Asian & Pacific Islander Alliance
Founding Community
At the start of my sophomore year, I proudly co-founded Asian & Pacific Islander Alliance (APIA), a student organization dedicated to promoting Asian and Pacific Islander cultures while educating the broader Butler community about the vast variety of those cultures. As a first year student, I struggled with a lack of community for Asian & Pacific Islander students on Butler's campus because the former Asian cultural organization became inactive. Knowing how difficult it can be to go without a sense of community, I made it my mission to establish a thriving Asian & Pacific Islander student group on a campus where students of Asian or Pacific Islander heritage make up less than 5 percent of the student body.
Leadership & Collaboration
I spent 2 years as president for APIA and led an executive team of 7 total members. As soon as we started hosting events, I discovered how difficult it can be to guide a team, so I created a leadership guide or "standard operating procedures" (SOPs) for each position.
The guides or SOPs featured above provide directions regarding duties for events as well as suggested timelines and the resources necessary to complete tasks.
Advocacy Student Leadership Award 2022
In spring of 2022, I received the Advocacy Student Leadership Award in recognition of my work with APIA, the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF), MAASU and the overall Butler community to advocate for Asian-Pacific-Islander-Desi-American's (APIDA) right to safety.
Events
I organized and moderated an Asian Women in Leadership panel in collaboration with Butler's Leading Women of Tomorrow. I gathered five local women with backgrounds in pharmacy, research, human resources, technology and sales to offer Butler students an opportunity to learn about post-grad career paths and workplace experiences.
Midwest Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Student Union (MAASU)
In my efforts to provide a community for Asian students on campus, I also served as Butler University's student representative for MAASU: A regional organization that connects Asian students from a wide variety of campuses through leadership conventions and fundraising opportunities.
A moment from our last meeting of representatives on Monday, March 15th. We spent time interviewing candidates for the MAASU executive board. We spoke with applicants for positions like Advocacy Chair, Community Liaison and Membership Outreach.
