Faculty of Art
Nicole So is expected to graduate in May of 2015 from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a minor in Asian Canadian and Asian Migration studies. Curious to understand Hong Kong (where she was born) and Vancouver (where she was raised) in a comparative and academic context, Nicole has participated in the Go Global Seminar with Prof. Henry Yu last summer, which ignited her interest in learning about the trans-Pacific migration/immigration and its impact on the communities. Some of the projects Nicole has produced for the ACAM program include “4 Reasons Why You Should Care About Chinatown”, an animated short video she has made with her group for HIST 483 and “Rich Asian Girls” for Prof. Yoshizawa’s FIPR 469A course. Outside of ACAM, Nicole is also heavily involved with the UBC Centre for Community-Engaged Learning. A project she has spearheaded as the Co-founder and Chair of the Trek Student Committee is “Project Young and Classy,” where a fashion boutique is set-up for graduating grade 7 students from the Strathcona catchment school areas can access. This summer, Nicole will be continuing “Project Young and Classy” as a recipient of the UBC Chapman & Innovations Grant and she will be working as an intern with Hua Foundation.
ACAM 10: Our Alumni in 2025
What have you been up to since graduation?
After graduation, I worked at the UBC Department of Family Practice (Postgraduate Program) as a Research Assistant, with a focus on evidence-based medicine and policy evaluation in higher education in medicine. In the 2016, I also had the opportunity to work with MSF at the Greek-Macedonian border during the Syrian Refugee Crisis. While that was not my first international development experience, it made me realized the impact of policy at a large-scale in a deeply humanizing and profound way, which led me to pivot my career path to pursue a Master’s in Public Policy and Global Affairs at the Univeristy of British Columbia. I have since worked at Global Affairs Canada and Natural Resources Canada, where I am currently the Chief of Staff to the Director General of the Innovation Branch in Strategic Policy and Innovation, leading the clean technology files, as well as the Digital Accelerator (use of AI and machine learning to support program, policy and service delivery).
What have you learned from your ACAM experience that you still carry today?
So many, where to begin? Certainly from my courses, and from Dr. Henry Yu in particular, I have learned to continue to think (how to think), to challenge the status quo and how to collaborate meaningfully with others (within the government and with outside stakeholders). The federal public service in particular is still a white (and male) dominated space. A very concrete example of how I brought my ACAM learning into my work was launching the Asian Heritage Month initiative, in alignment with the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service. As a part of the initiative, I was able to invite Mary Kitigawa, Al Yoshizawa and Larry Grant as special speakers.
