AKS Fellows
Tanya Haden is a first year M.A. student in the Elliott School of International Affairs Global Communications Program. She completed a B.A. in International Relations and Global Studies with a focus in East Asian studies and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Texas in Austin in 2019. During her time at UT, Tanya became interested in the intersection of East Asian media, history, and culture. Afterwards, Tanya went to South Korea as a part of the English Program in Korea and taught English for two years in both rural and suburban schools. Now, she plans on furthering her studies while researching sociocultural anthropology and media with an emphasis on East Asia. Tanya plans on pursuing a career in content acquisition before returning to school to obtain a Ph.D. in East Asian Film & Media Studies.
Sun Woo Park is a first year M.A. student at the Elliott School of International Affairs’ Asian Studies Program, specializing on Korean Studies and International Security Policy. He decided to seek his M.A. after interviewing former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea James T. Laney about his relationship with former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung for his history honors thesis, titled “Exiled East: Kim Dae Jung at Emory,” which was subsequently awarded summa cum laude by Emory University, where he majored in History and minored in Political Science. He is currently working as a diplomatic history intern at the Foreign Service Institute and hopes to serve in the Foreign Service or work for the State Department after graduating from the Elliott School. In his free time, he passionately plays Starcraft II, a national Korean pastime, in which he is ranked Diamond 1 and enjoys reading books.
KDIS Fellows
Temiloluwa “Temi” Adeyemi is a first year graduate student at the Elliott School of International Affairs with concentrations in International Economic Affairs and East Asia. She spent the last year at the US-Asia Institute working with some Asian countries where she managed track I and II diplomatic programs. Temiloluwa is elated to start graduate studies at the Elliott School, and gain the skills and knowledge needed to be an educator, diplomat, and policymaker on issues of East Asia – Sub-Saharan Africa diplomatic/economic relations and economic development. Also, Temiloluwa hopes to research on what role South Korea, in particular, could play in numerous global challenges.
Jennifer Ahn is a first year M.A. student at George Washington University’s Asian Studies program, focusing her academic career on the U.S.-South Korea alliance, South Korean foreign policy, and domestic South Korean politics. She recently graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and a minor in Korean Language and Literature. Her previous experiences include the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Korean Affairs as the South Korea intern, Council on Foreign Relations as the Korea Studies intern, and Eurasia Group as the South Korea intern. While pursuing her M.A. degree, she will also be working as a Research Associate at the Council on Foreign Relations. Jennifer looks forward to deepening her knowledge of the Korean Peninsula and U.S. foreign policy toward East Asia at the Elliott School of International Affairs and pursuing a lifelong career in political analysis.
Jean Hwang is a Master of Arts candidate for the Elliott School of International Affairs’ Asian Studies program. Prior to joining GW, she worked as the Government Affairs Assistant for a policy advocacy organization in Virginia. She also spent time in Korea, interning for the United Nations Refugee Agency and the Korean National Assembly, where she exposed herself to relationships between international agreements and Korean politics. Jean’s primary interest is in the U.S.-Korea economic relations.
Yerin Jun is a first-year Asian Studies MA student at George Washington University, focusing on International Security and Politics. She was born and raised in South Korea. While living in South Korea, Yerin always had a desire to learn diverse perspectives about the diplomatic relations within the Korean peninsula and international relations. This motivation let Yerin to dive into the International Relations major in her undergraduate at the University of Georgia. Four years of studying International Affairs opened her eyes to this field and gave her a dream to become an expert in this field. Working with theprofessor in the college, Yerin worked as a research assistant for the project creating psychological profiles of global leaderswho were engaged with nuclear weapons and armed conflicts. Besides this project, Yerin participated in another project as aproject assistant to provide East Asian countries’ underlying backgrounds and interests on military issues. These experiences consolidated Yerin’s passion for studying Asian Studies and security issues around the world. Yerin is very excited to study at the George Washington University and further broaden her knowledge to become a master of International Relations.
Kaitlyn King is a first year MA student in the International Affairs program, concentrating in Asian Studies. She earned her BA in International Relations with a minor in East Asian Languages and Culture from the University of Southern California. Through studying abroad at Yonsei University in South Korea during her undergraduate junior year, she furthered her understanding of the Korean language and international relations. Internships including working on the Hill and with the Council on Foreign Relations, as well as various research assistantships, grew her interest in policy and research. Her academic journey and experiences as a person of mixed race led Kaitlyn to become invested in the progression of Korean Peninsula and Korea-Japan affairs. Kaitlyn is excited to attend George Washington University to continue her studies of East Asian international relations in working towards a career in academia and policy-making.
