About Me

Hey there. Thanks for stopping by.

My name is Brian and I am teaching, studying, and researching in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine for the 2014-15 academic year. I was fortunate to leave Fulbright alternate status this past June and I am writing to you from arguably one of the most interesting places in the world at this time.

My father and mother were gifted with traditional Cantonese and Ukrainian households, respectively. My maternal grandparents were WWII immigrants and my paternal grandparents immigrated during the same time period. They deeply planted their fresh cultural roots in New York City. Had I known as a child what I know now, I might have just insisted on attending Ukrainian school and Chinese school on Sundays. Nonetheless, the proverbial ship had sailed and I had a standard, suburban, Long Island childhood only sprinkled with moving insights to the cultures of my parents and grandparents.

I have lived the typical atypical HAPA lifestyle since the moment I was born to my checkerboard couple parents. HAPA, a Hawaiian word meaning “half,” has evolved to describe people of multiracial heritage. It was fulfilling to learn that there is a name for it and to connect with fellow HAPAs at Boston College. Up until then, I had never connected with people who understood the confusion of identity associated with physical appearance and names, and ultimately who knew how it felt to be asked What are you?

Traditions like basket blessing on Ukrainian Catholic Easter, Chinese New Year hongbao (red envelopes), pierogis, and dim sum did not seem out of the ordinary to me. Truth be told, they aren’t unusual in and around New York City. Under the same roof however, these traditions cultivated a truly modern family (©? Hmm, I need people for these things).

I had entered Boston College planning to study mathematics and geosciences, and that’s exactly what I did. My time in these departments was inspiring and rewarding with accomplished faculty and lifelong friends. However, fate had additional plans when a combination of astounding professors, brilliant classmates, and overall profound friends and family led me to explore Eastern European studies. Largely, the study of Russian language and Slavic civilizations sparked and fueled this passion. There is no question that Chinese/Cantonese studies also intrigue and inspire me. The reality is that opportunities and circumstances in my life in general and at BC spurred Slavic studies as my focus.

Interdisciplinary studies and cross-cultural experiences have made my life’s education compelling and rich. A trying application process and about eight months of waiting later, I learned that I was an alternate for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Grant to Ukraine. One BC commencement ceremony and a month in purgatory after that, the office in Manhattan delivered the heaven-sent phone call that additional funding became available and that I was promoted to principal candidate for a Fulbright ETA grant.

 The Семья