FLAS Fellows 2019-20

Academic Year 2019-2020

Alex Belyea (Chinese)

Alex Belyea is a first-year student in the Henry M. Jackson School’s MAIS China Studies Program. His research interests include economic and public policy, political economy, and international relations.

The Chinese nation holds a firm grasp on the modern global geopolitical landscape, and as a result, its actions affect not only China, but also the social, economic, and political phenomena of other countries around the world. The FLAS Fellowship allows Alex to take courses relevant to his areas of study while furthering his ability in the Chinese language. Thanks to this, Alex can pursue career goals of working together with intergovernmental organizations to use China as a platform for developing global strategies to burgeon the strength and connectivity of the world, both economically and socially.

Allison Foltyn (Japanese)

Allison Foltyn is working on her MA in Korea Studies at the Jackson School. Thanks to her FLAS Fellowship, she will be adding the study of the Japanese language to complement her knowledge of Korean.

Allison aims to use her Japanese language acquisition to better study Korea’s colonial period under Japanese rule. She will also develop understanding of the current diplomatic relationships of the region. Allison’s aspiration is to enter the Foreign Service or other diplomatic work in the future.

Ryan Goehrung (Chinese)

As a PhD student in Political Science with a professional background in International Development, a primary focus of Ryan Goehrung’s research is on forced migration and human trafficking, particularly in the Asian region.

Ryan gained fluency in Tagalog (Filipino) during his Peace Corps service in the Philippines. Because his research deals with flows of migrants across borders, he wishes to gain fluency in another Asian language to better conduct cross-national research. His Summer FLAS Fellowship to intensively study intermediate Mandarin (Chinese) on the UW campus is an invaluable opportunity in this respect, enabling him to conduct research on human trafficking flows from the Philippines to Taiwan. With the help of the FLAS program, Ryan’s hope is that future research in this area will provide a better understanding of human trafficking for policy makers, governments and activists to address this transnational crime.

Nicola Kalderash (Chinese)

Nicola Kalderash will soon be a 5th year student studying Informatics out of the iSchool and International Studies out of the Jackson School. Pursuing a double degree has extended his time in campus but also allowed him to better understand the interdependencies of technology and policy in a globalized world, and the rise of Asia at its crux.

Nicola is studying Mandarin in Taiwan in Summer 2019. He will focus on learning more about economic espionage of proprietary technology, a highly topical issue as of late. His career goal is to become a consultant with an Asia-tech focus for government, assisting in national security. Receiving the FLAS has made Nicola’s study abroad more achievable as he doesn’t have to worry about taking on significant amounts of debt!

Ian Smith (Japanese)

Ian Smith will be a second-year MA student in the Japan Studies Program at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. He will take up Japanese for the first time in two years and is excited to traverse the strokes of kanji once more.

Ian is a modern Japanese historian who studies the military and economic history of Japan during World War I and the interwar period, with emphasis on how the Empire was affected by global factors such as New Imperialism and the Great Depression. He also nurtures an interest in the political economy, business, and technological innovation of high-tech industries in Japan during the postwar period. These fields require reading of primary documents in the Japanese language, and Ian is grateful that FLAS provides this opportunity. Following graduation, Ian will simultaneously pursue a PhD in History and an MBA, both of which will benefit from being a FLAS fellow.