By Joanna Lu, APIASF/GMS Scholar
As a Co-Chair of the Southeast Asian Graduation, which was also my own graduation, I knew I would be sacrificing a lot. This special commencement was founded especially for graduates who identify with the refugee and immigrant experience of the wars in Southeast Asia in 1975. For 8 months I planned a graduation for the Southeast Asian community, but I was walking it for my parents. Despite my hometown being only 15 minutes away, my graduation was only the second time that my parents have ever stepped on campus. (The first time was my sister's graduation.) I don't think my parents will ever truly understand why I'm constantly in meetings, awake at 2 AM fighting for additional funding from the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC), or even delivering opening remarks at my own graduation. Although they might not understand the reasoning behind it all, it was well worth many months of planning to see them and many other parents, guardians, and supporters alike, cry tears of joy and smiles of happiness.
Joanna graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Public Health and a minor in Education.