KI Internship Alumni

Note: these bios may date back to the time of each individual’s internship.

Summer/Fall/Winter 2011-2012 Exhibits/Events intern Jessica Chin is a recent U.C. Berkeley graduate who double majored in Asian American Studies and Art History. At Berkeley, she chaired the Issues committee of the Asian American Association, putting on campus-wide events to raise awareness about issues in the API community, managed hardboiled, the only Asian Pacific American news magazine on campus, and worked as a campus tour guide. She became interested in the Korematsu Institute after learning about Fred Korematsu in her Asian American Studies classes and is super excited to get involved!
Fall/Winter 2011-2012 Policy Intern Patricia Ju majored in Psychology from U.C.L.A. During her time there, she wrote for the campus paper Daily Bruin and the Asian Pacific Islander newsmagazine Pacific Ties. Upon graduation she interned for the Hon. Socrates Manoukian of Santa Clara County Superior Court and taught English in Korea, where she reconnected with her heritage and family. She became interested in interning for the Korematsu Institute upon learning of Fred Korematsu Day Bill’s passage. The cause of the Institute has inspired Patricia to contribute her efforts into expanding the Korematsu Bill so that the public at large will become aware of Fred’s personal journey and legacy.
Summer/Fall 2011 Film/Photo intern Sarah Gepigon is a student at Stanford University majoring in Urban Studies, with a concentration in Urban Society and Social Change. Sarah was inspired to join the Korematsu Institute after learning about Fred Korematsu during a class leading up to her Alternative Spring Break, “Asian American Issues: From Identity to Action.”After visiting API social justice organizations, she was compelled to get more involved with API issues. With her belief in art as a vehicle for social change, Sarah looks forward to combining her passions for art and activism as an intern for the Korematsu Institute and in our fight for social justice.
Summer 2011 Technology and Education intern Jeremy Chan is a current UC Berkeley sophomore majoring in Legal Studies/Business with a minor in Japanese.  He is a member of the Cal Parli Debate team and is currently serving as the Publicity Chair for Berkeley’s Nikkei Student Union. Jeremy was inspired to intern at the Korematsu Institute after helping to plan NSU’s annual Day of Remembrance, during which he heard Karen Korematsu, Mahmoud Munes Tomeh, and Lance Yokota speak.  He is excited to join the Korematsu Institute, for it combines his involvement in JA issues with his interest in law.
Summer 2011 Research and Education intern Ifrah Ahmed was born in Somalia and raised in Seattle. She is a student at Seattle University with a major in Political Science (with a legal specialization) and a minor in Global African Studies. She is currently the Vice President of SU’s Muslim Students Association and a member of SU’s Diversity and Equity Education Program (D.E.E.P). She became interested in the Korematsu Institute while completing a fellowship at SU’s Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality. She has been unable to forget the story of Fred Korematsu and is excited to intern at the Korematsu Institute!
Spring 2011 Education intern Dat Tommy Phan is majoring in Business Administration with minors in Public Policy and Asian American Studies at UC Berkeley. He currently interns with the Asian Pacific American Student Development (APASD) Center and works as a undergraduate research apprentice for the Goldman School of Public Policy. Dat was inspired to join the Korematsu Institute after attending a guest lecture by Karen Korematsu and Don Tamaki.  Realizing the relevance of the Fred Korematsu story to contemporary issues in civil rights, Dat is excited to help the Korematsu Institute increase community awareness about this important Asian American civil rights leader.
Fall/Winter 2010-2011 Publicity intern Jee Hyung Kim is a Political Science major at UC Berkeley and the former Vice President of the Committee for Korea Studies. Jee grew up in Germany and Korea and was inspired to join the Korematsu Institute after learning about the Supreme Court case Korematsu v. US in his Constitutional Law class. The lesson enabled him to recognize the close parallels between the circumstances at the time of Korematsu’s case and many civil rights issues today.
Summer/Fall/Winter 2010-2011 Design and Technology intern Ashlyn Kong is pursuing a double major in Political Science and Media Studies at UC Berkeley. She recently completed an undergraduate research apprenticeship in Sociology, where she researched the trajectories of presidential campaign staffers. Ashlyn was inspired to join the Korematsu Institute after learning about Fred Korematsu’s case in history and politics courses and discussing its significance with her mother, a third-generation Japanese American.
Fall/Winter 2010-2011 Education Intern Claudia Leung is a graduate of Macalester College in Minnesota, where she earned a Bachelor’s in Humanities, Media and Cultural Studies. She has worked as an Americorps Member at the Science Museum of Minnesota and as a teacher with the Breakthrough Collaborative. She was inspired to join the Korematsu Institute after a close friend did a research project about her grandmother’s experience as an internee. Claudia sees an urgent need to connect the lessons of this historical episode to the civil liberties and human rights challenges that diverse communities face today.
Fall/Winter 2010-2011 Archival Research intern Christine McFadden is a junior at Stanford University with a double major in International Relations and East Asian Studies. She works as a correspondent for the Pacific Citizen, a national Asian Pacific American newspaper, is co-president of Stanford University Nikkei, and was president of Unite People, a multicultural youth group under the Japanese American Citizens League in high school. Christine was inspired to join the Korematsu Institute after meeting Karen Korematsu and Don Tamaki as guest speakers for an Asian American Studies course she taught at Stanford called: “Japanese Internment and the Manzanar Pilgrimage.”
Summer/Fall/Winter 2010-2011 Documentary Film intern Winnie Wong is studying documentary filmmaking and multimedia journalism at the Berkeley Digital Film Institute and SF’s Academy of Art University. She received a BA in Law & Society at UC Santa Barbara and has worked as a technology sales professional for the last four years. She is very excited to be part of the Korematsu Institute because she is passionate about social justice, community activism, and producing media to educate individuals about these topics.
Summer 2010 Publicity and Education intern Sunny Kim is a double major in Asian American Studies and Business Administration at UC Berkeley. She also currently writes for hardboiled, UC Berkeley’s Asian Pacific Islander newsmagazine. Sunny was inspired to join the Korematsu Institute after meeting Karen Korematsu and Don Tamaki, an attorney who represented Fred Korematsu, in her Asian American law course at Berkeley.
Summer 2010 Archival Research and Education intern Aya Jennifer Sakaguchi is a recent graduate of Bowdoin College with a double major in French and Government and Legal Studies and a minor in Africana Studies. She has experience working with non-profit organizations, including the office of Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, the Center for International Policy in Washington DC and the Exploratorium. Aya is very excited to join the Korematsu Institute to help increase awareness and educational opportunities about the importance of civil liberties and of human rights.