The path that led here
I came to Victoria, British Columbia, as an international student in my late teens — leaving behind a life in China and arriving into a culture, a language, and an academic system that all felt unfamiliar at once. I spent years in the in-between: not quite belonging here, not quite at home there. The experience didn't resolve neatly. It became, eventually, the question that organized my professional life.
Today I am a SSHRC-funded doctoral candidate in Educational Psychology at the University of Victoria, where I study self-regulated learning, student engagement, and cross-cultural adaptation in emerging adults. My work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at international conferences (APA, AERA, CSSE, CPA), and shared through essays in the American Psychological Association's Educational Psychology newsletter.
Alongside the research, I have worked directly with university students for many years — as a learning strategist at UVic's Centre for Accessible Learning, a learning experience designer at the Division of Learning and Teaching Support and Innovation, a lab instructor for five semesters teaching learning strategies to undergraduates, and a training specialist for residence life staff. I have also held space for community elders as an activity program coordinator at the Victoria Chinatown Care Society for several years.
In late 2025, I founded Glowing Gate Academy to bring this scholarship and practice together into something more direct: a research-driven space designed for emerging adults at the threshold. I am building it slowly, carefully, and on solid ground — because the students I want to serve deserve work that takes them seriously.