Education & Advising
Student guidance, international education counseling, pathway planning, English-learning support, and school coordination exposure.
My Story
About Ryan
I am a Cambodian-American emerging instructional designer, education and advising professional, Khmer-English language access specialist, and writer focused on culturally responsive learning.
About Me
I am a Cambodian-American emerging instructional designer, education and advising professional, Khmer-English language access specialist, and writer focused on the space between language access and learning access.
Born and raised in Cambodia, I began my professional life across classrooms, international education counseling, English-learning support, school coordination, and hospital volunteer coordination. Those experiences shaped how I understand learning: people need more than information. They need structure, trust, context, and support that fits the reality they are living in.
For more than six years, I have worked as a professional Khmer-English medical interpreter in healthcare settings, supporting communication between providers and Cambodian patients during high-stakes clinical encounters. That work taught me something I now carry into instructional design: information can be translated accurately and still not be fully understood.
My portfolio begins with Khmer-speaking communities because that is my lived and professional foundation. The broader goal is to design culturally responsive learning experiences for students, adult learners, multilingual communities, LEP communities, healthcare settings, and under-supported populations whose needs are often missed by standard materials.
I am currently completing my M.Ed. in Educational Technology and Instructional Design at Western Governors University. My work is grounded in adult learning, health literacy, accessibility, Universal Design for Learning, culturally responsive design, and the belief that understanding should never be assumed. It has to be designed for.
Throughline
The Throughline: Helping People Understand the Next Step
My professional path has not been linear, but the throughline has been consistent. I have worked with students planning their futures, school teams supporting learners, Khmer-speaking patients navigating healthcare, and adult learners facing complex information. In each setting, the central question has been the same: does this person understand the next step, and what kind of support would make that step clearer?
That question is what connects my background in education advising, school coordination, language access, healthcare communication, writing, and instructional design. Whether I am supporting a student choosing an academic pathway or designing patient education for multilingual adults, my work centers on making information structured, accessible, culturally meaningful, and usable.
Professional Identity
Where my background connects.
Instructional Design
Learner analysis, accessibility, UDL, learning experience design, portfolio case studies, and educational technology.
Language Access
Khmer-English communication, LEP support, health literacy, interpreter-informed design, and cross-cultural clarity.
Writing & Reflection
Public-facing writing, narrative reflection, and communication work that supports clarity, voice, and meaning.
Role Fit
Where This Background Fits
This background is strongest for roles where education, communication, learner support, and design overlap.
Academic Advising
Student Success
ESL/TEFL Support
International Education
Entry-Level Instructional Design
Learning Experience Design
Language Access
Health Literacy
Culturally Responsive Learning
Portfolio Theme
From language access to learning access.
From language access to learning access means designing beyond translation. It means asking whether learners can understand, remember, trust, and apply the information they receive.
Portfolio Pathways