Janelle Curtis was born in Colorado and is currently an Occidental College student graduating in the class of 2011. Her mother is Japanese American and her father is African American. She is double majoring in Economics and Asian Studies with an emphasis on Japan.

Updated April 2010

Jonathan Gartrelle is 21 years old, African American. He is a Junior majoring in Japanese and Chinese Language at Occidental College. He is a New York City Native. He works at the Daycare Center during the week, and this summer he will be interning at The Asia Society in NYC. He would classify himself as an avid fan of Japanese culture. He has traveled to Japan four times, once with a school and three times independently. He has studied the language for six years, three in highschool and three in college. He hopes to live overseas in Japan after school and study the language more intensely.

Updated June 2010

Alexander LaRose is a sophomore Economics major at Occidental College, who is also pursuing a minor in Asian Studies. Last summer he completed a research project on the Japanese economic crisis of the 1980's and 1990's under the guidance of Occidental professor Dr. Morgan Pitelka. Alexander's academic interests lie in both economics and history. Studying the confluence of economic and historical events is of particular interest to him.

Updated May 2010

David Minguez was born and raised in Los Angeles County, and is a junior at Occidental College majoring in Asian Studies. Outside of class David is a part of the Occidental track and field team as a pole vaulter, 400 hurdler, long jumper, and Javelin thrower. David is also an avid food lover and in his free time enjoys cooking and eating.

Updated May 2010

Vedette is currently a Junior majoring in Asian Studies at Occidental College. Originally from New York, she traveled across the country to California to experience something different, then later studied abroad in Japan to experience something new. Adventurous and seemingly carefree, she's fascinated by nature but abhors the insects involved with the matter. She is set to graduate May 2011.

Updated June 2010

Katrina Senn, 21, is currently a senior at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. A bi-lingual French and English speaker, Katrina is an Asian Studies major studying Japanese language and culture. As a student, she studied abroad for one year at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, where she plans to return next year on the JET Program.

Updated May 2010

Kent Taroh Tonozuka, 22, is a senior at Occidental College majoring in Asian Studies with an emphasis on Japanese Language. He is a Nisei Japanese American born and raised in San Francisco. He has recently studied abroad in Kyoto and hopes to return there soon. Kent aims to pursue a career in Japanese to English translation but is also interested in writing short stories in Japanese.

Updtaed June 2010

Stephanie Varela is a senior English and Comparative Literary Studies major at Occidental College and a native Angelino who specializes in Nabokov studies. Although she hasn’t had previous experience with Asian Studies, she has thoroughly enjoyed her experiences working with the Japanese American National Museum and the businesses of Little Tokyo.

Updated April 2010

David Wagner was born and raised in Los Angeles. During middle school and high school, he moved around to many different neighborhoods. After graduating high school, he came to Occidental College, where he is currently working on his Asian Studies major.

Updated May 2010

Jacy Yoshimoto is a sophomore currently attending Occidental College and plans to major in East Asian Studies. Next year she hopes to study abroad in Japan. Jacy is from Kaneohe, Hawaii and a graduate of Iolani School.