While at Oberlin, Ava majored in history, focusing on Japanese history, language, and culture. She first visited Japan in her junior year, where she spent a semester studying abroad in Kyoto, Japan with the Associated Kyoto Program. Upon graduation, Ava began a career in art and history education, developing and leading museum programming for K-12 students and families at the Allen Memorial Art Museum and New York Historical Society. In 2019, Ava was awarded the Oberlin Shansi Fellowship and returned to Japan to teach English at J.F. Oberlin University. During her two years in Tokyo, Ava taught English, honed her Japanese language competencies through a summer language intensive in Hokkaido, and organized and led extracurricular cultural exchange programming for students interested in studying English or living abroad. Presently, Ava studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she is earning her master’s in education and Massachusetts state licensure to teach history grades 7-12. In addition to travel, education, and history, Ava loves bicycling and hiking. She is proficient in Japanese.