Kiana Kishiyama

Born in Xiangyang, China, and adopted as an infant by an interracial couple, Kiana Kishiyama is originally from Kamloops, BC, where she grew up speaking English and French. Her unique heritage also motivated her to study both Mandarin and Japanese.

Kiana graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Linguistics and a minor in English. Currently, she is a Master’s student in the Second Language Education program. Her research is greatly influenced by her own experiences with language and identity, as she hopes to explore how international adoptees might reclaim their identities through their heritage languages.