Jennifer graduated from BC in 2013. She majored in Int'l Studies and minored in Asian Studies and Economics. While she was here, she won a number of Japanese language competitions. Last year, she won a Pickering, a highly prestigious scholarship that provides funding for graduate students as they prepare to enter the U.S. Foreign Service. She's currently studying at Johns Hopkins's Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.

Jennifer Shin ’13 has been selected for a Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship that will support her studies of security issues in the Korean peninsula and international relations in East Asia. Read more at BC News.

My parents are from Taiwan, but I have only ever gone there to visit family. Although I grew up speaking Mandarin Chinese, it became clear to me as I got older that there were differences between myself and my extended family that were beyond language. There was a richness and vibrancy in their culture, literature, and history that I wanted to explore. I added an Asian Studies minor to my Political Science major because it offered a diversity of classes that presented many perspectives and initiated conversations that allowed me to understand the tradition and heritage of my parents and extended family. I really hope to see BC add language classes geared specifically toward heritage speakers in the future.

My name is Stephen Sheehan, and I study Chinese history. I am also an active member of Model UN and I hope to teach in South Korea after graduation. As a history major taking electives I was drawn to East Asian history, especially China, and am now finishing my undergraduate thesis on Chinese migrant women. My passion for East Asian history extended beyond China. Prof. Hwang’s course Divided Korea inspired me to teach in Korea after graduation as a real opportunity to develop a community of global citizens. I want to actuate on the goals of Model UN and eventually join the foreign service, work for an NGO, or the United Nations.

My interest in Asia, more specifically Japan, started when I watched anime for the first time. I was absolutely entranced by the language! In addition to my Economics major, the Asian Studies minor has enabled me to learn so much about not only the Japanese language but also about Japan as a country and Asia as a continent. And now I can watch anime without subtitles! After graduation I will move to Japan—my first time ever!—to take a position as Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) with a local authority or related organization through the JET Program. I am thrilled to put my knowledge to the test and finally fulfill my dream of living in Japan.

My interest in Asia began with Asian TV dramas I watched in high school, but the variety of Asian Studies courses at BC inspired me to engage with history, politics, art and music. My Political Science major and Asian Studies minor turned out to be a great combination. My semester abroad in South Korea sparked my interest in travel and encouraged me to find opportunities to live in Asia. I am excited to move to Japan after graduation to begin a position as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) through the JET program. I do not think I would have been able to find something to be so passionate about without the help of the Asian Studies classes I have taken at BC.