Jess

About me

Gender Female
Industry Student
Occupation Graduate Student, History
Location Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Outlying Islands
Introduction I was born in Yap and grew up on Saipan, the capital of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. After graduating from Northern Marianas Academy in 1997, I left island to work on BA degrees in Japanese and Religious Studies at ASU. After college, I spent the 2002-03 academic year in Yokohama undergoing advanced Japanese language training at the Inter-University Center. Then I returned to Saipan where I managed a non-profit history bookstore from 9/03 to 6/07, called the Arizona Memorial Museum Association at American Memorial Park. I also worked as the only Japanese-speaking employee at this National Park, which meant that I was a docent to Japanese visitors to the WWII Museum & Exhibit Hall. I am currently a graduate student working on a Japanese history degree, and my research interests include public history, transnational studies, (post)colonialism, oral history, and video and multi-media approaches to history.