Please join us in welcoming Brenda Gao, our Communcations and Social Media Fellow.
Originally from Iowa City, Brenda is a senior at the University of Iowa majoring in Psychology on the Pre-Medicine track and minoring in Japanese. While at Iowa, Brenda works as a research assistant in Dr. Grazyna Kochanska’s Child Lab and is a Japanese Program Ambassador for the Division of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. Outside of school, Brenda likes to read historical fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels. She also likes listening to podcasts, especially “This American Life.” Brenda plans on applying for the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program this fall and taking a gap year before applying for medical school.
Brenda first learned about Global Ties Iowa during the Spring 2024 semester when she attended our Executive Director Amy Alice Chastain’s Exploring TESL for Fulbright Students class. Through this class, Brenda was given the opportunity to attend the cultural exchange conference “Bond with Kuliang: 2024 China-U.S. Youth Festival” in Fuzhou, China. As most of the participants from the University of Iowa consisted of Global Ties Iowa staff members, Brenda learned more about our organization and staff. She then decided to apply for the position of Communications and Social Media Fellow.
“Global Ties Iowa and its mission in promoting citizen diplomacy and global engagement is a new field for me and having experienced the same kind of hospitality in China that Global Ties Iowa strives for made me interested in becoming a part of that same goal,” she said.
As a staff member, Brenda hopes to contribute her experiences in graphic design and journalism to maintain our professional branding and help expand our social media outreach. As Communications and Social Media Fellow, Brenda will be taking over the responsibilities of Communications Coordinator Leila Assadi while she is studying abroad in Spring 2025.
We are excited to have Brenda on the team as our new Communications and Social Media Fellow!
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