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Home › Forums › Core Seminars › East Asia: Origins to 1800, Spring 2018 › Self-introductions
Christine Xu.
cgaoHi everyone! We are looking forward to meeting and getting to know you in person over the next few months, but please use this thread to introduce yourself for now.
Please upload a photo of yourself if possible. Go to "my account," then click on the edit tab, and upload a photo at the bottom. Make sure you click save!
clay dubeHi Folks, I'm Clay Dube, USCI director and the lead instructor for this course. Catherine and I work together. I've been studying and teaching Chinese history for a very long time. I've taught at the secondary school level in San Diego and at colleges and universities in China and in the United States. I love traveling, photography, and reading. My last two non-work related books are Michael Connelly's The Black Box and Jason Matthews Red Sparrow (I've not quite finished it, so don't give the ending away).
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Tanish FortsonHi guys,
My name is Tanish Fortson and this is my second time taking a class with the institute. I received my teaching credential in special education in 2013. I am currently working with LAUSD at Hillcrest Elementary School and teaching students with mild disabilities in grades K-2. I am very excited about this class and program and am looking forward to learning new content that I can teach my students, as well as my colleagues. I have traveled internationally but only to parts of Europe and the UK. I have not been to Asia yet. I am interested in the trip to China and Twain this summer but cannot apply because I am expecting and due in July. For now, I am happy just learning facts in regards to East Asia.
Lin KuangHi I am Lin,
I am currently teaching 10th English in Green Design STEAM Academy, and I have taught for 10 years here in USA. I taught English in China for 10 years. I was born in Chongqing and worked in Shenzhen University before I came here to LA in 2003. I graduated from Rossier School of Education at Master of Arts in Teaching progam in 2006 to continue my education career here in USA. I am very interested in building a cultural bridge between USA and China to spread out our traditons and culture. Actually, I am teaching my students Chinese Calligraphy to train our students to be still and deciplined with the essence of the Chinese arts and philosophical traditions during lunch and after school.
Nicole WalkerHello! My name is Nicole Walker. I am a fifth grade teacher in Arcadia Unified School District. Our school is very diverse and I am excited to not only understand the East Asian culture better, but bring some fun and exciting lessons to my students. I do love to travel and have visited China, yet it was 17 years ago, so I'm sure just a few things have changed since then. 😉 On a personal note, my children are half Chinese, so there is a desire to be able to teach them about their history and culture. Looking forward to learning new and exciting things!
Sandra Soltero-TorresHi Everyone!
My name is Sandra Soltero-Torres. I have been teaching for LAUSD since 1996. I have a multiple subject credential (BCLAD) and have mostly worked with ELL students. I worked at Cahuenga Elementary for 17 years where I taught Spanish waiver to basic classes for ELL students. We also had a Korean dual language program which somewhat exposed me to the Korean culture. I currently teach a 4th grade ELL class at William Anton Elementary in East Los Angeles. Every year we host Chinese students and teachers. My students have not had much exposure to any East Asian cultures. I am excited to be taking this seminar so I can gain knowledge and take it back to my classroom!!
Percy OrtizHello, my name is Armando. I worked as a substitute teacher for almost three years before getting hired as a full-time Social Studies/History teacher at Clinton Middle School. I've been there for a year and a half teaching 8th grade U.S. History. Prior to getting into public education, I spent some time in South Korea and China, studying and traveling. I've been fortunate enough to have visited and seen many places in China, fulfilling my own desires of learning about that complex country. I studied at Yonsei University while doing my undergraduate degree, and after acquiring my masters spent a year and a half at Beijing University's Foreign Language School. My wanderlust has also taken me to Japan a few times. All along I've learned that East Asia is diverse as well as teeming with different ideas. I am hoping that these seminars give me a better focus on how to introduce and to teach students about East Asia's rich culture and history. It's also a way for me to review, reflect on all that I've learned and done, in relation to East Asia, in the last 20 years as well as to prepare myself for my up coming visit to China. Cheers!
Jacqueline MercadoHello everyone. My name is Jacqueline Mercado and I am excited about joining this unique seminar and forum. I have been teaching for about 16 years and most of that experience is in teaching English to middle school students in inner city schools in Los Angeles. I am currently teaching in an independent study school within LAUSD. As an independent study teacher, I get to teach all subjects to high schoolers, grades 9-12. I decided to participate in this seminar precisely because I am a teacher of English by traning and welcome opportunities to strengthen my knowledge in other content areas and to think about my teaching practice. Of all of the courses I teach, world history is of great interest to me. I took a similar seminar last semester and found the experience gratifying and my interest in learning about Asia, its culture and history was piqued. I look forward to learning more about the distinct cultures and histories of Asia in this seminar and to explore ways to impart that knowledge to my students.
Juan Liebana-MenaHi everyone! My name is Juan Liebana and I'm really excited about this seminar. I've been teaching for 14 years. I grew up in Spain and lived in England for a while prior to relocating to Los Angeles in 2008. I've been with LAUSD for 10 years and have taught English, ESL and Spanish both at middle and high school level. I'm also an adventurous traveler and have been to over 20 countries and counting. In East Asia, I've only been to Japan though, but I'm planning a trip to China and Korea soon, so I'm looking forward to learning more about the culture and history of these countries.
Liliana Reyes-ContrerasHello everyone! My name is Liliana Reyes Contreras. I am a Los Angeles Native and work at Young Oak Kim Academy in Koreatown. I am a school counselor and have been at my current site for 2 years. I love to learn about new cultures and it is perhaps the thing I miss most about college. I am fscinated by East Asia and all the things we can learn from the past and interpreting how they have shaped the countries we see today. I enjoy traveling as well and look forward to visiting Asia someday soon.
Laura GonzalesHello,
I am Laura Gonzales, I want to apolagize for late introduction, but better late than never! I current teach 10th grade AP world, 12th grade government and economics. I have been teaching for the past 6 years. I decided to apply for the seminar because I am not to knowledgeable in Asian studies and I felt like I was doing a diservice to my students when it came to Asia. I would breaze through the content and tried to answer questions about something that I wasn't to confident about. I am super excited to learn about Asia and I am glad I could be part of this seminar.
Jonathan TamHi everyone,
Jonathan Tam from the School of Social Justice at Miguel Contreras. This is my second time taking a course through the US-China Institute because I find it incredibly engaging and enlightening.
Alexandra BeckerHi Everyone,
My name is Alexandra Becker (Alex) and I currently teach 7th grade World History (Medieval Times) at the School of Arts and Enterprise in Pomona. I have also previously taught courses in U.S. History, Modern World History, and Global Issues for grades 9-11. My background and degree is in American History (U.S. and Latin America), as well as World History. I went to undergrad at UC Santa Cruz, and received my Masters from USC. I am somewhat unfamiliar with Asian studies, except for a class I took in college on Warrior Japan, and my own individual research while teaching Medieval Times. I am looking forward to building knowledge in East Asia, so that I can incorporate it into my classroom. I look forward to our interesting lectures and discussions to come!
Karimah Tennyson-MarshSince I just had to write a bio for our school website, it will serve as a great into.
Karimah Tennyson-Marsh is the 8th Grade ELA teacher at Century Community Charter School. She has 15 years of teaching experience, 13 of which have been at CCCS. She is the Chair of the English Department, and serves on the Pipeline Committee, a group devoted to maintaining the unique culture of CCCS. She is also a contributor to Rich in Color, a blog focusing on promoting & reviewing diverse YA literature. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles.
Stella CastroHello everyone, my name is Stella Castro, and I currently am teaching in the city of Cudahy. I am a special education teacher teaching students with multiple disabilities orthopedic, (MDO). I have been teaching about 13 years, I really don’t know how many, but it is in that area. My credential is Moderate/Severe, and therefore I get to teach the severely disabled. However, since I have been teaching, I have never had the type of students I now teach. This time around, my students are severely disabled. . Most are non-verbal, some are autistic, some have Intellectual Disabilities, all have significant motor disabilities, and also some have vision impairments as well as hearing impairments. And one half of the students are gastrointestinal tube fed, (they have G-Tubes), in which they require to have Health Care Assistants in both school/classroom assistance and in the/their bus transportation needs.
This is my introduction, looking forward to meeting all of you face to face in the upcoming weeks of this seminar.