AKS Fellows

Venesia Delancy is an Asian Studies MA student at George Washington University focusing on Japan-Korea relations and East Asian politics. Her initial interest in Asian Studies was sparked by her experiences learning Korean during her undergraduate years, and she would eventually become one of the first non-native students to work as a Korean tutor and mentor at Mount Holyoke College. Her extensive involvement in the Korean language department earned her the 2022 Korean Cultural LA Award and she was awarded first place in the 2022 MHC Korean Speech Competition for her “History of Arirang” presentation. With a bachelor’s degree in International Relations, Venesia found herself increasingly interested in the impact’s major actors such as the US, China and Japan have had on the formation of the Korean peninsula. This led to her becoming a research intern at the Committee of Human Rights in North Korea during her gap year in 2022.Through her time at GW, she aspires to conduct research on the impacts of Japanese colonization on South Korea’s modern-day sociopolitics.

Santiago Ravello is an Asian Studies MA student at George Washington University focusing on the relationship between Japan and Korea, both historical and present. He graduated cum laude from Portland State University with a degree in history and a firm grasp on the Japanese language. As part of his degree, he wrote a thesis focusing on the role Koreans played in Japanese expansion into Manchuria during the opening decades of the 20^th century. He has also participated in translation projects for historical Japanese American documents. After completing his undergraduate studies, he worked in Japan for 3.5 years through the JET Program as a CIR (Coordinator for International Relations) where he helped a small municipality continue their sister-city relationship with Plymouth, MA, despite COVID limitations. While working in Japan, he began his study of the Korean language. He currently works as a freelance translator for various clients.

KDIS Fellows

Laura Ulmer is an M.A. student in the Asian Studies program, focusing on Korea, East Asian relations, and international security issues. She earned her B.A. from James Madison University in International Affairs, graduating with honors. She further earned her law degree from William and Mary Law School. Laura began her career practicing criminal law at the local and state government level. Since 2015, she has worked as an attorney for the U.S. government, practicing administrative law. She has always had a keen interest in Asia, but began to think about beginning formalized study in the area several years ago when she started learning Korean and studying Asian politics. Laura lives with her husband and children in Virginia.

Olivia Truesdale is a M.A. in Asian Studies student with specializations in Korea and Global Communication & Public Diplomacy. She is also a Program Officer at FMC for the Congressional Study Group on Korea and serves as Intern Coordinator. She was a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in South Korea in 2022, where she also tutored members of the North Korean Defector community. Prior to Fulbright, she worked at the National Bureau of Asian Research’s Political and Security Affairs Group and interned at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul’s Nonimmigrant Visa Unit. Olivia is a two-time CLS Korean scholar and studied abroad at Yonsei University. She participated in GWIKS’ North Korea Program in 2021. Olivia graduated summa cum laude from Scripps College with a B.A. in foreign languages (Spanish and Korean). She completed a Spanish-language thesis project on global and local cultural influences on the representation of youth experiences in South Korea and Spain. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Delta Pi.

Rachel Zemil is a Master’s student pursuing a degree in History, with a focus in East Asian and Central Asian History throughout the Cold War and beyond. She has a specific interest in North Korea studies and the formation of North Korean Womanhood by the state. She is self-taught in Korean and is continuing her Korean language studies, allowing her to examine Korean history through the direct lens of Korean primary sources. She is interested in completing research as an intern or working full-time for a policy-oriented think tank, or providing geopolitical advice to nonpartisan research institutions.