Peer Mentors
The Peer Mentors of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures are upper-level undergraduates majoring in East Asian Studies and can provide advice from a student perspective.
Contact one of the Peer Mentors if you are a prospective or current student pursuing the major or minor and have any questions about the program.
Zack Edwards
Major: East Asian Studies
Year: Class of 2024
Email: zedwards [at] stanford.edu (zedwards[at]stanford[dot]edu)
Hajimiti Wuganabira! (Nice to meet you!)
My name is Zack, and I am a senior from Encinitas, CA majoring and coterming in East Asian Studies with a minor in Iranian Studies. I have roots in Japan and Okinawa, so I have been interested in East Asia from a young age. Coming to Stanford, I became hooked on East Asian Studies after trying out courses in the Korean Studies program. Over the past few years, I have interned at Shorenstein APARC, the US Consulate General in Naha, and Circus Image Works (Seoul-based animation company). This past summer, I interned at Meio University in Okinawa where I researched community-based language revitalization and documentation. Academically, I am interested in language ideology and pedagogy in East Asia, and I am writing my thesis about uchinaaguchi (Okinawan) language reclamation. Outside of school, I enjoy running and learning languages.
Carolyn Stein
Major: East Asian Studies
Year: Class of 2024
Email: castein [at] stanford.edu (castein[at]stanford[dot]edu)
My name is Carolyn and I am a senior from Los Angeles, California double majoring in Communication and East Asian Studies. I studied Chinese for my first two years at Stanford and also learned a little bit of Japanese. I have also taken classes on Chinese history, race and gender in South Korea and ancient Japanese literature, just to name a few. My thesis is focused on how journalism can help reconcile the comfort women issue in East Asia. Outside of academics, I also write for The Stanford Daily and produce podcasts with the Stanford Storytelling Project.