Leanne Day

Graduate student, Asian American Literature/Contemporary American Literature

Education

• Master's and doctoral student in English with a focus in Asian American Literature/Contemporary American Literature, University of Washington
• Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Scripps College, Claremont, California

Hometown

Honolulu, Hawaii

Career goals

• To constantly engage in intellectual development through research, writing and teaching.
• To be a conscientious teacher who critically engages students with ideas and issues within and beyond the university context.

Career path

• Entertainment public relations, Lionsgate Entertainment
• Teacher of English as a second language for first-year university students, Ubon Ratchatani, Thailand
• English teacher, Punahou School, Honolulu, Hawaii

Literary influences

Michael Cunningham, Ian MacMillan, Sylvia Path, David Sedaris, Lois-Ann Yamanaka, Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Neruda and Jhumpa Lahiri.

On pursuing graduate education

At Scripps College, I became extremely interested in literary production in Hawai'i and its comparisons to mainland Asian American literature. My undergraduate thesis opened my eyes to the contested terrain of Hawaii's "local" literature, and I became fascinated with all of these racial, cultural and class tensions embedded in the sweeping "multiculturalist" slant in the islands.

Through this, I recognized not only my passion for research and writing, but the necessity of continuing this project; graduate school was the avenue for this development.

On choosing the UW

I chose the UW because of the outstanding faculty and the opportunities afforded at an excellent research-based program. I was excited to work with professors like Shawn Wong, Chandan Reddy, Stephen Sumida and more. The UW's program allows me to explore multiple avenues of contemporary American literature in innovative ways.

On teaching and research

I am passionate about teaching and research. I hope to constantly be experimenting and exploring my teaching philosophy, so that I can best critically engage my students and push them to critically think, read and write. In terms of my research, I am interested in further expanding my area of focus to include indigenous studies and to critically examine how Native Hawaiians figure into Hawaii's discourse. More broadly, I hope and expect to constantly be pushing myself in terms of my thinking and critical approaches to my work.

Advice for future graduate students

Take at least a year off, so you not only have some experience out of academia, but to also help you clarify your aims and objectives for graduate school.

Photo by Elizabeth Lowry