Associate Dean of the Graduate School, Director of the Center for Diversity and Community, Professor Of Education Studies
Hometown: From Taipei, Taiwan, and Millbrae, California
I am . . .a mother, wife, academic, immigrant, daughter,friend, connector, a doer.
Why did you come to UO? And what have you had to get used to here? The UO was my first academic position out of graduate school. The hardest thing I have had to get used to is the lack of racial diversity compared to a place like the San Francisco Bay Area where I grew up.
Who inspires you the most? Why? My daughters inspire me with their audacity to take up space, beam their brilliance, and to be exactly who they are.
What advice would you give to someone like you who is new to the UO? Or, what advice do you wish you had been given? Be open to finding community in unlikely places and with unlikely people.
What book do you think everyone should read? "A Year by the Sea" by Joan Anderson
How do you think others see you? What don’t they see? As a smallish Asian female who wears cute shoes. They might miss that I am also a fierce advocate for creating diverse, inclusive communities.
What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done? Or, what frightens you? I prefer rephrasing the question to the bravest thing I’ve ever done, which is to hang in there (whatever “there” has been) when I have felt the most despair and sense of hopelessness.
Where do you find joy? What do you do to recharge yourself? I find joy in connecting with people and in those unplanned moments when everything just seems to flow.
What continues to surprise you? People’s kindness and empathy. People’s intolerance and fear of change. Both poles of human nature never cease to surprise me.
What’s the thing you are most proud of in your life? My girls. They are the best I have to offer the world.
