About Us

Sponsored by St. Olaf’s Collaborative Undergraduate Research and Inquiry (CURI), this project was developed by Professor Ka Wong of the Asian Studies department, along with three student researchers: Jacob Caswell, Meena Wainwright, both from CURI, and Paoge Moua from the TRiO McNair Scholar Program.

Aiming to promote and facilitate undergraduate research in all fields, the CURI program provides opportunities for St. Olaf students to work closely with a faculty member in a research framework and gain better and deeper understanding of a particular subject.

Initiated in St. Olaf in 2007, the TRIO McNair Scholars Program is one of the eight existing Federal TRIO programs funded by the U.S. Department of Education. This graduate preparatory program provides academic support to low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students, helping them prepare for applying to graduate school.

Jacob Caswell (Class of ’17) is a Minnesota native, raised in Minnetonka, a western suburb of Minneapolis. Although he is a physics and math major, he has always been intrigued by how cultural identity affects individual life experiences in the United States. He also firmly believes that, as a liberal arts college student, he should explore fields beyond his more immediate and strictly defined area of study. He is confident and determined to pursue graduate studies in the broader field of physics upon his graduation, although he hasn’t quite decided which specific field he might choose.

Meena Wainwright (Class of ’16) is originally from Georgetown, Texas. Her family now resides in Boulder, Colorado. She majors in French and Asian Studies with a China Studies concentration. With a keen interest in linguistics and language acquisition, she is also intrigued by personal and cultural identity as well as cross-cultural communication. She is considering graduate school in the field of humanities upon graduation, although she is leaving her options open at the moment. Working on this project has allowed her to fulfill a lifelong dream of utilizing microfilm, designing a website, and having the opportunity to polish her public speaking skills.

Paoge Moua (Class of ’15), a TRIO McNair Scholar, is from just outside of the Twin Cities in Oakdale, Minnesota. He majors in Asian Studies with a China Studies concentration. His primary interest is the Asian American experience, specifically the interactions among socioeconomic adjustment, political participation, and mental health. After graduation, he hopes to pursue graduate studies in Sociology or Asian American Studies. He enjoyed interviewing the participants and getting to know their stories both on a personal and academic level. He also appreciated the opportunity to work with his fellow colleagues.