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Michiko Niori

Michiko Niori is a second-year Master's student. She received a B.A. in Law from Waseda University in Japan. While an undergraduate, Michiko studied at Washington University in St. Louis for a year as an exchange student. There, she took a course called "Women and Law" which altered her world perspective. Michiko says, "It was an eye-opening experience to me." In the course, Michiko wrote a research paper on racialized sexual harassment. She was so fancinated with the topic, she decided to further pursue this study.

As a Master's student, Michiko has written several papers about interpersonal violence and immigrant women. Her thesis will focus on the same topic. Michiko is currently involved with a Voices Against Violence course at UT. It is part of the Voices Against Violence Project at the UT Counseling and Mental Health Center. This year-long class uses a interactive theater method to educate peers about interpersonal violence.

"The audience can 'pause' the scenes like when watching a video, and they can talk about what is happening at the scenes. I found this method very useful and effective. I have done two performances on campus so far and I have four more performances coming up," says Michiko.

"This unique education method has expanded my horizons," she says. Michiko plans on moving to Houston after graduation and finding a job related to her work in domestic violence as a WGS student.