The U-M Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander Alumni Club (A/AAPI), in partnership with U-M President Santa Ono and first spouse Wendy Yip, hosted a Lunar New Year celebration on Feb. 5 at the President’s House.
There were dozens of students, staff, and alumni at the event which celebrated the start of the year of snake.
“You really do build a community here, and this is our way of saying thank you for being part of that community,” Yip said. “We all belong here, and we all bring something to it. It’s a community of mutual respect and learning.”
Jacob Molewyk, ’18, who serves as the president of A/AAPI, said the group hopes to grow engagement between students, staff, faculty, and alumni, along with doing community building for alumni and for those on campus today.
“When I was student here, we had a pretty strong Asian community on campus that I really enjoyed being part of. But when people disperse everywhere, it’s a lot harder to keep the community going,” he said. “So on the alumni side, we want to build relationships across the generations, career fields, and across ethnicities, and set an example of inclusivity as well. Not just toward Asians, but toward people who are not Asian too.”
During the event, A/AAPI announced the establishment of an endowed scholarship for the Asian, Pacific Islander American Studies program which is part of the American Culture Department at U-M.
Roland Hwang, ’71, MBA’76, a professor in the department and a board member with A/AAPI, said the scholarship will create a legacy for educating people and doing research about the Asian American community for generations to come.
Ono told the group that it was especially important in times like today to articulate clearly and proudly the values that have made U-M great.
“I fully believe that the diversity that we have at this university, and in every sector of society, makes us better. It’s the diversity of views, it’s the intersection of cultures that makes us a richer institution,” he said.
For more information on the A/AAPI Alumni Community and how to get involved, check here.
Jeremy Carroll is the senior content strategist for the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan.
