大家好! (Hello everyone!) My name is Ona, and I’m from Asheville, North Carolina, located in the Appalachian mountains of Western North Carolina. I’m currently a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in Chiayi County, Taiwan, and I’d love to share the journey of how I got here!
Growing up, I was always drawn to the idea of exploring. In high school, I took a world history class that expanded my view of different cultures and solidified that I wanted to travel the world one day. Through a high school club, I participated in a pen pal program with a school in Tamil Nadu, India where I met my pen pal, Aaron and experienced global cultural exchange for the first time.
After high school, I committed to play Division 1 volleyball at UNC Asheville where I double-majored in Political Science and International Studies with a minor in Asian Studies. At UNCA, I published and presented undergraduate research on democracy in Hong Kong, studying its complicated relationship with China and the rest of the world. This research led me to study student protest movements in Taiwan, where I now live and work.
Also during my time at UNCA, I received scholarships to study abroad twice.
