Get to Know the Fall 2014 Great Plains Nomads!

George, Michele, Julie, and Natasha are this fall’s Great Plains Nomads! They’re getting ready to visit communities all over North America where they’ll share Joo Yang, Yeonmi, and Joseph’s voices and ideas in an incredibly personal and engaging multimedia presentation. But, before they hit the road, we want to give you a chance to get to know them!

 

As a teenager, George had a small obsession with learning about North Korea, but never knew there were organizations doing anything to help. Though he had learned about North Korea while studying at the University of Sussex, it was after reading “Escape from Camp 14,” about a year ago, that he learned of LiNK’s work and decided he wanted to get involved. George wants to be a Nomad to have the chance to do something he’s passionate about while traveling across the country. If he had a time machine, he would indulge his fascination with the Cold War and would love to be a fly on the wall during the Cuban Missile Crisis talks.

 

Michele was born and raised in Newport Beach, California. After graduating from Pepperdine University, she moved to South Korea to teach English. While there, she was really struck by how little the South Korean people knew about what was going on in the North. She interned with LiNK in the Spring of 2014 but at the end of internship, knew her time really wasn’t over. She is excited to be a Nomad to continue her work at LiNK and continue spreading awareness. Her spirit animal is the flamingo because she’s tall and skinny and a little strange, but once you get to know her you love her.

 

Julie has met many Nomads during her time as a part of the SUNY Geneseo Rescue Team. She will finally have the chance to be a Nomad herself, which she has wanted to do for years. She spent her summer in Seoul, attending a seminar focused on the cultural lives of both North and South Koreans and how they compare to one another. Julie loves to travel and if she had a super power, she would choose teleportation so she can get from one country to another very quickly!

 

Natasha first learned about North Korea when she was reading a National Geographic magazine exposing the facades that North Korea builds along the border of South Korea. Then, her cousin just so happened to move to South Korea and continued to speak to her about the situation. She decided to leave her hometown of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia to be a Nomad because she wants to learn more and teach others. If she had a time machine, she would go to that past because she really loves history and would want to see it in person.

 

Bring the Great Plains Nomads to your town!