Ross Killion

B.A. – Computer Science, Oregon State University (in progress)
B.A. – Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Reed College, 2013

Ross is a second generation Taiwanese American who grew up in Oregon, but spent the summers in the mountains of central Taiwan, speaking Mandarin Chinese at home and English at school. He spent a large portion of his childhood either observing ants, staring at maps, or reading books on World War II. He is also an Eagle Scout, who honed his wilderness survival and back-country camping skills in the Cascade Mountains. At Reed College, he studied biochemistry and molecular biology and wrote a thesis in immunology. After graduation, he spent one year teaching English and Chinese in Sudan. He has since been living in Taiwan, which he considers a second home, where he has worked a variety of jobs including as a multilingual sales associate for Zenport Industries, a Chinese-English translator for Tzu Chi Foundation, and an advanced TOEFL preparation tutor. While in Taiwan, he has used his down time to study modern Chinese literature, improve his spoken Taiwanese Hokkien, learn some Chinese calligraphy and practice Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Ross has an insatiable passion for all languages, and you can often find him throwing out a few basic phrases in a language when he meets someone new.

Ross currently lives between Taiwan and Oregon and is working on a second Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. He intends to enter the exciting world of cyber security and would like to merge his passion for geography and foreign languages with his interests in science and technology. He is currently in the planning phases of developing some language learning apps that will allow intrepid travelers to learn oft-ignored languages such as Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, and Teochew.