MARSEA Class of 2012

Ben Artenburn
Undergraduate School of Study: University of Louisville
Undergraduate Major: B.S. Industrial Engineering, with minors in Chinese and Spanish
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: China
Academic Interests at Columbia: Late Modern and Contemporary China

 

Parsifal (Parsi) D Sola Alvarado
Undergraduate School of Study: Universidad Catolica Anres Bello, Caracas, Venezuela
Undergraduate Major: Telecommunications Engineering
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: China
Academic Interests at Columbia: Chinese contemporary politics
Other fun facts: speak Spanish (native tongue), English and Mandarin Chinese. After I finished my engineering major, I moved to Beijing and studied Mandarin for 3 years. Love playing guitar. Tae kwon do is my favorite sport, been training on and off for the past 8 years.

 

Sung Kim
Undergraduate School of Study: Division of International Studies
Undergraduate Major: International Studies
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: Korea
Academic Interests at Columbia:I plan to write my dissertation paper on the nuclear issue between North and South Korea and also the relation between the two Koreas and China
Other fun facts: I was born in the United States and stayed here until I was nine and went back to Korea so officially I am bilingual but I feel both are somewhat imperfect? Haha.

 

Doreen Koh
Undergraduate School of Study: Peking University
Undergraduate Major: International Political Economy
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: China
Academic Interests at Columbia:I plan to study the relationship between state and society in China; China and Japan's relationship with Southeast Asian countries
Other fun facts: yoga enthusiast

 

John Leisure
Undergraduate School of Study: University of Southern California, College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Undergraduate Major: History & Political Science
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: Japan
Academic Interests at Columbia:My MA thesis will focus on "danchi" (apartment complexes) and changes in household space, consumerism and the middle class in Japan from 1955-1970.
Other fun facts: Digital Photographer

 

Jason (Zhuoqing) Li
Undergraduate School of Study: Fudan University (Shanghai, China)
Undergraduate Major: International Relations
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: China
Academic Interests at Columbia: I study Chinese economy and policy, particularly focused on macroeconomic policy and reform, SOEs (state-owned enterprises) reform, and real estate sector.
Other fun facts: I am a photographer who has taken thousands of photos of China, and used to run a student photography club in college. I learnt Chinese traditional painting and sketch when I was young, and became a big fan since then. I also love travelling and I'm a couch surfer: sometimes sleeping on other's couch during travel and hosting travelers all over the world on my own.

 

Dave Liebenberg
Undergraduate School of Study: Kenyon College
Undergraduate Major: International Studies
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: China
Academic Interests at Columbia:I plan to study the internet in China as well as the Chinese legal system
Other fun facts: I am a musician and a comedian, I lived in Shanghai for two years after graduating college

 

Sho Nitta
Undergraduate School of Study: University of Tokyo
Undergraduate Major: Public Law and International Politics
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: China
Academic Interests at Columbia: Transport policy in China
Other fun facts: Japanese archery license holder

 

Amy Perlman
Undergraduate School of Study: University of Pennsylvania
Undergraduate Major: Linguistics
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: China
Academic Interests at Columbia: I plan to study the modern history of China as well as the current political relationship and developments between China and the United States.
Other fun facts: I worked for a year in Nanjing, China, I have two dogs named Madison and Jefferson, and I enjoy kickboxing

 

Charles Starks
Undergraduate School of Study: Wake Forest University
Undergraduate Major: Economics and Philosophy
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: China
Academic Interests at Columbia:The future of the Chinese city
Other fun facts: I worked as an urban planner in the US and Canada for 10 years and now teach urban planning at Hunter College in NYC.

 

Roy (Ruoqi) Tan
Undergraduate School of Study: London School of Economics
Undergraduate Major: Government and History
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: China
Academic Interests at Columbia: Political implications of economic change, sustainability of authoritarian rule in China
Other fun facts: Enjoys softball and rock climbing, traveling

 

Ana (Mengyue) Wang
Undergraduate School of Study: Peking University
Undergraduate Major: Korean Studies & International Affairs
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: China
Academic Interests at Columbia:Chinese foreign relations with Japan, America and Korea
Other fun facts: I do speak 3 languages (Chinese, English and Korean). And I can do some traditional Chinese stuff, like Guzheng (traditional Chinese music instrument) and Weiqi (Asian chess).

 

Jeffrey Wang
Undergraduate School of Study: Boston University and University of Chicago
Undergraduate Major: B.A. in International Relations and M.A. in International Relations
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: China
Academic Interests at Columbia:Chinese military and security studies
Other fun facts: Jeffrey Wang was originally from New Jersey but spent almost ten years living and traveling around Taiwan and South-East Asia.. His hobbies include editing and sketching atlases/maps, studying the USSR-Eastern Bloc, cross country running, and listening to operas.

 

Crystal (Xiaowen) Xu
Undergraduate School of Study: Tsinghua University
Undergraduate Major: BA in Journalism
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: China
Academic Interests at Columbia:Internet/ Media and society and I plan to continue my learning and research after MARSEA program. I am also keen in spreading Chinese classical culture and performing Peking Opera, a traditional art form of China.

 

Yi Yang
Undergraduate School of Study: University of Central Lancashire and London School of Economics(LSE)
Undergraduate Major: BA in Journalism and MSc in Media and Communications (by research track)
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: China
Academic Interests at Columbia: Media and political reforms in China, democracy, politics of memory and nationalism.
Other Fun Facts: I worked as an editor and an investor relations manager in London, Hong Kong and Macau for five years before coming to Columbia.

 

Zhou Zheng
Undergraduate School of Study: Peking University
Undergraduate Major: Korean Language and Culture
Concentration in the MARSEA Program: China
Academic Interests at Columbia: Chinese Politics and economics
Other fun facts: I enjoy learning languages and can speak Chinese, English and Korean. I am also a soccer enthusiast and sci-fi movie fan.

 

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Masters of Arts in Regional Studies - East Asia

Student Affairs

For questions and inquiries, please contact the Student Affairs Officer, Kim Palumbarit at kp2449@columbia.edu.