East Asian Languges & Cultures 2008 Graduating Class

alt=2008 graduating class, EALC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

East Asian Languages & Cultures 2008 Prize Winners


Clint Bergstrom, Class of '08 – Winner of the Liu Family Distinguished Award in Asian Studies.
alt=Clint Bergstrom
Clint began his study of Chinese as a freshman seeking to fulfill his language requirement, but it wasn’t long until he discovered that he really enjoyed the language, and then he was hooked. One class led to another until Clint found himself spending a semester in 2006 at Peking University in Beijing and majoring in Chinese. Upon returning to campus, he continued taking a broad range of Asia-related courses and getting involved in a variety of extra-curricular activities that included the 2007 and 2008 Asian Film Festivals, the Lunar New Year Celebration, and the EALC Student Advisory Committee. This year’s selection committee, in granting the award to Clint, was particularly impressed by his strong academic performance, reflected in part, through a continually rising GPA and a broad array of Asia-related courses.

After graduation Clint will be working at a small printing and office supplies company in Taipei, Taiwan.


Ryan Daniels, Class of '08 – Distinguished Student in Chinese Studies

alt=Ryan Daniels
Ryan began his career in Chinese at Notre Dame where he has taken a broad range of both language and Asia-related courses. He is one of the first students to take advantage of the Department’s most advanced language offering, “Language Across the Curriculum” which was offered by Professor Liangyan Ge as a part of his regular course “Heroism and Eroticism in Chinese Fiction.”

During his time at Notre Dame, Ryan bas been heavily involved with the Asian Film Festival in both 2007 and 2008; he served for a semester on the EALC Student Advisory committee; and he has been a regular participant in the Chinese Language Tables.

Particularly outstanding in Ryan’s dossier is the number of off campus opportunities of which he has availed himself during the summers. In 2006, he spent two weeks in China on a program "To Serve an Ancient Village in China:  Historical Preservation, Religious Life, and Teaching English,” under the directorship of Professor Jonathan Noble. During that same summer he also won a place in the Columbia University Summer Language Program in Beijing for which he earned 8 credits of Chinese. Then, during the summer of 2007, he was chosen as one of three students who participated in the first Notre Dame Summer Language Program at Fu Jen University in Taipei, Taiwan, for which he again received 8 additional credits of Chinese.

As he prepares to leave Notre Dame, Ryan is being celebrated as a featured student in the University’s forthcoming recruitment video for students interested in Asian Studies. Fall 2008 will see Ryan once again in People’s Republic, where he will begin graduate school in Chinese studies at the prestigious Hopkins-Nanjing Center in Nanjing, China.


 John Cappa, Class of '08 – Distinguished student in Japanese Studies

alt=John J. Cappa
John had his first experience with the Japanese language in Kimiko Suzuki’s First Year Japanese class during the same semester Lili Selden introduced him to Japanese film and literature in a freshman seminar.  Two years later, Noriko Hanabusa and Deborah Shamoon revitalized his interest in Japanese language and culture in Third Year Japanese and Introduction to Japanese Popular Culture, respectively. John became a Japanese major to improve his language skills and absorb as much knowledge about Japanese culture as possible.

For two years John was involved in producing Notre Dame’s Asian Film Festival.  Last year, as a member of the Student Committee, he assisted the faculty chairpersons in executing the Festival’s programming.  This year, as Student Co-Chair he was intimately involved in every step of the Festival, from picking films to contacting a guest speaker and directing the advertising campaign.  He also moderated a discussion along with other student committee members. In addition to his participation in the Asian Film Festival, John was also a frequent participant at the Japanese Conversation Table and met regularly with a Japanese conversation partner.

Next year John will be working in Japan as an English teaching assistant in the JET Program.  Afterwards, he plans to attend graduate school in Japanese Studies and work toward becoming a college professor.

View All Profiles >

The peoples of China and Japan comprise one-quarter of the population, production, and consumption in today’s ever-changing world.

Knowledge of the diverse languages and cultures of East Asia is vital to developing an understanding of our global community. 
Learn more >

Study in China & Japan

The Office of International Studies offers study abroad programs at East China Normal University in Shanghai, People's Republic of China, Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan, and Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. Details>

Announcements

Placement Exam Information

Students who wish to enroll in a Chinese or Japanese language course beyond the 101 or 111 level must take a placement examination administered by the Department at the beginning of the fall semester. Details >