#repedequity

This June, we invite you to reflect on the unique needs and experiences of the AANHPI population in higher education.  In order to do this, we encourage you to take a hard look at higher education in the context of diversity, equity, and social responsibility.  We also encourage you to reflect upon your unique journey and how this fits into the need for educational equity.  Join us as we #repEdEquity this month!

June 8 /my story

When we get to college, we often meet people from extremely different backgrounds.  Some students have traveled far to attend college, while others may have been born down the street.  Some students may have their entire education paid for while others are working to support their way through school.  What is your unique story?  How did you get where you are today?

June 15/ my story, my strength

As students, many of us face unique challenges on our journey to success.  As AAPIs, there is still much work to do in order to debunk the model minority myth. What have you done to get where you are today.

June 22/ my story, accepting assistance

This is your chance to give a shout out to the student services on your campus that have helped you feel at home and succeed.  At some point, we all must accept assistance in some capacity.  This is not a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of strength.  Give a shout out!

June 29/ my story, this is me

By: Anonymous

Being different was not an easy concept for me to grasp upon recalling my memories of high school and early adulthood. Whether it’s the color of my clothing; the way I parted my hair; the way I walked; the way I spoke tinged with an accent of mother-tongue’s dialect; the way I ate with a fork and a spoon simultaneously during nutrition and lunch; my separation from the word “cool” since I only knew it used for the temperature; or the way certain words spoken to me seem to just fly over my head as I feared the truth of my foreign ears not understanding what classmates just said; being different at the time felt like a disconnect, a dead end, a death of the possibility of being a part of something greater and larger than myself.

Emigrating from the Philippines at fifteen years old, I was horrified with the stigma I was bestowed upon in high school labeled with a capital F-O-B; FOB, pronounced /fɑːb/; or fresh off the boat. I despised this term. I felt so ashamed carrying it with me every day, day in and day out. From the moment I leave the doorsteps of our home, to my daily walks to the bus stop, to my bus rides filled with the reminder of how I am different as I saw everyone carrying other things with them (I was born here, I am an American citizen, I am part of a community, I am an individual thinking freely on my own), and up to my first seatings in first period synchronized to the bell ringing cringing my stomach, I felt burdened by this dilemma of being different as a resident of my new home country.

Fast-forward nine years later, after going through a great deal of assimilation and learning, I now find myself so grateful for being different. Knowing two languages is better than one. I am no longer limited to my choice of utensils—chopsticks, knives and forks, handle-less miso soup bowls, forks alone, spoons alone, hands—what a variety! Mother-tongue’s accent can be hidden or manifest—now it is a matter of “to speak or not to speak” with it. Saying “cool” has never been so liberating whether pertaining to the weather or trying to be nonchalant. And whether I catch what the speaker just said or not, I acquainted myself and became friends with honesty as I can now communicate: “I’m sorry. I did not quite get that. May I ask for you to repeat what you just said?” All the time I spent mourning a hypothetical death from feeling disconnected was remedied by simply learning that adaptation is all about learning. Hard work was also necessary in knowing the various tools (such as language) that one may use in being her own person in a new environment.

By Joanna Lu, APIASF/GMS Scholar

“Own it.” -Richard Lui, MSNBC Journalist

Check out the live stream of the 6th Annual APIASF Higher Education Summit, being held today, June 23, 2015 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC.

The objectives of the APIASF Higher Education Summit Series include:

Strengthening existing collaborations and developing partnerships to accelerate student access and success in higher education and workforce development

Sharing scalable best practices and successful initiatives to advance institutional capacity

Highlighting new research and data to mobilize resources

Today’s question: What percentage of college students feel “very prepared” to join the workforce?

Shout out to student services that make a difference!  

Today’s question: What percentage of the AAPI labor force in the US has attained at least a Bachelor’s degree?