Q: How are you involved on campus?
I have a track record of being over-involved on campus. I'm the president of the Asian Student Association (ASA). I joined after I transferred here from a community college in 2023. I immediately became secretary because they had an opening, and at the end of the year, the former president asked me if I wanted to step up and take the role. Even though I was a little hesitant because of the workload it would require, I thought it would be a good opportunity for me. I also founded the Data Club last year, and I'm also in other clubs that my friends convinced me to join or that I thought would be fun, including the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the Supply Chain Operations Management Club (SCOPE) and Women in Computing. So it's been a little crazy, but I'm having fun with all of the opportunities Oswego has.
I'm just happy that I've been in positions where I'm able to lift up other people. As president of ASA, and it being a cultural organization, it's a lot different than what I'm used to with the other business-focused or academic-focused clubs. As president of ASA, I'm also on the African Latino Asian Native American (ALANA) planning committee, which is a multicultural conference that SUNY Oswego hosts each year. All of the presidents of the five main cultural organizations on campus are on this committee, and we plan this conference. It's been really cool to get to know the other officers and help support everyone's communities together.
Q: Who are some mentors that have impacted you?
This one person I met through the Asian American Dream program, Liz Kim. She is so sweet and amazing, [and] she always gives me advice on navigating through job searching, resume building or career searching. Just understanding what I want to do with my life. She also gives me technical tips because she is a data analyst, and that's similar to a field that I want to go in. She has been really helpful in that regard, too. I also love all of my professors. They have all been really kind and helpful. Two people I would especially like to mention are Sarah Bonzo, who was my operations management professor last spring and then became my mentor through independent study, and Kristin Sotak, who is my advisor, and she is my advisor through everything from Quest to my internship, to academic advising and the Data Club. They have both just been looking out for me and giving me advice.
Q: Why is AAPI Heritage Month important to you?
AAPI Heritage Month is really important to me because, like I mentioned earlier, it's really good to be able to uplift people not only within the community, but also people who want to learn more about the community and make them feel like it's okay to want to learn more about Asian culture, even if you're not Asian, or you don't feel like you're "Asian enough."
I'm adopted. I'm from China, so I'm East Asian, but I grew up in a predominantly white small town, and there were two other Asian families in the area. So I didn't know much about [AAPI Heritage Month] until getting to Oswego, and just being connected to people of other Asian cultures, and just getting to know them. Now that I've been at Oswego for so long, it has really empowered me to celebrate my culture and other cultures. I didn't grow up knowing Asian culture. I learned through ASA and through my friends about what it means to be Asian, and it's okay to not feel like you know everything because you don't have to.