91原创

91原创 students recognized for Asian studies achievements at home and abroad

The Center for Global and Area Studies congratulates several 91原创 students in the Asian Studies Program. In addition to earning impressive academic honors, Asian studies students have traversed the globe through study abroad programs and explored exciting career paths via internships.

Academic Presentations

Sabrina Ballah, a Chinese studies/international relations/Asian studies triple major, gave the presentation 鈥淲here Portugal & China鈥檚 Culture Blend: Macau, China鈥檚 Special Administrative Region鈥� at the Mid-Atlantic Association for Asian Studies (MARAAS) 2025 Annual Conference on November 16, 2025, at the University of Pittsburgh.聽

Maura Conley, a linguistics/Asian studies double major, presented at the Greater Philadelphia Asian Studies Consortium (GPASC) Undergraduate Conference on April 18. Her presentation was titled "Anything but Human: Splatoon Players' Internal Turf War."聽

Riley Bell, a Three-Languages (Spanish, Chinese, Korean)/English double major with an Asian studies minor, served as a lightning presenter at the Fall 2025 CAS Internship Symposium. His presentation was titled 鈥淭echnical Writing with Siemens Healthineers.鈥�

Study Abroad Experiences Across Asia

Silo Murphy, a mathematics and computer science major who is pursuing a 4+1 master's degree in quantum science, began taking Chinese language courses in Fall 2023 and studied abroad at Shih Chien University in Taipei in Summer 2025. He studied abroad again in a winter exchange program at the University of Science and Technology China (USTC) in December 2025, receiving a generous scholarship and travel funding to come to Hefei, China. The program's acceptance rate is about one percent. He was the only accepted participant from the United States. While in Hefei, he met students studying science and business from Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Malaysia, Mexico, Portugal, Poland, Serbia, Singapore and Russia. He also connected with a theoretical physics professor and may return to USTC to research before he begins his Ph.D. program.

Keyshawn Young, a political science major with an Asian studies minor, studied abroad in Seoul, Korea, in the fall of 2025.

Gunjan Jacinto is currently studying abroad in Taiwan on a semester-long program.

Martiana Olsen, a Chinese studies/Asian studies double major, and Matthew Clendaniel have been accepted into the American Councils Summer Study Abroad program and will study abroad in Taiwan for the summer of 2026. Martiana will stay in Taiwan for an additional academic year to study Chinese and Taiwan's society and culture.

Nithila Chrisostam, an honors sociology/psychology double major with an Asian studies minor, studied abroad in Kyoto, Japan, in Winter 2025.

Exploring career paths via internships

Asian studies students sought to explore their career paths and apply their knowledge and skills in real-world settings through internships.

Keyshawn Young completed two internships: one as the Justice of the Peace archivist and the other as the Philadelphia Historical Society archivist.聽

Riley Bell completed four internships over the past three years: communications intern for Delaware EPSCoR (Spring 2026), technical writing intern for Siemens Healthineers (Summer 2025), grant writing intern for So What Else, Inc. (Summer 2025) and intern for Delaware Governor John Carney (Fall 2024).

Nithila Chrisostam served as a 2026 National Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) intern.

Awards and Scholarships

Our students鈥� achievements are reflected in their many awards. At graduation season, the Asian Studies Program was proud to recognize the following students for their exceptional academic achievements during the 2025-26 academic year.

Maura Conley won the David Pong Asian Studies Major Scholar Award for outstanding performance as a graduating major in the Asian Studies Program. This award includes a $500 monetary prize.

Riley Bell and Penelope Romanelli won the David Pong Book Award for Outstanding Minor in Asian Studies for their exceptional performance for a minor in the Asian Studies Minor. This award includes a $250 monetary prize.

Bell is also a 91原创 Trustee Scholar, receiving a $17,000 scholarship per academic year for 4 years of undergraduate study. He won the $2,000 Honors Enrichment Award to attend a professional conference in Berlin. In addition, he has been an 8-semester Dean's List Recipient and an awardee of the 91原创 Honors College General Honors Award.聽

Nithila Chrisostam, who is also a 91原创 Trustee Scholar for 2022, won the 2026 Benjamin McLuckie Award (SOCI) and the 2026 Halsey McPhee Award (PSYC).

Advanced Study

Some of our graduating students decided to pursue further degrees and were accepted into top graduate programs.

Nithila Chrisostam was accepted into the Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences at the University of Chicago, the Master of Social Work at the University of Pennsylvania and the Master of Public Policy at the University of Auckland. She will be pursuing an MSW at UPenn in the fall.

Penelope Romanelli was accepted to NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine DVM Program, ranked as one of the top veterinary educational programs in North America, and received the Charlotte Bacon Veterinary Education Scholarship for $1,456.聽

Eva Grise, an environmental science/Chinese studies double major, was accepted into the master鈥檚 program at the John Hopkins-Nanjing Center, a premier program in international relations and China studies.

Riley Gates, a Chinese studies/Asian studies double major who graduated in fall 2025, has been working as an English teacher in Luodong, Taiwan, since August 2025. Her students are mostly preschoolers, but she also teaches one class of 12-year-olds. Outside of work, she has been exploring a lot and making lots of friends, both Taiwanese and other foreigners. She hosted a bilingual journaling event at a local cafe. She will attend Rangjung Yeshe Institute's Summer program from June to August 2026, for intensive Nepali study, and will stay with a host family in Kathmandu. After that, she is going to Nepal to conduct research.