College was a pivotal time for me to explore my identities as Vietnamese American, Southeast Asian American, Asian American. Going on the Asian American issues ASB and subsequently taking some Asian American studies classes was extremely formative. I was able to ask questions and learn from past and present organizing, learning more about parts of history that impacted my family, but that I had never heard talked about before and had not connected the dots to my family's personal experiences.

This served as the foundation for my continued interest in advocacy, and I always wished there was an established Asian American studies department at Stanford with more robust institutional support. I know it would be invaluable for students to have this supportive space, to be seen and to be empowered to share their stories and knowledge.