kindergarten mag
kindergarten mag was an online magazine i co-founded with my best friend, kleigh balugo. we both served as co-chief editors. we posted weekly content all catered to a monthly theme. i wrote many pieces for the magazine in addition to my editorial duties. you can view kindergarten mag here and read my writing here.
published work
"origin story," dry heat, summer 2022 issue 001, marjorie barrick museum of art, 2022.
"scrambled eggs is working with a whole new palette," desert companion, october 2023 issue, nevada public radio, 2023.
my academic pursuits
independent study: "the joestar spirit"
this was a research paper i did analyzing the protagonists of the anime jojo's bizarre adventure. it was published in the spring 2022 edition of the palouse review, which can be read here.
mcnair summer research institute: "scandal in ya aapi lit"
an analysis of sex scandals in ya novels featuring an aapi woman protagonist to understand how the narrative trope of sex scandals is used and whether these novels confront, challenge, or transform racialized stereotypes of asian and asian american women by using such a trope. the novels i analyze are to all the boys i loved before by jenny han, loveboat,taipei by abigail hing wen, and anna k by jenny lee.
presented at the 2024 children's literature association conference
honors undergraduate thesis: "asian american girlhood: an analysis of gender and sexuality in asian american ya novels"
an analysis 22 books written by asian women about asian american young women. i studied these books to see how asian american authors portray asian american young women and their sexuality, given the long history of hypersexualization of asian american women in literature and media. i sought to understand to what extent has the recent explosion of works by asian american women about young adult asian american women confronted, challenged, or transformed these racialized stereotypes.
won best honors thesis for fall 2022
master's thesis: "filipina american identity and feminist fury: zines as emotional archives and acts of resistance"
for this project, i examine zines created by filipino american young women in the 1990s, specifically bamboo girl by sabrina margarita alcantara-tan and bananaQ by therese garcia. the zines serve as vital archives of emotion, where authors articulate their anger and frustration towards the fetishization, sexism, and racism they encounter in their daily lives. the zines operate as sites of resistance and identity formation but also are also situated within the radical movements and emotions of their context.
presented at the 2024 boston college romance languages and literatures department graduate conference and the 2024 rocky mountain modern language association annual conference