. She grew up bilingual speaking E nglish and French and she now speaks Japanese although she’s still learning . Karen enjoys photography\, movies\, reading comics\, visiting cafes and t ravelling. She likes taking pictures of natures and historical buildings. H er favourite Asian studies class was Japanese horror with Professor Laird.< /p>
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Kristy Lin\, BA ’21 – Communications Strategist\, VP Fi
nance & Operations at UBC
Kristy Lin is a second generation Chinese Canadian born and raised in Vancouver. Growing up\, she’s always be en interested and curious about many different aspects of life\, and so thr ough studying both Asian Studies and ACAM\, she was able to learn from many disciplines such as psychology\, philosophy\, sociology\, film\, media\, a nd entertainment but through the lens of Asia. One of her favourite memorie s from her time at UBC is studying abroad at Yonsei University in Seoul dur ing her 3rd year.
Outside of work\, she loves traveling\, watching th e latest k-dramas\, eating around Vancouver and documenting her life experi ences on TikTok.
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Richard N. Liu\, BA ’93 – Honorary Brigade
Division President\, St. John Ambulance\, BC/Yukon
Educated at both UBC and Peking University\, Richard Liu’s family has long distingui shed Canada-China ties for 3 generations. His career in Asia included areas of public relations\, diplomacy\, major events organisation to education. Richard now advises companies and organisations on a variety of sectors per taining to Asia.
With both Chinese\, Korean and Italian heritage in h is family\, and a passion for storytelling\, Richard recently completed two terms as Heritage Commissioner advising Burnaby City Council on matters co ncerning the identification\, management and preservation and/or restoratio n of buildings and sites with historical significance in Burnaby since 2018 . He was recently appointed as the Chief Ambassador for the Chinese Canadia n Reconciliation Project for the City of Burnaby. As a board member at larg e for multiculturalism\, he also sits on the Barkerville Heritage Trust\, a national historic site with one of the oldest Chinatowns in Canada. Richar d is also a leader in the development of a wide variety of volunteer projec ts from the Terry Fox Run to Special Olympics to the Olympics and Paralympi cs in Beijing\; to a leadership role with St. John Ambulance in BC and Cana da.
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Anh Luu\, BA ’22 – ESL Instructor
Anh Luu graduated from UBC in 2022 majoring in Asian Language and Culture with a focus on Japan\, minoring in Asian Language and Culture with a focus on China\, and a certificate in TESL. During Anh's time at UBC\, s he was involved in the Asian Studies Department starting as a student volun teer and shortly after\, work-learn positions. She was also a Teaching Assi stant for ASIA 351 (Modern Chinese Fiction in Translation)\, which is a cou rse she recommends because the readings are amazing.
After graduating from UBC\, Anh worked in Japan as an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) for JET Programme Canada. She lived in the countryside in Niigata prefecture te aching 7 (at the most) elementary schools. It was a valuable experience for her as she was able to connect with people of all ages and she enjoyed man y cultural events and festivals in the community. She was also able to put her language specialization to use and take the JLPT (Japanese Language Pro ficiency Test) while she was in Japan. After working as an ALT\, Anh grew a n even deeper love for teaching and decided to return to Canada to pursue a career in education and become the best teacher she could be! Anh is now p ursuing adult ESL teaching following the completion of her TESOL Diploma.
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Yuji Mats
on\, BA ‘ 02 – Lawyer
In 2014\, Yuji Matson became a lawyer in British Columbia\, specializing in corporate and commercial law\, immigr ation\, employment law\, real estate\, and wills and estates. With many Jap anese clients\, he leverages his fluency in Japanese and understanding of J apanese culture.
His academic journey began with a Bachelor of Arts i n Asian Studies from UBC in 2002\, with a focus on Japanese studies. After participating in the JET Programme and earning a Master of Arts in Modern J apanese Literature and Film from the University of Victoria in 2008\, he pu rsued legal studies. Yuji obtained his law degree from the University of Vi ctoria in 2011\, followed by a Master of Laws in International Economic and Business Law from Kyushu University in 2012. Yuji received his law degree from the University of Victoria in 2011 and completed an LL.M. in Internati onal Economic and Business Law at Kyushu University in 2012. Active in the local Japanese community\, he serves on several boards including the Greate r Vancouver Japanese Canadian Citizen's Association and the Japan-Canada Ch amber of Commerce.
William Strausser\, BA ’17 – Data Analyst\, UBC Art
s ISIT
William graduated from UBC in 2017 with an Honours BA in A sian Area Studies. As a student\, William pursued his interest in post-war Japanese cinema and studied abroad at Osaka University through Go Global in 2016. After graduating he joined the Department of Asian Studies as a Proj ect Coordinator working on tasks related to conference planning\, faculty r ecruitment\, and data reporting. In 2019\, he served as Department Head’s A ssistant before leaving UBC in 2020 to enroll in a one-year full-time Japan ese language course at ECC Kokusai College of Foreign Languages in Osaka\, Japan. Returning to UBC in 2022\, William began his current position as a D ata Analyst with UBC Arts ISIT\, which he works with student and faculty da ta in Python\, SQL\, and Tableau to provide reports that support decision m aking in the Faculty of Arts.
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Jennifer Ward\, BA ‘ 12 – Freelance Translator<
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As a longtime fan of anime and manga\, Jennifer Ward attende d UBC with the goal of learning Japanese to pursue her passion. During her studies at UBC\, she went on a one year exchange program to Kwansei Gakuin University in Japan\, where she polished her language skills.
After g raduating from UBC\, she participated in the JET Programme as a CIR for one year before beginning as a freelance translator. She started off working t hrough an agency before making direct clients and has continued to work fro m home as a freelancer for ten years. She has since translated nearly fifty novels and hundreds of volumes of manga from Japanese to English for publi shers such as Yen Press\, Kodansha\, Seven Seas\, and others.
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