Growing up in South Carolina, College of Arts and Sciences student William Grantland experienced friction with the conservative values of his home community — but learned to let those differences invigorate him. He believes in the power of dialogue across difference, which allows us to discover unexpected common ground and see the nuance and complexity in seemingly disparate opinions.
William is tentatively double-majoring in International Relations and East Asian Languages & Civilizations (Japanese emphasis). He is interested in security policy, civil society, and identity politics around the world, but especially in the Indo-Pacific region. With SNF Paideia’s support, he hopes to conduct field research in Asia on these issues.
On Penn’s campus, William writes about campus safety and legal affairs for The Daily Pennsylvanian, consults on international development for Penn Policy Consulting, and performs standup comedy with Simply Chaos.