Graduate Student Interns
UC Santa Barbara graduate students advanced their language skills while contributing to meaningful research, translation, and cultural projects. Their work ranged from preserving film history and supporting Ainu cultural revitalization to editing major academic journals and strengthening international academic partnerships. Made possible by the Ogawa Fund for Japanese Language Studies, these experiences deepened students’ scholarship and expanded their professional pathways.
Zak Armine-Klein
2023 M.A., Religious Studies
2027 Ph.D., Religious Studies
Hanne Deleu
2026 Ph.D., East Asian Languages & Cultural Studies
Meagan Finlay
2027 Ph.D., East Asian Languages & Cultural Studies
Michael Ioannides
2026 Ph.D., East Asian Languages & Cultural Studies
2020 M.A., Anthropology 2025 Ph.D., Anthropology
Sabra Harris
2026 Ph.D., East Asian Languages & Cultural Studies
Raymond Katsuki Obara Chung
2025 M.A., East Asian Languages & Cultural Studies
2026 Ph.D., East Asian Languages & Cultural Studies
Laura Snell
2025 Ph.D., Religious Studies
“I worked closely with Karafuto Ainu artist and educator Naraki Kimiko. It was under her supervision in this internship that we were able to create an online gallery of Karafuto Ainu indigenous artwork. Thanks to this internship, we were able to conduct the interviews, transcribe them, and make their English translations."
Sabra Harris ’26
Faculty
Faculty used the Ogawa Fund to strengthen UC Santa Barbara’s Japanese language programs by enhancing course materials, supporting immersive advanced-language learning, and bringing a Kyoto University scholar into a graduate seminar for in-depth, all-Japanese discussion. Their efforts expanded opportunities for students at every level.
Yoko Yamauchi
Japanese Language Program Coordinator
Dr. Suma Ikeuchi
Associate Professor, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies
Dr. Katherine Saltzman-Li
Chair, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies
Thanks to your support, we have been able to create and improve our course materials. We recently introduced new listening materials to the class, and I told my students that it was possible because of your support.
Yoko Yamauchi, Japanese Language Program Coordinator Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies