M.A. Student – Class of 2022

Citizenship: Mongolia

I was born in Mongolia and came to the United States at the age of four, where I grew up on the outskirts of Los Angeles in the small town of South Pasadena. Growing up in such a diverse cultural hub, I recognized my interest in exploring the juxtaposing cultural dynamics that existed around me. At fourteen, I bypassed the traditional route of high school in order to pursue these interests, matriculating at California State University Los Angeles, where I majored in political science and minored in pre-legal philosophy and Korean. As a student, I worked as a judicial intern at the Los Angeles Superior Court for Judge Victor Chavez and served as president for my University’s Political Science Association, both of which made me realize I wanted to pursue a career in which I could take part in seeking a preventative approach to address the magnitude of systemic issues of poverty and inequality on all levels of government. As I enter a new chapter of my education at Columbia University’s Global Thought MA program, I am excited to begin my interdisciplinary studies where I hope to focus on deepening my understanding of how deeply rooted systemic issues and our diverse intersectional experiences shape our world today. And though I have yet to embark on my journey at Columbia, I now want to use this experience to help me in my future goals of research and philanthropy.