PiA Fellow Facebook

Country

2017-2018

Daphne Chen

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Columbia University '14
Major in English
Hometown: Dallas, TX

Daphne has wanted to be a reporter since the eighth grade. But she never imagined reporting in Cambodia, where she will be working for the Phnom Penh Post. She currently lives in Utah where she does a lot of hiking, writing, and discussing politics.

Michael Chen

Xizhou, China

Linden Centre

Wheaton College '17
Major in History and Sociology
Hometown: Richmond, VA

Michael loves asking impossible questions, cooking for his friends, discussing pressing social issues. You'll find him engrossed in thrilling reads, breaking it down to bumpin' beats, and experimenting with exciting foods. He's excited to explore sustainable tourism and culture exchange in Yunnan.

Yanglu (Lulu) Chen

Yakage, Japan

Yakage Board of Education

Princeton University '17
Major in Chemistry
Hometown: Montgomery, NJ

Lulu has been stylish since 1998, when she first sported the Asian toddler bowl cut in her Kagoshima hoikuen (kindergarten/daycare). When she moved to America, the only word she knew was “watermelon,” but she eventually learned English by watching Pokemon. Now, almost seventeen years later, she is excited to return to Japan and teach English to the adorable children of Yakage, who undoubtedly will have better haircuts than she did.

Kim Chu

Vientiane, Laos

Population Services International (PSI) - Laos

University of Southern California '14
Major in Business Administration
Hometown: Fairfax, VA

Over the last 3 years, Kim has worked on 10 different consulting projects, lived out of a suitcase for a year (aka was homeless), checked out the best ice cream places in SF, and volunteered with various nonprofit organizations in the Bay Area. In her spare time, Kim enjoys solo backpacking trips, eating out/cooking with friends, having Tea with Strangers (teawithstrangers.com), book clubs, and exploring nooks & crannies of new cities. After Kim's first solo backpacking trip to Brazil in 2015, she has made a vow with herself to travel solo at least once a year and can't wait to make it a one way trip to Laos this year!

Samantha Cody

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Liger Leadership Academy

Princeton University '17
Major in Physics
Hometown: Silver Spring, MD

Samantha Cody loves food, music, and dancing. She's currently working on her creative writing and physics theses, as well as trying to graduate. She's excited to be in Cambodia next year, where she'll be teaching science in innovative and project-oriented ways, and eating lots of food.

Chris Coffey

Vientiane, Laos

Digital Divide Data - Laos

Georgetown University '16
Major in Philosophy & Spanish
Hometown: Denver, CO

I recently broke up with my man bun, so we're not really on speaking terms. To distract myself, I like to take long walks across the Manhattan Bridge and chat with the pigeons occasionally. Beer, bikes, and books are my keys to success. Ask me about my Hong Kong story.

Miles Cooper

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

ChildFund - Cambodia

Colorado College '17
Major in Molecular and Cellular Biology
Hometown: New York City, NY

I like snow and motorcycles

I am pretty good looking (or so my mum tells me)

Maddy Dahm

Colombo, Sri Lanka

International Water Management Institute - Sri Lanka

University of California, Santa Barbara '16
Major in Physical Geography
Hometown: Isla Vista, CA

Ready to have a Dahm good second year as a PiA fellow in Colombo.

Tara Dear

Yangon, Myanmar

Proximity Design

Yale-NUS College '17
Major in Arts and Humanities
Hometown: Singapore

Tara's favourite time of day is 5am, which earned her eternal shame on a university orientation camp when she was given the job of waking everybody up before the crack of dawn. When not singing cheery morning songs, she does yoga and ponders the intricacies of English grammar. In her ideal world, everybody would know the difference between its and it's, and she'd be going to live in Yangon for a year. At least one of those things is true.

Virginia Dillon

Kathmandu, Nepal

World Education

Duke University '15
Major in Public Policy Studies
Hometown: Durham, NC

After a four-year hiatus, Virginia is returning to Kathmandu for fragrant walks along the Bagmati and Hermann Helmer’s donuts. She looks forward to more rain than she can handle and difficulties explaining Nepal's time zone.