William & Mary

Washington Center

Spring 2014 Scholars

	Masatoshi “Tosh” Asaoka '15 Masatoshi “Tosh” Asaoka is an exchange student at the College of William and Mary from Akita International University, Japan. He is a junior pursuing a major in Global Studies, with the main focus in international relations. Aside from his home in Japan, he has previously lived in New Zealand for four years and in Lebanon for a year. He loves to travel because he is fascinated by different values and customs in cultures. Tosh is excited to learn about U.S. foreign relations amongst other motivated students in America. During the internship, he is excited to collaborate with foreign relations specialists because this will be an excellent first hand experience in a professional environment. He believes that his involvement in Washington DC will widen his future possibilities in the field of foreign relations.
	Jordan Bushong '15 Jordan is currently a junior at the College of William and Mary pursuing a major in International Relations and a minor in Chinese Language. Born and raised in northeastern Ohio, he moved to northern Virginia in the first grade. On campus Jordan is the official Feng Shui Coordinator of Swem Library; most mornings he reorganizes the furniture around the building. Aside from international politics and learning Chinese, Jordan’s true passions are writing satirical short stories and composing music. He cannot wait to explore D.C.’s open mic scene and catch a few shows at the 9:30 Club. Jordan’s greatest inspirations in life are Flik (A Bug’s Life), Jack White, and of course, his parents.
	Peter Colwell '15 Peter Colwell is a junior Government and History major, keen on finding classes that cross-pollinate those interests. The upcoming DC program theme promises just that, and Peter is excited to dive in. He works as a research assistant for the AidData Center for Development policy, and for the new Project on International Peace E-internship program. While at the College, Peter has learned that most every international issue has a geographic component, and that some leave a spatial footprint that can be studied further. He is interested to know how geospatial intelligence of this kind informs current policymaking in DC, and how it has influenced decisions in the past. Peter also looks forward to eating out in the city of half-smokes and José Andrés, and swinging by his hometown of Vienna, VA every now and again.
	William Fassuliotis '15 Will is a Junior at the College of William and Mary, majoring in Government and minoring in Biology. Originally from Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, he graduated from Pascack Hills High School. On campus, Will is a student leader for the Orthodox Christian Fellowship and member of the William and Mary Fencing Club. He is also currently an intern for AidData. Last summer, Will was a member of a student foreign policy trip to Greece and Cyprus with the American Hellenic Institute, where he met public servants, politicians, and dignitaries, and learned directly of the issues facing these countries. In his free time, Will enjoys reading books of all sorts, from fantasy to history, watching his favorite sports teams, and hanging out with friends. Will is very excited for the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. and experience first-hand policy creation and implementation.
	Sarah Gentry '15 Sarah Gentry is a junior at William & Mary double majoring in Government and History. She is from Fairfax, Virginia, and she is a graduate of Fairfax High School. On campus, Sarah is a member of Alpha Chi Omega as well as a volunteer for the Heritage Humane Society. She is also a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and the Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society. During the summer of 2013, Sarah had the opportunity to study abroad in Prague. While abroad, she learned about her passion for Eastern European history as well as for comparative politics. For the past two summers, Sarah has worked as a camp counselor in Fairfax County and she is looking forward to being the camp director in 2014. Sarah is excited to explore Washington, D.C., and to discover potential career paths.
	Blake Moore '14 Blake Moore is a senior at the College of William and Mary from Chesapeake, Virginia. He is double-majoring in Government and History and hopes to use his academic background to get a job in Washington, D.C. after graduation. Outside of classes, Blake has been an editorial board member of the Pi Sigma Alpha Undergraduate Journal of Politics and has interned for political campaigns. He is excited for the opportunity to live and work in Washington, D.C. while acquiring professional work experience and networking opportunities. In his free time, Blake enjoys watching movies and reading.
	Nas Owusu '15 Nas is currently a junior at the College of William and Mary pursuing a major in Government with a concentration in Sociology, and an intended minor in Business Management & Organizational Leadership. She is from the Northern Virginia area, where she attended Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia. On campus, Nas is involved with many activities. She is a member of the Student Alumni Council, a tour guide for Undergraduate Admissions, the Camper Care Coordinator for W&M’s Camp Kesem, and the Risk Management Chair of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Nas also works part-time at Talbots, where she enjoys interacting with the locals and tourists. She is so excited to be studying in DC this coming semester, where she is ready to gain valuable working experience and to have the ability to explore the city on a daily basis!
	Christopher Rusnak '14 Chris is a senior at the College, studying International Relations and Economics. Chris transferred to William and Mary after earning an Associate of Science Degree from Tidewater Community College where he was president of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society’s Psi Upsilon chapter. In his free time, Chris enjoys watching movies, working out, cooking, and traveling. Throughout childhood, he visited forty-two U.S. states and three western Canadian provinces. In five years, Chris hopes to be collecting economic data for the U.S. Department of State. He looks forward to conquering the challenges inherent in being a working college student in the nation’s capital.
	Thomas Sanders '14
	Chris Seiler '14 Chris is a senior at the College of William and Mary pursuing a double major in International Relations and History. A native of Midlothian, Virginia (outside of Richmond), he is a member of the Pi Sigma Alpha and Phi Alpha Theta honor societies. He also works as a Research Assistant at the AidData Center for Development Policy in Williamsburg, where he uses project-level data to make foreign aid more transparent. After college, he hopes to work in international relations, preferably with the United States government. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, sports, and a wide variety of movies. He is looking forward to spending a semester living and working in the nation’s historic capital.
	Kathleen Tolentino-Gonzalez '15 Kathleen Tolentino-Gonzalez is currently a junior pursuing a major in International Relations. She has lived all her life in Virginia and currently resides in Woodbridge. On campus, she likes to immerse herself in exciting activities available at W&M. She is a founding sister and Vice President of the first Latin-based, but not Latin-exclusive sorority, Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, Inc. at the historic College of William and Mary. She volunteers at Habitat ReStore, a local Habitat for Humanity business, as well as local elementary schools to help bridge language barriers. In her leisure time, Kathleen enjoys baking a number of sweets and taking long walks through parks. She is looking forward to the W&M in Washington program so she can gain work experience, broaden her network, and experience the culture and excitement of Washington, D.C.
	Andrew Trzcinski '14 Andrew Trzcinski is currently an exchange student at The College of William and Mary studying politics and international relations. He is originally from London, England and is finding life in the US to be an absolutely fantastic experience. He is very excited about the prospect to living, working, and studying in DC, an opportunity that will most certainly help him achieve his aspirations in the future. In his spare time, Andrew loves to travel as well as being strongly involved in charity work both here at the College and his home University. Over the summer he worked as a delegation manager, leading groups of student ambassadors from the US and Asia across Europe to help them experience new realms of culture, politics and history. He has experience working in film and television including BBC, ITV and numerous student lead productions. Andrew aspires to work in global relations and he believes that this is a huge step in the right direction.
	Yuezhong (April) Zheng '16 Yuezhong is a sophomore at the College from Fuzhou, China, planning to pursue a double major in History and Business. At William & Mary, she is a Research Assistant of TRIP Project at the Institute for the Theory and Practice of International Relations, an intern at W&M Global Film Festival, and a member of W&M Women Chorus. This past summer, she spent a month in Dominican Republic doing Social Entrepreneurship program from the Mason School of Business and spent two months teaching English in China. She is very passionate about cross-cultural studies and international development. She wants to work at a non-profit organization after she graduates. She loves traveling and watching movies with her friends. She is thrilled to experience all the excitement of the city and explore her future career in Washington D.C.!