Growing up, Asian American identity was something I experienced personally before I knew how to study it. Family traditions, language, and stories connected me to my heritage, but I did not yet think deeply about how those stories fit into the larger American narrative.
As I moved through high school, I began noticing how rarely Asian American experiences appeared in what I was learning. That absence made me curious about whose stories are included in history, whose are left out, and why some communities are much easier to find in the curriculum than others.
Working with Asian American community organizations made those questions feel more personal. I met people whose experiences carried histories of immigration, exclusion, resilience, and cultural change, and I became interested in how individual memories could reveal parts of history that textbooks often miss.
I wanted to do more than just notice which stories were missing, so I started finding ways for other young people to share their own. Through the AAPI History Museum, I created an AAPI Youth Art & Writing Competition, formed a national youth board, and organized free workshops where students, especially those with less access to coaching, could get feedback and feel more confident sharing their work.
Today, I see research and storytelling as connected ways of preserving history. I want to keep investigating overlooked Asian American experiences and learning how individual memories, art, and everyday stories can change the way we understand the past.
Growing up, Asian American identity was something I experienced personally before I knew how to study it. Family traditions, language, and stories connected me to my heritage, but I did not yet think deeply about how those stories fit into the larger American narrative.
As I moved through high school, I began noticing how rarely Asian American experiences appeared in what I was learning. That absence made me curious about whose stories are included in history, whose are left out, and why some communities are much easier to find in the curriculum than others.
Working with Asian American community organizations made those questions feel more personal. I met people whose experiences carried histories of immigration, exclusion, resilience, and cultural change, and I became interested in how individual memories could reveal parts of history that textbooks often miss.
I wanted to do more than just notice which stories were missing, so I started finding ways for other young people to share their own. Through the AAPI History Museum, I created an AAPI Youth Art & Writing Competition, formed a national youth board, and organized free workshops where students, especially those with less access to coaching, could get feedback and feel more confident sharing their work.
Today, I see research and storytelling as connected ways of preserving history. I want to keep investigating overlooked Asian American experiences and learning how individual memories, art, and everyday stories can change the way we understand the past.