Several San Jose State community members came out to the Asian Pacific Islander Fall Welcome on Sept. 8, which was the first event hosted in the Center for Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment in the Student Union.
The Fall Welcome, which featured keynote speakers and performances from student clubs, served as a way for the center to establish its presence on campus and to start building its community.
To kick off the event, three keynote speakers took to the stage to welcome students to the new school year.
After the speakers, there were performances from student clubs and campus organizations.
Performances included Spartan Wushu, which showcases club members doing taolu, and a traditional Attan dance from the Afghan Student Association.
Jinni Pradhan, program director of the Center for Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment, hosted the event alongside her student staff.
Pradhan was hired in February as the program director for the center upon its establishment, which was under the name of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Student Success Center.
The center’s name was changed to the Center for Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment in July.
Pradhan is a second generation Nepali American, born and raised in Santa Clara.
“Being Nepali American is incredibly important to me,” Pradhan said. “What my parents gave to me is one thing but how I live it and how I develop my understanding of my own Nepali culture is specific to me and my experience.”
She said it’s important that they are visible to their students because oftentimes visibility is an issue for Asian Pacific Islanders.
“We’ve had a lot of staff and faculty and students advocate over the years, but now that we’ve got a department, a center behind it, we can really build up that visibility and that connection for our students,” Pradhan said.
The Center for Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment has six core values: belonging, community, culture, growth, advocacy and social justice.
Pradhan said the center aims to support the needs of students through empowerment and campus advocacy.
Sociology sophomore Arianna Orsua is a first generation Filipino American who attended the event.
“Growing up I knew that [being] Filipino was something to be proud of, but I didn’t really know about the Filipino culture and what that entailed,” Orsua said. “Learning about things that are not typically learned about like my culture and our history and all the things that are intertwined within that affects how I learned and who I am.”
Orsua said coming to SJSU gave her and other Asian Pacific Islander students the opportunity and resources to learn more about heritage.
Pradhan said the Center for Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment office in the Student Union has no scheduled opening date but she hopes the center will be open sometime this semester.
Hien Do, professor of sociology and interdisciplinary social sciences, said he had tried to get an official center for Asian Pacific Islander students for years.
“I always think that it’s important for students to feel wanted, to feel welcome, to feel they’re a part of this university, because that’s one of the factors that allows them to succeed in any setting,” Do said.
