Graduate students

Meet our new cohort of Linguistics graduate students

September 03, 2024

By Nicole North

Benjamin (Ben) Chung

My name is Ben (he/him), and I come from a mixed Korean and Ashkenazi Jewish background. Having lived in what is now called Vancouver for a decade, I moved here originally via the United States to complete my BA in First Nations and Endangered Languages and Linguistics at the University of British Columbia. Since then, I have had the joy and privilege to work with First Nations regionally on language documentation, archiving, and curriculum development initiatives over the last seven years. I look forward to continuing to work in partnership with communities with a focus on speech variation and dialect vitality during my MA. Aside from linguistics, I enjoy cooking, cooking shows, and strength training. I am also usually found with my pet sidekick, Sundae (a chiweenie named after the popular Korean blood sausage), in tow.

Romina Hashemi

Hi! My name is Romina (she/her), and I did my undergrad in Waterloo, Ontario, where I double majored in Statistics and English. Academically, I have a wide range of interests, spanning rhetoric, new media studies, gender studies, and, of course, linguistics! Within linguistics, I am primarily interested in corpus linguistics, critical discourse analysis, and construction grammar. I enjoy finding technical solutions to problems I encounter during coursework and research. Outside of school, I enjoy collecting hobbies, including baking, making jewellery, learning Persian calligraphy, and lugging my camera around on hikes! 

Elijah Lazar

Hello, my name is Elijah Lazar and I've just begun the Accelerated Master’s program in Linguistics. I attended SFU for my bachelor’s degree, where I majored in French with an extended minor in Linguistics. In terms of research focus, I am interested in the domain of sociolinguistics and I'm passionate about multilingualism. Under my supervisor, Dr. Suzanne Hilgendorf, I aim to study the global phenomenon of World Englishes, notably in multilingual contexts. Outside of academia, I am a proud member of the SFU wrestling team, where I have competed in NCAA wrestling for the past 4 years. In addition, I am passionate about language learning, travel, and skiing. 

Gento Okawa

Hello! My name is Gento (he/him). I was born and raised in Japan. I graduated from Waseda University this March and I’m now pursuing an MA at SFU Linguistics under Dr. Mary O’Brien. I like to play soccer and table tennis, and I go skiing every winter. I'm really excited to ski in Canada. I enjoy travelling and I’ve been to Taiwan, the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macau so far. I'm eager to visit European countries. My areas of interest for research and study are phonetics and phonology, with a focus on L2 pronunciation and sound symbolism. 

Amber Rynearson

Hi! I’m Amber (she/her), and I’m from Portland, Oregon. I received my BA in English Studies, with a concentration in Linguistics, as well as a TEFL certificate from Western Oregon University in 2020, and I am excited to continue my studies at SFU. I am interested in both sociolinguistics and corpus linguistics, and look forward to delving into subfields, like language policy and linguistic landscape. Outside of academia, I spend most of my time training Brazilian jiu jitsu (arguably too much). When I have the chance, I also enjoy reading from my never-ending TBR list, running and then telling people how far I ran, attempting to cross stitch, baking bread and hugging trees. 

Ha Eun (Hannah) Shim

Hello! My name is Ha Eun Shim (she/her), but you can call me Hannah. I'm from Seoul, South Korea. I received my BA in English Language and Literature from Ewha Woman’s University, where I developed a broad interest in psycholinguistics, speech perception, phonology, and phonetics. Currently, I have a growing interest in interdisciplinary research between Linguistics and Human–Computer Interaction (HCI), as well as Human–Robot Interaction (HRI), and I'm excited to delve deeper into these topics at SFU. Outside of academia, I enjoy hiking, camping, travelling, and taking in nightscapes and scenic views. I'm also a fan of cozy cafes and good coffee!