My name is Ebony Natasha Blue. I am a female and I am proud of my femininity! I am a straight up African American. I am  a very outgoing person. I think that I have what you would call a self-starter attitude. I also consider myself to be very energetic, because I am not one that likes to be a couch potato. I am also a devout Christian, even though church is not the place I like to express my feelings towards God. In September 1999 I began to attend Frederick Douglass Academy. I really enjoy going to the school because it has a vast amount of programs and subjects that many other schools do not offer. Besides being in school and doing things after school, I always have to come home to my community. I live in the heart of Bed-Stuy, and I love it. The number one thing in my community is my friends. We be chilling on the steps, and we go places together.

My name is Danielle Alexis Harris. I am sixteen years old, and I attend the Young Women's Leadership Academy. I enjoy hanging out with my friends, shopping and reading. I am not a huge fan of sports, but I do enjoy basketball. In the future I hope to have a career I enjoy. I want to be able to wake up in the morning knowing I like my job. I like being able to talk to people, so I picture myself either being a psychology or fashion marketing major in college. I consider myself to be a people person with high goals. I hope to have a great experience with this program.

My name is Hoang Nhu Hua, but I think you'd better call me Natalie because my Vietnamese name is hard to pronounce. I am a senior of Lincoln High School. I am from Vietnam, where I had the best childhood and gained most of my knowledge of Asia. Last December will mark my two years of living in the U.S. I am living with my parents and 12 year-old brother in Brooklyn. My family and I had a lot of problems when we first came, but we managed to get over most of them. I am learning the American way to fit in my new life, but the Vietnamese girl inside me will never forget where she came from. I like listening to music or reading when I have free time.

President George Bush the 5th invited psychiatrist Dr. Lina Lee to the White House to present her bestseller, How to Keep Parents Under Control, on March 23, 2018. This ground-breaking book helps teenagers and parents live harmoniously under the same roof. The renowned psychiatrist graduated as valedictorian from Columbia University. At 32, she is ecstatic to receive such an honor. Her rare talent in understanding human nature was first discovered in Townsend Harris by an eleventh grade English teacher: "I noticed her unique intellect through her writing. Although some of her work needed improvement she kept on trying, and I believe her persistence allowed her to be successful.” Lee was not born with a natural gift, but took courses such as Journalism, Creative Writing, and Communication Arts to amend her writing skills. She augmented her knowledge by joining multiple extra-curricular activities and by playing an active role in her community. Her next book Extraterrestrial Beings will be coming out soon.

Hi!!! My name is Nhi Ma, I am a senior at Herbert H. Lehman High School. in the Bronx. I have lived here all 17 years of my life and have yet to get bored of the city. My parents are from Vietnam, and I hope one day I can go and visit my beautiful home country. I love to try new things, especially new types of food (yum yum). I love meeting different types of people; they make life much more interesting and fun. I love working with children; volunteering at the Bronx Psychiatric Children's Hospital is an experience I will never forget. I also enjoy viewing different types of artwork, as well as reading and writing poetry.

I was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on May 2nd, 1985. My mother, Piedad Campos, and father, Antonio Restituyo, took me to my grandmother's house, where I lived for my first six years. During this time, I lived without my parents, because they migrated to the United States in search of the famous "American Dream." My grandmother, aunts and uncles all served as my parents during this time period. However, this phase of my life ended when my parents came back to Santo Domingo in the summer of 1991 and told me that I would go live with them in the United States. I came to the United States in September 1991. Before I knew it, it was September 1999 and I entered the high school realm. I enrolled in Bronx Leadership Academy where I am currently a senior. Bronx Leadership has been my favorite school thus far because it is small; all the teachers know you, and the school offers all sorts of law courses. I am currently "majoring" in law, since that is the focus of B.L.A.

Born on July 31st, 1986, Jorge Rodriguez is now 16 years old. He is currently residing in the Bronx with his father, mother, little brother, and little sister. Jorge has lived in the Bronx all of his life. His mother is from the Dominican Republic and his father is from Puerto Rico. Jorge loves to play basketball and practice his biology skills. He is currently attending the Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy in Riverdale, New York. He tutors Biology whenever he can and is in the Science Club, Model UN club, and Future Teachers' club at his school. Jorge has many friends, and almost every one of them is from a different country. He works very hard to accomplish a lot in his life and hopes to be a biologist and a teacher in the future.

I was born on the 29th of January 1986. I live with my parents and my little brother in East Elmhurst, Queens, although I grew up in Sunnyside. I am sixteen years old and a junior at John Bowne High School. I was born here in the United States, but my parents are from Ecuador. I'm very excited to form part of Project Bridge, because I consider it to be the beginning of my life dream. I believe that as soon as I graduate from John Bowne, I want to begin by getting my real estate license and get into that business to help pay for college. I will become a very important journalist and travel around the world, writing about the different cultures and different types of places that most people don't know about. I want to be a novel writer and publish a prize-winning book to prove to those who believe I won't get anywhere that I CAN! I want to later on in my life preach the Word of God and finally look back at my success and be proud.

My name is Nicole Ayala, and I am a sophomore attending Downtown Magnet High School. I am fifteen years old with no siblings. I am 2nd generation Mexican and 5th generation Japanese. I speak Spanish and have been to Mexico many times. However, I do not speak Japanese and have never been to Japan, but I've always wanted to learn more about that side of my ancestry and hopefully visit someday. I would describe my personality as one that can fall at both extremes of a spectrum. At times I am exceedingly shy, and other times I am very outgoing. Some of my hobbies are talking on the phone and listening to music. My favorite musical artist is N'sync. I am very interested in broadening my awareness about the differences and similarities of people from around the world, and Project Bridge is a perfect chance for me to do so. I look forward to making new friends and learning as much as I can about another culture.

I'm Andrea and I love to smile! :) I am Chinese, Argentinean, and American. I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and lived there for my first 8 years. I moved to Oregon when I was 8 and finally to Hacienda Heights where I live now. I can speak three languages: Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, and of course, English, but I have a distinctive mixed accent in all three of them. I'm pretty involved in school. I have been on the Wilson volleyball team for the last three years and other clubs. During my free time, I love to read novels, write letters, sleep and hang out with my friends and family. I want to attend USC next year and become an international businesswoman when I grow up. During my college career, I want to be involved in everything: internships, studying abroad, etc. Four words to describe myself are: happy, talkative, enthusiastic, short (5' 2.5''). Lastly, I love God, and I'm thankful for everything that He has given me!

I'm Connie Chung, and sorry, but I am not related to that woman on TV. Coincidentally, I do want to pursue a career in journalism, specifically, broadcast journalism, just like Connie Chung. I have four sisters and a brother, so I'm always around them; we're growing up really fast and soon we won't be kids anymore. I know my siblings look up to me, so I try to set a good example for them. I am a very athletic and outgoing person, but academics always come first. Right now, my favorite class is English because of all the exciting books we're reading. I also admire different forms of art. I love to paint and draw. I love to sing, dance and act. It's just a fun and creative way to express yourself in ways you can't normally do. Music is another way for me to interpret my thoughts and feelings I can't say out loud. I am very open-minded and willing to try new things. I am very competitive but only in positive ways, and I am always craving a challenge.

My name is Denice Gonzalez, and I' am currently a Junior at Downtown Magnet High School. I've lived in South Central L.A. ever since I could remember. My birthday is on August the 20, 1986. I like talking to people and helping people and just being friendly overall. I love to listen to oldies and R&B music. I love to have fun and laugh and make the best out of even the worst situations. I'm everything but quiet, and I always seem to speak my mind and have an honest opinion about everything. I'm very busy in school, and I love it! I love being a leader and also helping people. I also love working out. I like running (I'm on the cross-country team), and I strongly believe in caring about yourself 100%. If you care about your mind, body and spirit, I do think that you could truly be happy.

My name is Varanda Khy (Ron). I'm 15 years old and a sophomore from Gabrielino High School. I am a Khmer and Chu Chow mix. I was born in Los Angeles but raised in many different cities in the area. I like to draw, design and paint whenever I can. I love collecting video games, and I'm a computer freak. I currently have a job as a certified computer technician and networking specialist, so I build, fix and maintain computers. I'm a sports freak. Basketball and golf are my sports of choice. I'm also a music freak. In my free time I like to mix songs on my turntable. I enjoy all types of music ranging from hip-hop to K-Pop. I'm a very social person, as I like to interact and meet new people all the time. In the future I hope to be a computer graphics animator or game designer and plan to attend the Academy of Art Institute in San Francisco.

I am a sophomore at Downtown Magnet School. Days can be challenging, but I am glad I have wonderful friends with whom I can play basketball and the electric guitar. I enjoy playing the electric guitar, but I am far from being a pro. I strum a few strings, but everyone at home tells me not to play too loudly. When I visited the Project Bridge Orientation last summer, the kids who previously joined the group impressed me with the articulation of their experiences. I hoped to be selected, and when I found out I was selected, I screamed in delight. In Korea, I hope to meet a Korean brother and learn his ways of living. We can share many stories about our respective cultures. I am looking forward to this experience, not just for the trip to Korea, but also for the opportunity to interact with the other members of our chosen group.

My name is Nicholas Li; you can call me Nick instead. I am from the little city of San Gabriel north of Pasadena. I was born in Hong Kong, a mixture of Chinese and British Governments. Under the culture of two different countries, I think I'm a pretty open-minded person. I'm 17 years old. I moved to the United States 3 or 4 years ago. I'm a junior at Gabrielino High School. I'm a very active member of our school. I'm also very creative. I'm a very understanding person from all the training I received as part of our school Peer Helping Program. I also enjoy sports, like cross-country and volleyball. Although being involved with so many things makes me really tired, the work never out-weighed the fun. In the future, I want to be a psychologist, some kind of counselor (probably on teen or family issues) or some kind of designer.

Gorgeous, rich, and famous…these are words that don't describe me. I'm just an average person, even shy, to most people. However, for those that know me well, I may be one of strangest people they have ever met. It is just a matter of whether I feel like opening up. Born and raised in San Gabriel, CA, I am completely Chinese only by blood; my father was raised in Malaysia, and I know more Spanish than I do Mandarin and Cantonese combined. Some of the things in life I enjoy are my dogs, going out, eating, complaining about my AP Chem teacher, my dogs, playing piano and violin, swimming, trying new things, and my dogs. I believe that I am independent and ambitious. Growing up as the middle child, the only daughter, and with parents who work all the time and two brothers who seem to spend more time with computers than people, I have had nobody to depend on completely. Eventually, that grew into not letting anybody impede my path. Sometimes, being like that has its disadvantages, but on the whole, I think it has allowed me to be who I want to be without too many of society's restraints.

I was born in the Bronx to Irish immigrant parents. I graduated from a private school called Manhattan College. These were years of self-discovery. I majored in Business, got a job but hated it, and left for Ireland to do some soul searching. I came back with a resolve to become a Social Studies teacher. I went to Hunter College for an M.A. in British History and began teaching in a New York City public school, thinking it was only temporary. Ten years later I am still teaching Social Studies and loving it. I have no plans to leave for the suburbs. I love to travel and hope to visit many parts of the world. I have visited South Korea twice before and look forward to going back. My hobbies are reading (I am a serious reader of non-fiction) and watching movies. I play a little guitar. I used to play in bands, but now I only play for my daughter who was born in February 2002.

Lecia J. Brooks is a nationally respected teacher, trainer, facilitator, and consultant, with over 20 years of experience in the areas of education, youth development, human relations, and culturally equitable program development. She is currently the director of special projects at the National Conference for Community and Justice in Los Angeles, and the principal consultant of Diversity Matters, a nationally recognized human relations consulting group. Lecia's work has been featured on World News Tonight with Peter Jennings and The McNeil Leher Report. She has also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and in The Los Angeles Times to discuss her work in diversity education, human relations, youth development and hate crime prevention. Lecia holds a bachelors degree in Political Science and History from Loyola Marymount University.

Amy Tien has been a volunteer for the National Conference for Community and Justice for ten years now. A human relations organization, the National Conference, Los Angeles Region, runs summer camps and trainings dedicated to creating social awareness and leadership training through their Youth & Education programs. She works in the community as a program developer, facilitator and service provider for local non-profits. Amy has a bachelor's degree in Asian American Studies from California State University, Northridge. She is currently working on a master's degree in Acupuncture and Herbology.

Prior to joining The Korea Society in 2001, HanNa Kim worked as an analyst at the Intellibridge Corporation, an Internet-based competitive information and decision support provider. She received her B.A. in East Asian Studies and Anthropology from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. HanNa was born in Pohang, Korea and raised in New York City. She ultimately hopes to pursue a career in education, so that she can work with students and teachers as cool as those in Project Bridge.

Naomi Paik joined The Korea Society in 2001 after graduating from Columbia University. She received a B.A. in Women's and Gender Studies and Asian American Studies with a focus in Literature. In 1997, she attended the Korean Language Institute at Yonsei University, while temporarily satiating her thirst for travel in the region. Although born and raised in Texas, Naomi moved to New York City as soon as she possibly could and thrives on the energy of the city. She is particularly interested in working with young people and working on issues pertinent to communities of color.

Jungho Kwak was born and raised in Seoul, Korea. He moved to New York City in 1983. After completing his undergraduate work at the Parsons School of Design in New York, he has worked as a freelance photographer. Mr. Kwak has accompanied several group of students and teachers during study tours under the auspices of The Korea Society.

Jacqueline first became involved in Project Bridge Los Angeles three years ago as a group leader. While she is an avid world traveler, this was her first trip to Korea, which she enjoyed immensely, and she hopes to go back soon. Jacqueline continues to remain involved in the Project Bridge program as a volunteer to future group leaders and Project Bridge participants. She has been working with youth as a public high school counselor for the past 7 years and loves her profession or as she sees it, her "personal calling". She is involved in the community serving on advisory boards and committees in areas regarding mental health and education. She received her B.A. in Asian Pacific Studies and her M.A. in Counseling from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She is currently working on her doctorate in education from Claremont Graduate University.

THE KOREA SOCIETY is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) organization with individual and corportate members that is dedicated soley to the promotion of greater awareness, understanding and cooperation between the people of The United States and Korea.

The Pacific Century Institute was founded in 1992 as a nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster education, policy dialogue and research concerning the whole Pacific Rim region.

Project Bridge
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