Asian American Cultural Center at Rutgers University

Junior Internship

(January 2024 - May 2024)

My interest in learning about Asian American history and my passion for programming led me to the Asian American Cultural Center (AACC). During my time as a Junior Intern, along with my cohort of 12, I gained experience in event planning, support, food distribution and outreach. Additionally, I learned more about the history of Asian Americans as I constructed my own identity through the 1.5 credit "Topics in American Studies" class instructed by the Director of the AACC.

"Weaving through the intersections between identities"

The junior internship culminated with an art gallery that showcased artwork made by the junior intern cohort showcasing issues related to Asian American, Pacific Islander, Desi, Arab (APIDA) Americans. My project focused on exploring intersectionality within the APIDA bracket. Especially in connection to other marginalized identities, such as Queerness and citizenship. This project sought to capture my journey of becoming Asian American while being contextualized within the broader history of Asian Americans.

Programming team (Junior and Senior Interns) at Pan Asian Lunar New Year 2024 from personal collection

Junior Interns at APIDA Gala from personal collection

Senior Intern

(May 2024 - May 2025)

In May 2024, I was incredibly honored to have been chosen to be one of the Senior Programming Interns, along with 5 of my colleagues from the cohort.

As a senior programming intern, I worked on creating engaging educational programs for the AACC. We worked together on bringing new ideas to our signature events such as the Pan Asian Lunar New Year, APIDA Heritage Month Opening Ceremony and APIDA Gala - our graduation and leadership award ceremony.

I coordinated vendors, catering, organized outreach with performers, and designed marketing and promotional material for our programs.

Senior Interns at Pan Asian Lunar New Year 2025 from personal collection