In the intimate setting of the Mills Hall Living Room, Asian Pacific Islander Student Alliance (APISA) presented “Integrating Cultural Identity with your Career” as a part of South Asian Middle Eastern Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Co-sponsored by APISA, Muslim Student Alliance (MSA), Ohana club, ethnic studies department, French and Francophone studies, Diversity and Social Justice Resource Center and ASMC, the event featured panelists Dr. Andrea Che and Monica Lee. Che, a psychologist at Asian Americans for Community Involvement in San Jose, Calif., spoke on her experiences as an Asian-American doctor. Lee, a tech entrepreneur and an angel investor who provides money for startups, currently works in the field of social entrepreneurship, according to Sophomore Emma Ishii, one of the organizers of the event.
Che discussed the intersections between mental health and ethnicity.
“I think that the whole ethnic background, diversity — that’s what psychology is all about,” Che said. “We really embrace that; we’re very mindful of everyone’s cultures.”
A first-year considering a major in psychology, Victoria Lai, had many of her questions answered by Che and Lee.
“I definitely felt comfortable coming in here because it was something I could relate to,” Lai said. “The Asian community here is pretty small, specifically the Chinese community.”
Currently, Lee works for the 1990 Institute, which aims to widen understanding of cultures between people in the United States and China.
“It’s so important now for us to encourage Americans to seek valid views of China,” Lee said. “A lot of the perception of China is negative. If it’s negative, which it mostly is, it affects all of us Asian-Americans.”
