2017-18

Do you think being involved in identity-based clubs helps you learn who you are?” “I think there’s a limited extent to which it can help because our identities are so multi-facetted and it’s near impossible to have your whole self represented in one club. This isn’t the club’s fault, we’re just beautifully complex people. I find my sense of belonging in different cultural, religious, and justice focused organizations because that’s who I am. AASI certainly helps, though, because its structure is so freeform that there’s no ideal vision of what a typical AASI member should be. And because there’s no imposed version, I get to choose what AASI is about. It’s incredibly freeing and wonderful way to end weird and wonderful William & Mary sandwich of a college experience!

I live my religion and practice my culture. I bring a new perspective to the South Asian experience because I practice my culture through the lens of my religion. And I know that this experience doesn’t necessarily fall under what the mainstream is for South Asian culture is in the United States, or even just on the campus, but I’ve come to this point in my life where I can move away from the mainstream and just live my own truth

Until coming to college, I didn’t feel “Korean” at all. I don’t speak the language, and I didn’t grow up in any Korean community. A big part of that, I think, is that although I’m a Christian, I never attended a Korean church. The church seems to be a huge source of cultural community for many Korean-American immigrants. Even Korean-Americans I know now who no longer identify as Christian, almost all of them have some ties to the Korean church. I didn’t have that, so when I would interact with other Korean-Americans, I would feel very excluded and out of place.

That’s why it’s still crazy to me that I’m now a part of Agape Christian Fellowship here at William and Mary. Agape is obviously very different from what a Korean church would be like, but it is predominantly Asian. At first I dismissed Agape as too “Asian,” too homogenous, and I originally joined a more ethnically diverse Christian group. Once I started coming to Agape, though, I felt connected and included; I felt at home. So it’s very cool for me now to have this intersection between my faith and my culture - for me, the two are very much intertwined.

I often feel like I have to defend Agape or explain to people that we’re not only Asian-Americans. Also, as someone who didn’t feel as connected to their culture, Agape initially intimidated me. But I also find the cultural aspect of our fellowship incredibly beautiful. Being a minority at this school can feel so isolating; sometimes it seems that in virtually every club, I’m one of, like, five POC. I don’t feel like I should have to explain to people why minority students group together. Before joining Agape, I would have never thought to join AASI, or even KASA or CSO. Agape really made me feel like I could, for the first time, claim the “Korean” aspect of my identity.