About Us
Supported by St. Olaf College’s Collaborative Undergraduate Research and Inquiry (CURI), TRIO McNair Scholars Program, and the Institute of Freedom and Community, Asia in Minnesota was initiated in the summer of 2020 by Professor Ka Wong of the Asian Studies Department along with seven student researchers: Mila New (’22), Ling O’Donoghue (’21), Yinglin Sun (’21), Mai Xee Vang (’22), Clare Wongwai (’22), Anabelle Xiong (’22), and Dez Young (’21).
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.
Asia in Minnesota: Diversity, Visibility, and Intersectionality in Higher Education is an ongoing digital project with an upcoming feature documentary film, being a part of Professor Wong’s research about Asian and Asian American experiences in Minnesota that also includes Beyond the Barbed Wire: Japanese Americans in Minnesota and Beyond the Concrete Jungle: City, Nature, and Environmentalism in Hong Kong among others.
Mila New
Class of 2022
Born and raised in suburban Minnesota, Mila New studies Chinese, Psychology, and Linguistic Studies at St. Olaf College. Raised in a biracial household, her childhood was spent surrounded by Scandinavian and Filipino culture and cuisine. Although she is not fluent in Tagalog (due to her childhood habit of stubbornly responding in English), she actively studies Spanish, Portuguese, and Mandarin. Following her graduation, Mila plans to pursue her PhD in psycholinguistics and attend law school. An interest in cognitive psychology fuels her ambitions, but her passions of performance, travel, and binge watching crime documentaries are ever-present.
Ling O’Donoghue
Class of 2021
Ling O’Donoghue identifies as a Chinese adoptee who calls Washington D.C. area home. She considers herself as a Midwestern at heart after spending a decade growing up in Indianapolis, Indiana. In middle school, she began to learn Chinese which has evolved into her double major in Chinese and Asian studies at St. Olaf College. Her love of travel has taken her from France to Tokyo, but always brings her back to China. In her sophomore year, creating a podcast and website for an independent study, Critical Adoption Studies, sparked her interest in identity formation and Asian American narratives. Upon graduation in May 2021, she hopes to pursue a future job using her Chinese Mandarin skills travelling the world. Her interests include experiencing different cultures, embarking on food adventures, and participating in cultural exchanges.
Yinglin Sun
Class of 2021
Yinglin Sun (‘21) identifies as a Chinese immigrant and a first-generation college student. She immigrated to the United States when she was in her teen years, and her personal background sparked her interest in studying Asian Americans’ experiences in higher education. Her majors are Nursing and Women & Gender Studies. She has a variety of research interests, but mainly revolves around the intersectionality between cultural upbringings, education, and public health. She’s a mentor in many mentorship programs, including TRIO Educational Talent Search, Her Voice, and Alexander Hamilton Scholars because she is passionate about guiding underrepresented students like herself. When she is not working, you can find her reading, doing pilates, or spending lots of time with her family.
Mai Xee Vang
Class of 2022
Mai Xee Vang was born and raised in the east side of St. Paul, MN to a traditional Hmong family. Thanks to the strong tradition of collectivism fueled with her years of experience in a St. Paul Public School, Mai Xee strongly believes in knowledge and education being the solution to many issues that low income, BIPOC families face. However, she also understands that something as vital as that is very hard to attain for some families more than others. That is why through this study, and with her majors in social work and Japanese, Mai Xee hopes to create a foundation for future studies to aid her in her future goal of bridging the gap and bringing education in reach for all.
Clare Wongwai
Class of 2022
Being a Chinese-adoptee, Clare Wongwai was born in China but spent the majority of her life in Austin, Texas. At St. Olaf College, she majors in sociology/anthropology and Asian studies. She hopes to continue her studies after college to become a clinical psychologist. She finds inspiration through working with youth and teens with disabilities, writing tutoring, coaching gymnastics, and being involved in social justice efforts. She enjoys learning languages, practicing musical instruments, and being a part of cultural clubs on campus. Clare believes that some of the best ways to make meaningful contributions to one’s community are through facilitating one-on-one interactions, showing compassion, and continual self-reflection.
Anabelle Xiong
Class of 2022
Anabelle Xiong identifies as a Hmong American woman and a first generation college student. She was born in the state of Minnesota and has lived there her entire life. Living in the city of St. Paul, she has been exposed to many communities and experienced celebrating cultural diversity. Her exposure to such experiences has led to her passion in learning about the experiences of others and how that contributes to how they engage in society. She is a Social Work major with a Family Studies concentration. While her interests are ever changing, she truly enjoys the cycle of mentorship into leadership. She believes it is a privilege to take on the role as a student to learn to the best of one’s abilities and then teach their knowledge to others, contributing to the cycle herself.
Dez Young
Class of 2021
Dez Young identifies as African American being biracial. He is a true townie having lived in Northfield, MN his entire life, and even though his parents work at Carleton College, Dez decided to attend St. Olaf. Dez has spent a lot of his life surrounded by athletics and is currently one of the Men’s Tennis captains at St. Olaf and also a part of the Men’s Volleyball team. Outside of sports he loves music, reading, writing, and even participating in a dance group on campus. He majors in Chinese and Asian studies, and after taking Asian Conversations at St. Olaf and traveling to China, Japan, and Korea his Sophomore year, he would like to leave Northfield after graduating in May 2021 and try to find a job somewhere in Asia. He finds learning about different cultures and backgrounds to be very important and would like to continue to broaden his perspectives through travel and new experiences.
