East Asian Studies

Alumni Careers

China-Related

Erin Robinson 2005

Masters candidate in Asian Studies, Elliott School at George Washington University.
She is specializing in the domestic politics and international relations of China.
robinson.ee@gmail.com

Dr. Bruce Cumings 1965

Since 1997 Bruce is a chair Professor of International History and East Asian Political Economy, Department of History, the University of Chicago. He uses Korean and Chinese in his research and is the most accomplished academic in the East Asian field to graduate from Denison. He welcomes inquiries from East Asian Studies majors with interests in careers in academia.
rufus88@uchicago.edu

Riley Rhodes 2001

General Manager, Commercial Services
Chief Representative, Asia Pacific
Management Dynamics, Inc.
Currently working in Shanghai
RileyRhodes@managementdynamics.com

John Robinson 1998

Strategy & Operations
Deloitte Consulting
Currently working in Chicago
After graduating from the Hopkins-Nanjing program, John was a business development manager for Debenham Tie Leung (DTZ) commercial real estate firm in Shanghai for eight years. He then moved to Deloitte Consulting in Chicago, and welcomes inquiries from Denison students regarding opportunities in the business world in China.
jwrobinson@deloitte.com

Dan Olds 1997

Program Officer
Council on International Educational Exchange
Portland, Maine
Dan runs the study abroad section of CIEE dealing with China, and had attended the CIEE Nanjing Program when a junior at Denison. He finished an MA in Public Policy at NYU and then University of Southern Maine. Dan ran the summer program of CIEE as Resident Director in 2000, and had been teaching English at Sichuan Union University before taking the CIEE post.
dolds@ciee.org

Katie Pongonis 1991

Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State
Stationed in Beijing Embassy since 2001
She began in the embassy Environment, Science, and Technology office.
She dealt with climate change, water issues, AIDS, wildlife conservation and pandas.
For address see Dr. Keenan

Faith Brewitt 1993

Faith served with Dow Jones and Company in Shanghai, 1997-1998, and with Edelman Public Relations International in Taiwan 1998-1999, and then as Account Supervisor with Neihaus, Ryan, Won, Inc. in San Francisco
feiweili@yahoo.com

Jason Fatchett 1997

In May, 2001 Jason finished an M.A. in Asian Studies at the University of Hawaii, specializing in Chinese thought.
jfatchett@hotmail.com

Donald O’Kieffe 1991

Marketing Department, Asia Net, Hong Kong
Don’s advice is to start at a big company, perhaps a multinational, in the U.S. and pick up specific skills before heading to East Asia. He notes that (1) class rank, (2) your GPA, and (3)where you went to school counts in that order for entry-level positions. Don also notes that taking the GMAT when math skills are fresh is an important tip. Be specific in your interview skills: “I’m interested in doing ________because it will lead me to ______, which will help me with my long-range goal of _______.
dao@asianet.net.hk

Japan-Related

Caroline Thoms 1997

Special Agent Naval Criminal Investigation Service, Washington, D.C.
Caroline spent her junior year at Waseda University, and completed an M.A. in Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Michael Tangeman 1991

Assistant Professor of Japanese language and literature, Denison University
Mike has recently published with others a Matsumoto Seicho Reader at Kurodahan Press in Japan. He Ph.D. is from The Ohio State University.
tangemanm@denison.edu

John Neumann 1994

Worked for the national Republican Congressional Committee while finishing his M.A. at the George Washington Elliott School of George Washington University specializing in International Affairs.
John taught English at a private firm, and passed national competency exams on Japanese language competency for about six years after graduation from Denison.
jd_neumann@yahoo.com

Laura Kriska 1987

Works as a writer and business consultant specializing in team building and Japanese cross-cultural training. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. with her husband and two children.
Her book Accidental Office Lady describes her experience as the only foreign woman working in the Honda headquarters in Tokyo after her graduation from Denison. Laura has an M.A. in creative writing from Columbia University.
JICNY1@aol.com