Selamat Datang!

Welcome! This website is a repository for my artistic endeavors, travel photography, and personal blog.

I am a recent graduate of Cornell University, double majoring in Science of Natural and Environmental Systems (SNES) and International Agriculture and Rural Development (IARD). 

I am now a Master's student at the Australian National University (ANU), majoring in Environmental Management and Development. 

Academic Interest

I am interested in the preservation of biodiversity and natural systems in relations to rural, sustainable agriculture and development. My academic focus is on the intersection of biodiversity and poverty and the interactions rural communities have with surrounding natural ecosystems: from forests, soils, and water, to wildlife. Ultimately my goal is to improve rural livelihoods through producing economically viable products with ecologically sound practices, that is not only good for the community but also for the environment. 

Though my current interests lie in rural Southeast Asia, the concepts and models surrounding community-based natural resource management is applicable in urbanizing environments, as well as other regions of the world. I tackle problems with a multidisciplinary perspective having backgrounds in the physical and social sciences, engineering, and humanities. My experiences are diverse, including working as a botanical illustrator, a farmhand, a wholesale production manager, and a United Nations researcher.

Top row: in Sarawak, Malaysia with Cornell and UNIMAS students working with the indigenous Penans of Long Lamai on community resiliency and ecotourism; Middle row: in the Remboue region of Gabon with the FAO-UN working with banana plantation farmers on conservation agriculture; Bottom left: in Kyoto, Japan, working with Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms, conducting a Japanese tea horticulture workshop for students from Auburn University; Bottom right: in Central Java, Indonesia with friends celebrating Eid-al-Fitr.

My other academic interests include: indigenous cultural preservation; food systems; ecoagriculture; community-based participatory research; nationalism and the formation of statehood; environmental possibilism; Austronesian languages.

ARTISTIC INTEREST

Inspired by nature, craving knowledge and seeking peace; my works reflect who I am, what I'm looking for, and what I wish to express to the world.