ÌÇÐÄvlog

What have you been up to since graduating from ÌÇÐÄvlog?

I graduated from ÌÇÐÄvlog in 2018, and I currently serve as the state representative for Maine House District 127, which includes part of my hometown of Westbrook. I was first elected in 2020 and am currently serving my third term. In the legislature, I serve on the Marine Resources and the Environment and Natural Resources committees and previously served on the Veterans and Legal Affairs committee. Outside of the legislature, I work as an oyster farmhand in Casco Bay and have been a visiting fellow at several climate and ocean-focused organizations.

Why religion?

I've always been curious about other cultures, and studying religion is a great way to better understand people who are different from you. In my career, the religion major has helped me better understand the intersection of religion, politics, and culture, to understand large systemic issues.

Are there any classes, professors, or experiences that had a lasting impact on you?

Professor Morrisson and Professor Pritchard are phenomenal teachers who have had a lasting impact on me, and their classes gave me the skills necessary to succeed in the work I have done post-college.

What advice would you give to current students or recent graduates interested in your field?

If you're interested in running for state or local office, then you should run! You can make a huge difference by running for a local office. But there are many ways to get involved in politics outside of elected office. You can join a campaign, become an organizer for an advocacy group or union, or work as an aide for a legislator. All are great entry points into local and state government.

What have you been up to since graduating from ÌÇÐÄvlog?

My first job after ÌÇÐÄvlog was as a paralegal for Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Lewiston, Maine. I loved that job and developed an interest in the law from watching my attorney colleagues at work. I went to law school with the goal of becoming a civil legal aid attorney. From 2021 to 2025, I worked at Maine Equal Justice, providing civil legal services to low-income Mainers on a range of economic justice issues, including helping people access Maine’s social safety net and defending tenants facing eviction. I am now a staff attorney at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, focused on deportation defense.

Why religion?

I got hooked on religion classes at ÌÇÐÄvlog in my first semester when I took Islam with Professor Robert Morrison. In each of my religion classes, I was intrigued by religious pluralism—how people with very different beliefs and worldviews can coexist in secular societies. In my legal career, I have provided services to low-income clients regardless of their background, but I have developed a particular interest and expertise in working with immigrants in Maine. I believe my religion classes at ÌÇÐÄvlog helped me approach this work with cultural competency.

Are there any classes, professors, or experiences that had a lasting impact on you?

Islam with Professor Morrison, Religious Tolerance and Human Rights with Professor Elizabeth Pritchard, Religion and Politics in Southeast Asia with Professor John Holt, and Asian America with Professors Belinda Kong, Connie Chiang, and Nancy Riley are classes I still think about often.

What have you been up to since graduating from ÌÇÐÄvlog?

After graduating from ÌÇÐÄvlog, I worked with several nonprofit organizations doing peace and social justice work in Washington, DC, and Baltimore, before realizing how much I missed working with big questions and big ideas and returning to graduate school (first as a masters student at Harvard Divinity School, and then as a doctoral student at Princeton University). I'm now professor and chair of the religion department at Haverford College, and I get to spend every day reading and writing and thinking about these ideas with students who want, like I did (and still do!), to explore these central questions of the humanities.

Why religion?

As an undergrad, I wanted to know how people thought about and lived out their answers to the "big questions," things like: why is there something rather than nothing? What are human beings like, and what is our place in the cosmos? Do we matter? How should we relate to one another and to the rest of creation? The Religion Department was the place where people were asking and finding ways to think about these questions.

Are there any classes, professors, or experiences that had a lasting impact on you?

I took everything Professor Pritchard offered, introducing me to the history of Western religious thought, and how Jewish and Christian ideas about what God is like, or what religion really is about, have profoundly shaped modern life. A course on religion and government with Professor Franco helped me to see how religious ideas were woven through our political lives.