As a hapa girl born and raised in Hawaiʻi, my culture is a mix of many. Half Chinese and half white, I grew up with the influence of both Chinese and American traditions. I grew up folding wonton and grilling burgers, playing mahjong and uno. I was also greatly influenced by the other cultures around me—Hawaiian culture, Japanese culture, Filipino culture, Samoan culture, and so many more.
[more]The advent of globalization has brought about rapid development and opportunities for intercultural exchange at an unprecedented rate. The coronavirus pandemic had also further catalyzed collaboration across borders through online platforms such as Zoom and Slack, changing the way we interact with our friends and family on a daily basis.
[more]I am 20 years old. I am a 20-year-old male. I am a 20-year-old male from California. I am an agnostic, upper-middle-class, second-generation, 20-year-old Asian American who was raised in Irvine, California. There’s a nearly infinite number of descriptors and experiences which have shaped me, and by extension, my culture and beliefs. To summarize them all in a single sentence would be a disservice to my uniqueness and the same holds true for all people.
[more]Most people structure their social and work lives to intentionally avoid ambiguity. In the age of information, with millions of Google search results at the tip of our fingers, a lack of clear and direct information may make some leaders uneasy. However, tolerance for ambiguity is crucial to a person’s ability to operate effectively in an uncertain and rapidly changing environment. The best leaders can maintain internal consistency, even as external circumstances are ambiguous or rapidly changing.
[more]I had my first international travel experience during a two-week high school class trip to Taiwan. After a sixteen-hour flight, we explored eleven major cities, each strikingly different from my hometown in central Jersey. Although we did frequent some tourist attractions (making pineapple cakes, bargaining at night markets, paddling at Sun Moon Lake), there were several cultural barriers that brought me out of my comfort zone.
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