Facilitator Corner: Peirce Kirkham
Read about Peirce's love for elephants and the Seattle rain, how FIUTS helped her become comfortable with her complicated background, and how she learned to adapt when things go wrong!
FIUTS Facilitators are student leaders from all over theworldwho welcome new international visitors, help organize events, and lead activities for hundreds of students each quarter. Read on to find out more about the FIUTS facilitator experience from Peirce Kirkham!
Name: Peirce Kirkham
Country: USA & Japan
Major: European Studies, Linguistics
Class: Senior
FIUTS Facilitator Since: 2013
Brief Introduction
Hello! My name is Peirce Sakura Kirkham. I'm a senior studying European studies and Linguistics. I grew up speaking Japanese and English, and started learning French in middle school. My favorite thing about Seattle is actually the winter weather - I LOVE spending rainy Saturday mornings inside listening to music and being lazy! I also love elephants, and my favorite food is Japanese food - I've worked at two different Ramen shops in the 3 years I've been in Seattle. My family currently lives in Paris, and at first it was hard being so far away from them but luckily during my sophomore year I started facilitating and found this wonderful FIUTS family! :)
What does it mean to be a FIUTS facilitator?
In 2012, I moved out to Seattle from Paris to start my freshman year at UW. Growing up, my family moved around and we also lived in Tokyo and Washington DC. During my freshman year, I had a hard time adjusting to UW and living back in the US again. I saw my international background almost a hindrance more than anything - my story became a bit of a hassle to explain whenever I met new people. It wasn't until I found FIUTS that I started to become comfortable with my complicated identity and background. As I continued to meet new friends, I began to realize and become grateful for the way my experiences helped shape me into who I am today. Now I love sharing my story and connecting with students who are also going through the crazy transition into university!
Favorite FIUTS anecdote as a facilitator
"It wasn't until I found FIUTS that I started to become comfortable with my complicated identity and background."
Peirce (middle, holding a green calendar) led a group of FIUTS students on a service trip at Plymouth Housing Group.
One of my first trips as a facilitator was the Mount Rainier trip. The bus driver had to stop halfway up the mountain because he was worried about the snow piling up at the visitor's center where we were headed. This was completely unplanned, but after a few panicked moments we decided to shuttle students from the bus to the visitor's center using the two U-Cars we had with us. It was a great learning moment where I realized how important it is for leaders to be adaptable in order to be able to handle situations where things don't go as planned. (Since then I've also learned a lot doesn't go as planned while facilitating!)
Tips/comments for peer facilitators
If I were to tell myself one thing when I started facilitating, it would be to be open and up for anything. It's ok when things don't go as planned, and sometimes it ends up being better that way! You can't predict everything and in some cases you might have to just jump into the unknown, but that will probably make the experience all the more unforgettable!
Check out our past Facilitator Corners:
Alissa Mustre, Ang Li, Wedward Wei, Terry Jung, Hassan Almuzaini, Isabella Ning, Lucy Deng, Nhung Le, Abigail Lim, Ferris Maghi, Kevin Sander, Joey Liao, Anya Raj, Minhtu Nguyen, Jianyang (Jane) Zhang, Jialu Sun, Fleur Xuanlin Li, Saleh Alwabel, Clara Jiayao Lu, Le (Juliet) Huang,David Veth, Yili (Jacky) Chen, Jonathan Cheng, Fah Thamsuwan, Charlie Warner, Katherine Li, Nabil Sutjipto, Jeremy Sculley, Ani Antonyan, Jaisang Sun
Learn about our facilitator program here!