Alexandria Cookson, a junior who has declared Japanese as her major, is the recipient of the first DEALL Undergraduate Diversity Award. Congratulations, Alexandria!

In addition to doing cross-cultural research aimed at understanding how social programs can help older adults commute more easily in their cities, Alexandria strongly believes that queer-identifying college students can make friends wherever they go, whether in a class for Japanese language at OSU or in an education abroad program in Japan. Alexandria wants to offer encouragement to the LBGTQ+ community by leading with confidence—as she puts it, “I want to set a precedent” and “show my community that not only can you make friends in Japanese classes” but also “be accepted in Japan.” Alexandria shares that whenever she uses “tsuma,” the Japanese word for “wife,” in a class, she can sense a “pause” in the classroom. She wants to ensure everyone that she has not mixed up “tsuma” for “otto,” the word for “husband.” She is simply being who she is, honoring her wife and her community.   

Upon receiving this award, Alexandria shares this statement: “I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to receive this award and all the encouragement DEALL has given me. I couldn’t be happier knowing that my goals are fully supported by my University, and I look forward to making DEALL proud of my work. Thank you!” We are already proud of you, Alexandria. We look forward to working with you to embrace and celebrate the diversity of the DEALL community.