Meet our Graduates!
What did you enjoy most about being a Global Studies major? I loved being able to design my own major in a way that allowed me to explore, be curious, and take classes that made me excited to learn everyday.
Describe your current role. Currently I am doing many different things! I am a graduate student pursuing a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, I am the co-owner of a small local business, a Specialty Asian Market, and I am a graduate assistant mentor of first-year undergraduate students of first generation and low-income backgrounds.
What do you like most about your current role? In my graduate program, I like the intensity and training that I am receiving in a field that I feel excited and energized for. In my small business, I love that I am creating a space for the growing AAPI community in Boone and providing access to hard-to-find Asian grocery items. And in my graduate assistantship, I love being able to build intentional relationships with undergraduate students and follow their journey through their first year of college!
How did your Global Studies degree prepare you for your life and/or career after graduation? I think more than anything, my Global Studies degree taught me to be adaptive, curious, and passionate. It gave me a sense of confidence and empowerment to pursue a Fulbright Grant, to move abroad, to apply to graduate school, and to eventually find my way back home.
Please describe your experience as a Fulbright fellow. How has it impacted your life? My Fulbright year was one of the best years thus far. I lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina and pursued a research project interviewing Taiwanese immigrant women. I got out of my comfort zone, built a community for myself, navigated the world in a different language, saw many beautiful places, and got to know myself even more deeply than before. It was a year of growth, introspection, adventure, and friendship.
What advice would you give incoming Appalachian State students? My advice would be to be curious. To get to know yourself and find out what you're interested in. There are many ways to do this; I suggest starting with volunteering in your community and getting to know your professors. Find what makes you light up and follow that spark! Life will be infinitely more exciting and interesting if you choose to engage with the world, and do it fully as yourself.
ILYA WANG
Global Studies BA, Class of 2020
Fulbright US Research Award to Argentina, 2022-2023
Co-Owner, Happy Persimmon in Boone, NC (Instagram)
WINSTON MOORE
Global Studies BA, Class of 2017
Research Consultant for Food Chain Workers Alliance
Lead Researcher on Procuring Food Justice 2023 Report
What did you enjoy most about being a Global Studies major at Appalachian State? My favorite thing about the Global Studies program was its flexibility. This flexibility allowed me to take classes covering a wide range of interests, which helped me identify a focus that I was truly passionate about. By the end of my time at App State, that same flexibility allowed me to get credit for the classes that most closely followed my chosen focus, without being rigidly tied to a specific program.
Describe your current role. I'm currently a research consultant for a non-profit coalition of workers and labor organizers in the food system. My day-to-day work can change a lot from one project to the next, but at any point I might be doing research of employer practices, policy analysis, research design, mixed methods data collection and analysis, and report writing.
What do you like most about your current role? My favorite part of my job is that it allows me to make money doing something I love, without having to compromise my values. My favorite thing about my current role is that it allows me to analyze this subject that I'm passionate about from many different perspectives, because I get to collaborate with diverse worker groups who are each doing important work in my field, but in varying contexts, using varying methods.
How did your Global Studies degree prepare you for your life and/or career after graduation? My Global Studies degree gave me a lot of knowledge concerning my core focus (food studies), while also helping me put that knowledge into a wider perspective on how food relates to policy, politics, economics, trade, and inequity.
What advice would you give incoming Appalachian State students? The only way that I learn is if I'm interested in the material. So I urge students who are like me in that respect to figure out some part of each class that is interesting to you. If you figure out a way to care about the class, it will make everything easier because it gives you a reason to pay attention.