Melissa Kwan is a Global Resource Systems student with a focus on international trade and development in the region of Asia. Her research interests include the interconnections between Asia and Canada, history of Chinese diasporic communities in the world, and ethnic identity formation. As someone who grew up in both Vancouver and Hong Kong, Melissa feels blessed to have deep ties and interactions in both places and hopes to continue bridging the gap between these two cultures. In her free time, Melissa enjoys hiking in BC’s beautiful trails and travelling.
Kristy is an upper year student at UBC, majoring in Asian Area Studies and minoring in Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies. As a second generation Chinese Canadian herself, she finds the topics of cultural identity and hybridity to be very interesting, as growing up in Vancouver has exposed her to a unique mix of both Asian and Western cultural influences. She believes that everyone has a story to tell and is passionate about connecting different members of the community through helping others retell their stories.
Katie is currently in her last year of the Bachelor of Media Studies with a minor in Asian Canadian and Asian Migration. Her background is Taiwanese/Cantonese/Vietnamese, growing up in Shanghai with a family tied to Toronto Chinatown. She is interested in the role of digital media in Vancouver Chinatown for community involvement and engagement.
Joty Gill is a recent graduate from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts in History. Her research interests include migration, memory making, and cultural production vis-a-vis South Asian cinema in post-partition Punjab.
Jessica Wang is an upper-year student at the University of British Columbia. She will be completing a Bachelor of Arts degree with a research thesis in Political Science and International Relations, and a Master’s degree in Business Management. Being born and raised in Harbin, China, and living in North America since 2012, she fluently speaks and professionally writes both English and Chinese Mandarin. Jessica is a self-taught filmmaker, an outdoor adventurer, a dragon-boat athlete, an avid traveler, and a tech enthusiast. She thrives to experiment, reflect, learn, and grow!
Heidi is a visiting student from Wuyi University in China, studying architectural heritage conservation. She attaches great importance to the value of ancient buildings, so she is studying how to interpret the value of architectural heritage to improve the public’s awareness of the protection of ancient buildings. The buildings in Vancouver Chinatown are rich in history and culture, which is why she came here.
Gillian was born and raised in Metro Vancouver and is a second and third generation Chinese Canadian, with family roots in Hong Kong, Toisan, and Sunwui. Vancouver’s Chinatown and Strathcona have always been important neighbourhoods for her family, and because of her interest in her family’s migration story and heritage, she enrolled in ACAM390 in the summer of 2019. Since taking ACAM390, she has worked on several heritage projects and initiatives on Chinese Canadian histories and stories with the Museum of Vancouver, Chinatown Storygathering team, and Richmond Museum. She was also one of the teaching assistants for HIST482: The History of Chinese Migration. In her spare time, Gillian enjoys writing, testing out different recipes, and playing with her corgi, Maple.
Crystal Yu is a recent graduate in the Global Resource Systems program with a focus on global health and nutrition. As someone born in Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver, she is interested in learning and sharing the different food and cultural experiences of Chinese Canadians, as well as bridging the intergenerational gap across Chinese communities and families. In her free time, you will find Crystal baking cookies, eating cookies, sharing her cookies, or playing volleyball.
Nathan is a fourth-year student studying Applied Biology at UBC. A third-generation Chinese-Canadian, he is interested in the history of Chinese farming and migration in the Lower Mainland. In his spare time, he enjoys watching nature documentaries and being outdoors with his dog.
Faculty of Art
