History Major | Wiess College

Karis Lai is a senior at Rice University studying history with a passion for public-facing multimedia storytelling.Throughout her Rice career, Karis has produced a range of interdisciplinary projects, including her original documentary film investigating Asian American beauty standards, Caught Between Cultures: The Asian American Beauty Dilemma. Her work in audio storytelling includes a podcast episode for the Houston Asian American Archive on tiger parenting and a profile piece on Uber drivers who also happen to be rappers. Expanding her storytelling into physical media, she has also developed multiple collage and bookmaking projects that explore essential questions about human nature through visual assembly. As a Moody Fellow, Karis researched the nature of time and the clock as a changing symbol, moving from one of efficiency to that of obsolescence. Currently, as a Fondren Fellow, she is completing an independent research project under the mentorship of Dr. Sidney Lu titled Four Seasons of Aging: The Lived Experiences of Chinese American Women.