Byeongju Ryu (he/his) completed his undergraduate studies in health administration and social welfare in South Korea and received his MSW degree from the Brown School. After earning his MSW, Byeongju worked as a social worker specializing in community organizing at a social service organization in a public housing complex in South Korea. He also spent several years as a research project coordinator at the Brown School. With a strong interest in social and civic engagement in later life and environmental gerontology, he has chosen to pursue doctoral studies to empirically demonstrate the need to reframe aging and to examine how residential environments intersect with participation in social and civic activities in later life.