I am a Lecturer in Global Studies at the National University of Singapore. I received my PhD in Anthropology with a designated emphasis in Southeast Asian Studies from the University of California, Riverside. My work analyzes how disaster-affected people in the Philippines navigate infrastructural inequalities for survival in the context of intensifying extreme weather events in the climate crisis. My dissertation, “Tuning in to Survive: Media and Disaster Mitigation in Post-Yolanda Philippines,” is an ethnography of infrastructure which analyzes how typhoon-affected people in the Philippines navigate disaster media (received through television, radio and mobile phones) to survive annual typhoons.

I entered university as a “non-traditional” student, in my early 20s by way of community college in San Francisco. I had no plans to finish college, but explored some classes out of interest while working in cafes. At one point, I saved up enough money to live and work in England and Ireland for a year. My experiences abroad fueled my curiosity to better understand other people and places, and also my own American/Filipino culture. My time spent working and traveling prior to earning my degrees were so impactful on how I shaped my purpose and intentions at university. So, I celebrate the diverse ways we have all ended up here in the university, and I encourage anyone to intentionally become a “non-traditional” student!