I graduated in 2017 from Cornell University with a BA in Near Eastern Studies Major and a minor in Jewish Studies. I have been interested in the Middle East since my childhood, which spurred my passion to study the languages. I studied Hebrew by myself in high school and continued it throughout the four years at Cornell, along with Arabic, which I started two years later. My capstone thesis focused on the intertwining femininity, feminism and nationalism in the works of Palestinian poetesses.
In the summer of 2014 I participated in the archeological excavation at Tel Abel Beth Maacah in northern Israel and interned as an archive assistant at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life in Berkeley, California. Originally from Shanghai, China, I spent most of my subsequent summer and winter breaks working with the Center for Jewish Studies at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. My co-edited compilation of historical documents and newspapers about Jewish refugees in China during WWII has been published in August 2017.
At Columbia and LSE, I hope to explore interests including the Israeli-Palestinian relations, the history of Jewish-Arab encounter, nationalism and colonialism.
Beyond academics, I enjoy traveling, reading, cooking, and listening to music. I also practice kendo.
