Emily was born in the Yamaguchi Prefecture of Japan, which led her to choose Japanese language as her target language in the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business. Her interest deepened during a transformative internship at the Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine in high school, where she gained hands-on experience in a Japanese-speaking environment. As a FLAS fellow, Emily is most excited about being part of the vibrant community of scholars and faculty who share a deep passion for East Asian language and cultural studies.