Asia Hands - Our Alums

  • Mike Ludwig (SJU '95) manages a manufacturing plant in southern China. 
  • Amy Lund (CSB '96) taught Asia courses at a Wisconsin high school.
  • Anthony Sandeen (SJU ’96) oversees global marketing for the Amphenol Corporation in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.
  • Cher Thao (CSB '97), an Asian Studies major, is a Social Security administrator serving the Hmong community in the Twin Cities.
  • Lor Lee (CSB '97) counsels Hmong students in suburban Twin Cities schools.
  • Timothy Berglund (SJU '97) majored in Asian Studies, taught in Japan, and now manages a manufacturing plant in southern China.
  • Emily Dahm (CSB '97) earned a China-focused joint doctoral degree in international relations at Tufts and in law at University of California, Berkeley.
  • Kiyoaki Tanaka (SJU ’97) majored in Asian Studies and now works for a multinational corporation in Japan
  • Eleise Jones (CSB ’98) studied and taught for Maryknoll in China and is now Associate Editor of Cheng & Tsui, a prestigious Boston-based publisher of Asian studies books.
  • Elaine Garbe (CSB '98) interned at the U.S. Embassy, in Beijing, directed community programs at the Minnesota International Center, took an M.A. degree in Chinese Studies at the Elliot School of International Affairs, George Washington University, and is now working for an NGO.
  • Vinh Ho (SJU '98), former intern at the Minnesota Trade Office and veteran of Maryknoll teaching in China, received his M.A. in Asian Studies from the University of Hawai'i and coordinated its annual Asian-Pacific Leadership Conference in Honolulu.
  • Vanessa Brigham (CSB '98) took her M.A. in Asian Studies at The University of Kansas.
  • Toshiko Kawabata (CSB '98) did an internship at Kiku Enterprises in Minneapolis.
  • Nahoko Hori (CSB '98) interned at and is now a manager at Banner Engineering in Minneapolis.
  • Gabriel Alisna (SJU '98) majored in Asian Studies and now directs the debate program at Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu, Hawai'i and also manages the school's annual summer institutes for promising high school students from around the Pacific Rim.
  • Brian Lynch (SJU ’98) interned in Asian trade at the Minnesota Trade Office, taught in Okinawa, and is now a manager in the office of Medtronic Asia Pacific in Tokyo.
  • Carol Ruechert (CSB ’99) taught in China for five years prior to managing a company which teaches business English to Chinese entrepreneurs.
  • David Harrison (SJU '99), studied at Sophia University in Tokyo, coordinated the Hong Kong-based Maryknoll China Service Project, and now recruits managers for Asia-based corporations.
  • Kim Therres (CSB '00) taught for Mayknoll in China, recruited students of color in the CSB/SJU Admission Office, and is now an executive at the YWCA.
  • Nathan Heuercamp (SJU ’00), Kim’s husband, taught with her in China and is now involved in the Twin Cities non-profit community.
  • Biraj Bista (SJU '00) worked for an NGO which promotes reproductive health in his native Nepal and is now earning a Ph.D. in Korean studies in Korea.
  • Damon Terhaar (SJU ’00) taught in China and now works for Goldman Sachs in Tokyo.
  • Kevin Clancy (SJU ’00) studied in China, did a senior Communication honors thesis on China, taught in China, and now coordinates the Maryknoll China teachers program.
  • Therese Albertson (CSB ’01) majored in Asian Studies (writing her senior thesis on the history of CSB’s Benedictine sisters’ role in Chinese high education before 1949, studied and taught in China, did a joint graduate degree in management and Asian Studies at the University of California, San Diegoi, and now works for an international accounting firm in Beijing.
  • Mary Ebnet (CSB ’01) taught English to Buddhist monks in Thailand.
  • Gretchen Weber (CSB ’01) taught with Gretchen through Maryknoll in Thailand.
  • Kate Francis (CSB ’01) taught with her husband, Mike Boerboom for Maryknoll in China and is now pursuing her M.A. degree in Chinese Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University.
  • Michael Boerboom (SJU '01) took an M.A. in Chinese Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University and is now a China specialist in the U.S. government.
  • Shaun Crumb (SJU ’01) taught for Maryknoll in China and now works in SJU’s Campus Ministry office.
  • Eric Sumangil (SJU ’01) majored in Asian Studies and is now a prominent actor in Twin Cities Asian American theater.
  • John Schaus (SJU '01), former Maryknoll teacher, earned an M.A. at the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, and is now assistant to the president of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
  • Ryan McCarthy (SJU ’01), taught for Maryknoll in China, earned a Harvard M.A.in International Education and intends to expand U.S.-China student exchange programs.
  • Rebecca Starr (CSB ’02) won a prestigious Rotary International Scholarship for multi-year study of Chinese language in Taiwan.
  • Alyssa Francis (CSB ’02) taught for Maryknoll in China, developed an ESL curriculum for the Twin Cities Hmong community, and is now pursuing graduate studies at Columbia in ESL among the U.S. Hmong population.
  • Andrew Schmitt (JSU ’02) taught with the Peace Corps in China prior to entering Catholic seminary in St. Louis.
  • Wendy Fuglestad (CSB ’02) pursued graduate art education in China and is now entering a Ph.D. program in Chinese art in preparation for university teaching in Asian art history.
  • Ryan Tauer (SJU ’02) taught for Maryknoll in China and is now working in Asia-related publishing.
  • Michael Cass (SJU ’02) taught for Maryknoll in China, did an internship at a Chinese law firm in Shanghai, and is now pursuing a University of Minnesota China-focused law degree.
  • Dia Yang (CSB '03) is a high school counselor of Hmong and other Southeast Asian students in the St. Paul school system.
  • Erin Gleason (’03) did an honors thesis on the destruction of Cambodian artistic traditions by the Kmer Rouges; mounted an exhibition of photographs of the aftermath of Cambodia’s “Killing Fields,” and now pursues NGO work in Cambodia.
  • Ross Anderson (SJU ’03) is President of Midwest Rubber – Asia, in Shanghai.
  • James Polga (SJU ’03) studied and taught in China and now coordinates programs at the University of Minnesota’s China Center.
  • Hoa Thi Nguyen (CSB '04), recipient of an Asian Pacific Leadership Award from the Council of Asian Pacific Minnesotans, now works in the CSB/SJU Admission Office.
  • Ryo Aikawa (SJU ’04) studied in China and now runs his father’s Japan-based business in Shanghai.
  • Charles Hipp (SJU ’04) taught primary school in China and is now employed as a consultant in Beijing.
  • Ryan Heinz (SJU ’04) taught with Charles Hipp in China.
  • Jeff Fellman (SJU ’04) taught in China and now runs a North Dakota-based consulting company which helps American companies enter the China market.
  • Katie McCarnie (CSB ’04) taught for Maryknoll in China and is now a CSB/SJU Admission Office counselor.
  • James Zamjahn (SJU ’04) taught and pursued business in Thailand and is now pursuing an Asia-focused MBA degree.
  • Sophie Mohan (CSB ’04) took an M.A. degree in Chinese Studies at Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies
  • Anna Murayama (CSB ’04), who came to CSB through institutional relationships with Shogaku High School in Okinawa, won a coveted place in a graduate program at Tokyo University, Japan’s most prestigious university.
  • Heidi Rodning Park (CSB ’04) developed ESL materials and pursued graduate studies in Korea with the intention of teaching Korean studies at the university level.
  • Andrew Malone (SJU ’04) now teaches courses on Asia at Central High School in Edina, Minnesota.
  • Lue Moua (SJU ’05) majored in Asian Studies and is now a Lutheran pastor to the Twin Cities Hmong community.
  • Paul Wegerson (SJU ’05) taught for Maryknoll in China, edited an English-language newspaper in China, and now works in Beijing for an international public relations firm which is promoting the Beijing Olympics.
  • Brian Heilman (SJU ’06) was awarded a Service Corps Fellowship from the America India Foundation to help expand the NGO presence in India.
  • Philip Benusa (SJU ’06) majored in Asian Studies and is now working for an American firm in Hong Kong.
  • Kristina Sherman (CSB ’06) studied and taught in China and is pursuing graduate work in Chinese medicine.
  • Peter Jordet (SJU ’07) did a summer internship at the Japan America Society of Minnesota.
  • Eve Vang (CSB ’07), who with her faculty adviser Manju Parikh received one of four 2006-07 grants from the Social Science Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research to study the Minnesota Hmong experience, is now a Fulbright Scholar researching Hmong life in Thailand.
  • An Doan (CSB ’07) did an internship in the PRC and Hong Kong with a Chinese organization which is assisting Chinese universities to globalize their curricula