Meet Lina Yamashita, Program Coordinator at Primary Source
Four things you might not know about Lina:
1. She was born in the U.S., grew up in Japan, Singapore, and the Philippines, and has traveled all over Southeast Asia. Her exposure to cultures around the world beginning at a young age inspired her to pursue the kind of work she does at Primary Source to cultivate global understanding.
2. Her area of specialty is the environment. She earned her bachelor's degree in biology and environmental studies from Oberlin College, during which time she taught elementary school students about environmental issues and led efforts to build a vegetable garden at Oberlin High School. While at the Harvard Graduate School of Education studying learning and teaching, Lina collaborated with Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment to develop a curriculum on how humans depend on and impact the ocean. Last year, Lina developed A Greener World, Primary Source's first program on the environment.
3. Her most memorable moment at Primary Source: the first time she taught a workshop for teachers. Lina values the opportunity to present in front of teachers, engage in discussions, and receive direct feedback from teachers about what worked and what can be improved. "That's when I realized the potential impact our workshops and programs have on deepening teachers' understanding, and ultimately shaping student learning."
4. She practices the tradition of Japanese tea ceremony (though she only became involved with this for the first time while she was a graduate student at Harvard!)
Lina shares her thoughts on why global education is important
