This week’s Campus Celebrity is Lilian Higashikata, creator of The UBC Name Project. Be sure to check the page out, and like it on Facebook!
What was the inspiration behind the UBC Name Project? Why people’s names?Humans of New York, for sure – I have been inspired by HONY since 2011. VIVE LES HONY! Names are one of the most basic parts of our identities, and oftentimes they tell us stories about our personal heritage, whether it’s cultural, familial, historical, or religious. Sometimes when I ask people for interviews, some people shy away, saying, “Oh, I don’t have an interesting story like other people you interviewed!” But that is never the case! What is uninteresting to them is always inspiring or striking to me, and they themselves are often surprised at how much meaning the name carries. No need to be humble, peeps!What was the process for starting the page?I had to write a proposal, and send it to my Peer Program Advisors, and they went through it to give me suggestions. Waiting was the most difficult part because it took about one month for them to finalize it and approve it. I was internally screaming when I opened the email in Irving that told me I could start the page. The advisors still check in with me once in a while to see if I need help.What kind of impact are you hoping for in the community (if any)?My hope is that participants and readers will be inspired to ask their peers about their names and be open to it leading to discourse on diversity, intercultural understanding, and ongoing learning about their own family background and heritage.Who takes the photos for the page? Do you have a team running the page, or do you run it on your own?I take most of the photos, and I run the page solo, for the most part. Before starting this page, I had zero experience with photography, so I am probably not the best photographer ever. But I’m getting better! I’ve got a good camera now too, so the photos are less blurry and fuzzy compared to the initial seven or so that I posted. My friend and a fellow Equity Ambassador, Melody Cheung, sometimes helps me with taking photos. Many of the best shots are taken by Melody, and she recently secured an interview too! She is much more skilled at anything artistic than me in general, so I truly appreciate her help. I knew Melody for a year before I started this project, but I’ve never actually talked to her properly. Look at what photography and bonding can do!How do you decide who to ask?I have this bucket list of people I want to be friends with, and this project is a great excuse to talk to people. You know, those people you want say hi to when you see them in Irving, but you don’t really make plans with them, then you later wish you did. I successfully befriended a lot of people this way, and I actually got to reconnect with one of my Arts MUGGIES.I have also randomly approached strangers as well. Funnily, a lot of them have turned out to be musicians. My first “real” stranger was Philip, the awesome dude playing trumpet in one of the photos. I had just finished interviewing another person, when I heard this powerful, metallic sound, and I just had to see where it was coming from. It was Philip, sitting on a bench, practicing. At first I hesitated, because initially he looked intimidating (probably just my fear of approaching strangers), but he was really nice when I started talking to him. We both shared a passion for jazz (I was a band nerd in high school), and I even found out that one of the musicians I admire is actually his relative.What growth would you like to see for the page?I would like to interview more complete strangers. It has been my goal to interview a stranger at least once a week or so, but it has not been happening much lately because I made the mistake of taking two writing intensive courses. Darn those homeworks.What does you name mean?Lilian means “lily flower”. People always misspell my name as “Lillian” instead of “Lilian” (even after I’ve known them for years!), and it has bothered me so much in the past that I seriously considered just changing it to “Lillian.” But now I like being “Lilian”. Last year, when I was buying textbooks on facebook, I came across a “Lilian H” that was selling a textbook I needed. While I ended up not buying the book from her, we were so happy to have come across a fellow “Lilian” that feels the pain of having our name misspelled. We kind of bonded over our name!Is there anything you would like to add?Please be kind to each other, because you will never know what burdens the person is carrying. This is something I learned from reading HONY posts every day, but now that I have started my own project, it is something that I get to see in person. I recently met this gentleman (whose stories I have yet to post) who gave me about two hours of his time telling me his incredibly moving stories. I have gotten many happy stories, but now I’m faced with the reality that there are profound and complex stories out there, too.
Keep your eyes peeled for Lilian on campus and in Irving, dear reader, and perhaps you too can make it onto The UBC Name Project page one day soon!