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Undergraduate Student Awards

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures would like to recognize the accomplishments of our undergraduate students. A few are mentioned below:

  • James J. Y. Liu Prize for Distinguished Undergraduate Work in Asian Languages and Cultures
    • EALC Departmental Prize awarded to an undergraduate student who has written an outstanding essay on the literature or culture of China, Japan, or Korea.
      • 2023: Adam Cohen; Darren Hall
      • 2022: Emily Yu Wan; Vivian Jiahui Zhu
      • 2021: Christopher Rielage; Enshia Li
      • 2020: Won-Gi Jung; Christopher Rielage
      • 2019: Linda Zhou
      • 2018: Lilian Kong; Kelsey Reardon
      • 2017: Kelsey Reardon
      • 2016: Austin Clapp
      • 2015: Anthony Ding; Sarah Elizabeth Simmons
  • Kung Yi Kao Prize for Outstanding Progress in the Study of Chinese, Japanese, or Korean Language
    • EALC Departmental Prize awarded to an outstanding undergraduate in an Asian Language Study.
      • 2023: Darren Hall (Korean Language); Brandon Kenery (Japanese Language); Vivian Jiahui Zhu (Chinese Language)
      • 2022: Anna Chang (Korean Language); Benjamin Korngiebel (Chinese Language); Bronson Vanderjack (Japanese Language)
      • 2021: Kiara Harding (Japanese Language); Araya Sornwanee (Chinese Language)
      • 2020: Kiara Harding (Japanese Language); Megan Faircloth (Korean Language)
      • 2019: Shadi Barhoumi (Chinese Language); Fei Fang (Japanese Language)
      • 2018: Jesse Burkett (Japanese Language); Katharina Brown (Chinese Language); Isabella Cai (Chinese Language)
      • 2017: Emily Franklin (Japanese Language)
      • 2016: Herman Chau (Japanese Language); Lilian Kong (Chinese Language); Steven Pham (Japanese Language)
      • 2015: Joshua Scrivner (Japanese Language); Laura Conigliaro (Chinese Language)
  • Heidi Chou Fund Award
    • Funding awarded to undergraduate students for the purpose of enhancing their Chinese language skills.
      • 2023: Tyler Abernethy; Michael Alisky; Matias Ysidro; Lorenzo Benitez; Wyatt Johnson; Camille Luong; Stella Meier; Deven Reddy; Max Solberg
      • 2022: Michael Alisky; Daniel Gao; Kai Kato; Camille Luong; Noah Salazar; Eli Shi
      • 2021: Anna Chang; James Dwyer; Faith Koh; Ian Sills
      • 2020: Clare Phelps
      • 2019: Christine Xue; Lyndon DeFoe; Alexis Kuppersmith; Jaymi McNabb; Cole McFaul; Araya Sornwarnee; Rachel Gardner; Michelle Huang; Barry Cheung; Christopher Rielage; Emma Sylvester Bowers
      • 2018: Cora Cliburn; Aayan Das; Carling Suzanne Hank; Jiyoung Jeong; Renata Starbird Lim; Adrian Liu; Emily Ruan; Liliana Taylor
  • Korea Program Prize for Writing in Korean Studies
    • Center for East Asian Studies and Korea Program Prize awarded to a student who has written an outstanding essay, term paper, or thesis in any discipline within the area of Korean studies, broadly defined.
      • 2020: Won-Gi Jung
  • Phi Beta Kappa
    • The Phi Beta Kappa Society selects students with high academic achievement who have successfully taken classes demonstrating a breadth of engagement across the arts and humanities; the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics; and the social sciences.
      • 2024: Nicolas Garcia
      • 2023: Jacqueline Fong; Darren Hall; Patin Inkaew; Brandon Kenery; Jenna Wang; Katherine Yoon; Vivian Jiahui Zhu
      • 2022: Didier Natalizi Baldi; Ken Hong; Christina Knight
      • 2021: Stephanie Shim; Emily Wan; Kenneth Wang; Joceline Yu
      • 2020: Won-Gi Jung; Kent Vainio
      • 2019: Rose Adams
  • Russell A. Berman Award for Excellence in an Introductory Seminar
    • This award recognizes undergraduates with exemplary student projects in Introductory Seminars (IntroSems) and celebrates the diverse and innovative learning experiences across all IntroSem courses.
      • 2020: Vivian Jiahui Zhu ("Culturally Relative Fandoms: Western v. Chinese Reactions to K-pop Scandals" in Korea 101N with Prof. Dafna Zur)
  • Humanities Center Fellowship
    • The Humanities Center is pleased to announce the Hume Honors Fellowships. In the stimulating scholarly environment of the Humanities Center, undergraduate fellows benefit from a year-long association as a cohort, as well as with graduate students and faculty fellows in residence.
      • 2023: Vivian Jiahui Zhu
      • 2022: Emily Yu Wan
      • 2021: Megan Faircloth 
      • 2020: Won-Gi Jung
  • Hoefer Prize
    • The Hoefer Prize recognizes outstanding work produced in Writing in the Major (WIM) courses.
      • 2022: Do-Hyung Kim (Korea 120 with Prof. Dafna Zur)
      • 2020: Won-Gi Jung (Korea 120 with Prof. Dafna Zur)
      • 2015: Laura Figueroa (Korea 120 with Prof. Dafna Zur)
  • Bachelor's Degree with Distinction
    • In recognition of high scholastic attainment, the university awards the Bachelor’s Degree with Distinction. This honor is awarded to the top 15% of the graduating class based on cumulative grade point averages calculated at the end of Winter Quarter. 
      • 2023: Darren Hall
      • 2023: Vivian Jiahui Zhu
      • 2022: Didier Natalizi Baldi
      • 2022: Enshia Ivy Li
      • 2022: Emily Yu Wan
      • 2021: Stephanie Shim
  • Robert M. Golden Medals for Excellence in the Humanities and Creative Arts
    • Golden Medals are awarded to the top 10 percent of honors theses completed each year, distinguishing theses in the humanities or creative projects in the arts.
      • 2024: Zackery Edwards