Get to know the teams that
make up the Exchange!
Knowledge Team
Michael Chow is a third year student at the University of Southern California with a major in Communications and a minor in Documentary. He is passionate about non-fiction visual mediums such as photography and documentary. He is excited to apply his interest fields of media studies and climate issues into Southeast Asia where he calls home.
Serena is a junior at Stanford studying Psychology and International Relations. Growing up between the US and Malaysia, Serena is especially interested in Southeast Asia's global presence and how its history and cultures shape the region. In her free time, Serena likes to play golf and write about food.
Henry Tan is an Incoming freshman at Cornell University, hailing from Malaysia. As a prospective Statistical Science major concentrating in risk management, he is interested in the researching the connection between environment and economy in Southeast Asia. During his free time, he also loves exploring the history and the beauty of Southeast Asia performing and visual arts.
Faith Ho is from Singapore and a freshman at Princeton University. She's interested in the culture, history and art of Southeast Asia, and the interaction with present-day social issues. She dabbles in photography/film, writing, and wandering aimlessly.
Tiya Dean is a sophomore at Stanford studying Sociology and Psychology, with a prospective minor in Human Rights. She is interested in exploring social cohesion, inclusivity and civil society activism across ASEAN. In her free time, she loves going cafe hopping with her friends, spending time in nature and listening to her playlists on Spotify.
Cat is an English and Art History major from Singapore currently at Yale College. She is interested in how Southeast Asian art influenced and was influenced by French art during and after the colonial era. In her free time, she enjoys reading and taking long walks near water or trees.
Bhu Kongtaveelert is a sophomore at Stanford studying computer science and minoring in interdisciplinary art practice and environmental systems engineering, he is interested in the intersection between climate sensing, statistics and communications in the context of southeast asia.
Hi! I'm Zheng Wei, a first year Human, Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge. I am passionate about the realm of geopolitical and religious issues in both the Southeast Asian region and the wider world. In my free time, I love scouring Goodreads to find books about as many different perspectives and societies as possible!
Ng Gia Yuan is from Malaysia and an incoming freshman at Yale, hoping to pursue Physics. My hobbies are reading and going to the gym. I cannot wait to explore areas in Science and Technology in the South East Asian region as a member of the SEA Exchange’s Knowledge Team.
Lawrence Leekie is a senior at the University of Chicago majoring in History & Economics. Having grown up in Indonesia, Malaysia, and England, he is passionate about understanding the history and historiography behind social issues in the region, as well as the way Southeast Asia is represented in public life, be it through arts, media, sport, or other institutions.
Max Han (he/him) is from Malaysia and majors in Environmental Studies at Yale-NUS College. He is interested in human rights, environmental justice, and history. His dream is to build and operate a community-owned farm, where everyone can have fun durian buffets together. He's super excited about meeting and empowering young Southeast Asians to create change within their communities - so reach out and say hi!
Celeste Ng is a final year undergraduate medical student at the National University of Singapore. She has a keen interest in exploring how healthcare can become more equitable and accessible. In her free time, she enjoys reading and visiting art galleries.
Mei Feifei is a Singaporean freshman intending to major in Economics and Political Science at the University of Chicago. She is interested in economic, physical and cultural connectivity within Southeast Asia.
Loh Su Jean studies English Literature and Middle Eastern Studies at Columbia University. She is interested in how modern mythologies of Southeast Asia are created and sustained through art, culture, and politics. In her free time, she enjoys reading and learning new drum beats for lion dance.
Ee Jenn is a Malaysian sophomore studying Economics and Environmental Science & Public Policy at Harvard. She is passionate about all things climate and has recently been exploring international negotiations, entrepreneurship, and finance. In her free time, she does pilates and reads STEM non-fiction that she doesn't really understand.
Curation Team
Eer En Xuan: I'm from Singapore, am currently attending Raffles Institution and I'm excited to explore different perspectives of SEA :)
Li Kelun is a high school student from Singapore. He is particularly interested in current affairs and politics in Southeast Asia. One aspect of the SEA Exchange that Kelun enjoyed was the diverse perspectives and experiences of everyone in the programme.
Zara Farook is a highschool sophomore from both the US and Bangladesh. She is currently located in Thailand and studies at International School Bangkok. She was initially drawn to SEA because of the post-seminar discussion aspect that gives the opportunity for people to share their thoughts and learn from one another.
Ingyin Kay Khaing Kyaw. Ingyin is currently an incoming high school junior. I’m from Yangon, Myanmar, and am interested in the field of international economic development, especially in regards to Southeast Asia; as such, I’m really looking forward to getting familiar with the region through the Exchange as a whole! In my free time, I love to re-read R. F. Kuang’s the Poppy War series, paint, and listen to music with my headphones for longer and louder than recommended.
Meredith Chang is a high school senior studying in Singapore. She loves enriching her knowledge of the region through the lens of history and literature. Recently, she's been trying her hand at creative writing and cooking.
Media Team
Lauren is a final year student from Singapore studying Sociology and Communications at the National University of Singapore. She's interested in the visual arts as well as issues concerning media, social inequalities and urban anthropology. In her free time, she loves to play volleyball, indulge in good food and explore new places!
Bhu Kongtaveelert is a sophomore at Stanford studying computer science and minoring in interdisciplinary art practice and environmental systems engineering, he is interested in the intersection between climate sensing, statistics and communications in the context of southeast asia.
Vanessa Lim is from Singapore, currently doing my masters at ETH Zurich in Science, Technology and Policy! I’m excited to contribute to this amazing project and meet other passionate Southeast Asian students.
Chong Jing--or CJ--loves art and literature but was only exposed to a narrow range of what that could look like and mean growing up. He always learns so much about the myriad artistic channels and landscapes of Southeast Asia in the Exchange. He calls Singapore home and recently graduated from Brown with a degree in Comparative Literature and East Asian Studies.
Philomena Wu is a Burmese American from Georgia majoring in Computing and the Arts at Yale. She is interested in learning more about the diasporas across Southeast Asia and its influences. On the side, she likes to write poems and take pictures of her neighbor’s cat.
Moh is a senior originally from Singapore majoring in Economics and Public Policy at Stanford, with a prospective minor in Comparative Literature. She loves reading about Southeast Asian current affairs via The Diplomat and exploring the region's film/creative writing scene. She's really excited to learn with and from everyone during the program.
Mentors From 2021-22 Cycle
Megan is a freshman from Singapore intending to concentrate in Economics at Harvard University. She has a strong interest in economic history, particularly the development of SEA countries. Outside of economics, she is also interested in literature and politics, and is excited to explore these disciplines in the context of SEA.
Eugene is majoring history at Harvard. He enjoys reading books about contemporary Southeast Asia, and tries to catch up with articles on the Mekong Review and New Mandala as often as possible.
Karuna is at Stanford, BA Economics & Music (minor) // In Thailand, I worked in political journalism and ran two NGOs in Thailand, tackling issues of period poverty and domestic abuse amongst different marginalized populations across the country. I am super passionate about social issues and learning about the socioeconomic and political structures that influence them. Otherwise, I am on the hunt for fun eats in Bangkok or spending time at the various beautiful beaches around Thailand.
Hello everyone! My name is Cassia, and I am a sophomore currently studying at Stanford University. I hope to major in Economics/Political Science with a minor in Education. My passions lie within the areas of human rights protection and early childhood education, which I’ve gotten to pursue both during my time growing up in Indonesia and now at Stanford. On the side, I’m an avid reader and deeply in love with literature - come talk to me anytime about books, news, or candid conversations about Southeast Asia!!
I’m Gabby (a sophomore at Yale-NUS College) and am currently pursuing Philosophy, Politics and Economics as my major! Having grown up as a Malaysian-born Singaporean in a Filipino-Chinese household, I often find myself within an intersection of many Southeast Asian cultures and perspectives. I hope to encourage a sense of empathy as we delve into intriguing cross-border discussions that may revitalise our understanding of the world (from art, to history, and politics)!
Moh is a sophomore originally from Singapore. She's majoring in Economics and Public Policy at Stanford, with a prospective minor in Comparative Literature. She loves reading about Southeast Asian current affairs via The Diplomat and exploring the region's film/creative writing scene. She's really excited to learn with and from everyone during the program.
Gabby Tan is a sophomore at Stanford from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia who is planning on majoring in Management Science & Engineering, though those plans are bound to change. She is interested in Southeast Asian tech, culture, and politics, with a focus on all things climate and education!
Irawadee is a social impact entrepreneur, innovator, a freshman at Stanford University, and a prospective computer science major. She envisions a world where integration of innovations for underserved communities reduces South East Asia’s socioeconomic inequity. She has experience founding & leading a social enterprise, innovating low-cost medical technology for rural hospitals in Thailand, pitching her startup at MIT Sloan, and leading international & regional entrepreneurial events. In her free time, she loves to read mystery books and tries cook food.
Kamori Psychology East and Southeast Asian history and culture and its interactions with Near East civilizations, jewelry, neuroscience, and Egyptology enthusiast
Charlotte is a Sophomore studying Public Policy and Philosophy at Duke University. She is interested in learning how to cook SEA food despite her lack of culinary ability.
Hi, I’m Zin! I recently graduated from Raffles Institution (Class of 2021) and am applying to study Law, having taken HELM (History, Economics, Literature, Math) in JC. My interests lie in tracking political developments in SEA and within ASEAN, as well as activism pertaining particularly to Myanmar given the military coup. Together with other Burmese students in Singapore, I managed to start an Instagram account to raise awareness about the situation there. I also have an avid interest in SEA history. In my free time, I like to read, draw and crochet!
my name’s adora, i just graduated from raffles institution taking biology, chemistry, math and economics. i took area studies in raffles girls school (my secondary school) which exposed me to the realm of SEA studies, and I loved learning about the cultural, social and religious aspects of the region’s history
Hi, I’m Shao-Yi, a fresher at Oxford studying English Language and Literature. As you might expect from my major, I love to read! At the moment I’m interested in Victorian literature (Dickens is wonderful), as well as how visual mediums like film bring narratives to life on screen. When I’m not reading, you’ll probably find me watching new films or rewatching old favourites; I would highly recommend Studio Ghibli's Only Yesterday and Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman! In the less literary realm of geopolitics, I'm interested to explore how the US-China rivalry plays out in the Southeast Asian arena.
Su Shien is a third-year Malaysian reading History & Politics at Newnham College, the University of Cambridge. Her favourite hobbies are the 3 'M's: mahjong, matchmaking & making Malaysian food. She fantasises about restoring a Peranakan mansion in Penang one day.
Htet Myet, born and raised in Yangon, Myanmar, is currently studying at Yale-NUS College under ASEAN Undergraduate Scholarship. His prospective major is global affairs with minor in economics. His interest is in the interplay of state-society relations, political institutions, and economic development in nation-building – particularly in Myanmar and in Southeast Asia region in general. In his free time, Htet Myet enjoys watching historical dramas.
Su Fey is a freshman at Princeton University where she plans to concentrate in Civil & Environmental Engineering with a certificate in Creative Writing. Born and raised in Malaysia, she enjoys exploring Southeast Asian literature, artisanship and cuisine.
Lynn is a Junior at Cornell University majoring in Government and minoring in History and Creative Writing. Thinking at the intersections between political science and history in the Southeast Asian theatre, she's interested in non-Western political theory and translation. In her free time, she is an amateur wordsmith and occasional rock climber.
Amy is currently pursuing a degree in History and International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She is interested in Southeast Asian politics and political history, particularly in Singapore and Thailand, as well as ASEAN. In her free time, she enjoys photography.
Hey everyone! I'm Jin Xuan, a politics and international relations undergrad who is currently studying in London, UCL. My loudest personality trait is that I play the violin and recently, I'm growing more interested in the intersections between arts and politics, as well as the connections between SEA history, SEA music and its influences on Western classical music and vice versa.
Ivan is a freshman from Malaysia studying at Stanford University. He is currently an Econ major, but might also accidentally minor in History and Data Science. Ivan is an avid fan of Southeast Asian history and culture (particularly concerning languages, belief systems, and art), and plans to work in policy in the future. Every morning he listens to the soundtrack of Crazy Rich Asians while cycling to get him hyped up for classes.
I am a junior on the NUS-Sciences Paris Dual Degree Programme. At Sciences Po Paris, I majored in Economy and Society on the Le Havre (Euro-Asia) campus, and minored in Urban Sociology. Currently, I am majoring in Sociology at the National University of Singapore. My academic interests include labour migration and human trafficking in Southeast Asia, particularly with reference to global care chains and low-wage domestic labour. Having grown up in Singapore, I am also interested in its political institutions, and my final thesis for Sciences Po Paris focuses on the role of civil society and climate activists in Singapore today.
Hi all, my name is Linh Nguyen - a first-year student at Yale-NUS College who plans to major in PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics). I have been living in Vietnam for eighteen years before studying abroad in Singapore and thus have a special connection to these two SEA countries. In my free time, you can find me watching movies, sketching randomly on my tablet, and taking photos of cats. Through the project, I hope to empower SEA youths to explore their interests and to turn their thoughts into reality. I am looking forward to meeting and working with everyone!
You can call me CJ--I study Comparative Literature and East Asian Studies at Brown University. I love art, particularly photography and drawing, and reading (although most of my reading nowadays is for academic purposes), and as such I also really love following and seeing/reading lots of Southeast Asian art and literature. My dream is to be able to help expand and develop the study and field of Southeast Asian cultural production.
Peck is out here trying to unlearn all the myths and harmful narratives they've heard about Southeast Asia growing up, and trying to tune into the stories and experiences that feel honest and powerful about being a part of this incredibly rich part of the world. On the side, Peck studies Anthropology and Ethnic Studies at Brown University, is always thinking about noodles and chilli padi, and is currently plotting their next obsessive hobby.
