2014-15

I think that there is no one sense of an Asian American community because there are so many different ideas of what it means to be Asian American. What happens is that you have a lot of students from Asia, a lot if students of Asian descent born in America, and then there's no real outlet to think about what that means in terms of transnational identity or transnational identity politics.

We're a great school but there's no infrastructure and that's what we really need. Spaces and discussions and really trying to understand that it's really important to see how you fit in the American context. Sometimes it's hard to picture a leading male Asian actor in Hollywood. It's sometimes very hard to picture an Asian American in Congress. So I think it's hard for our communities to really think what it means to have Asian American leaders and thus an Asian American community.

However, I think that despite the fact that I talk a lot about the disparities and fractures we have in our Asian American community I still feel that it's very strong. Other students are becoming interested in these issues. It's increasing. Our community is starting to become a community.

How do you identify yourself? How do you see yourself?" "For me, that's a weird question. A lot of people look at me and assume, 'oh yeah you're like this or that' but I'm mixed. My mom is mixed also. She's Japanese Puerto Rican and my dad's white. So I have that. For me, background, I don't know. It's always ambiguous, but there's a lot of Japanese elements of culture that is really part of -- that I grew up with -- and it's part of who I am and I can't get rid of that I guess. But it's not in a bad way. It's more of, this is what makes people.

When people ask me what are you I do say I am American I was born in Alabama I was born and raised here in America. I am American. Hell my mom, she was born in the Philippines and she still says she's American. Just because I don't look white, I'm still American.

When I got to William and Mary, I wanted to join the Chinese Student Organization (CSO) because I knew that it would give me, what I believe, my Asian American experience.