In his book, Enchantment, Guy Kawasaki offers some practical advice: "Assume you have something in common. If you assume you share interests with people, you will find them." With this open mindset, we start April, a month in which we seek to #repConnections.
This month's prompts will encourage us to explore our connections to people, places, and things, and to define what those connections mean to us as individuals and our respective senses of self. Meaning and identity can be found wherever you look, if you are open to seeing it. The foods you like, the colors you prefer, and the way you greet a stranger could all be reverberations of moments in your history.
To kick off the month, we have a simple request -- introduce yourself (if you haven't already)! After all, how can we truly #repConnections if we don't know who we're connected with?
Hi! My name is Duyen Nguyen and I am a recipient of a 2012 APIASF/Toyota Foundation Scholarship. I am a freshman at UCLA and I think that the food here is good. I am majoring in Biochemistry and I want to become a pharmacist. I’m also attempting to do business and am excited about being a business owner. I am also fascinated by design and cooking. My cousin told me it's interesting that my major has nothing to do with my job, and my job also has nothing to do with my hobbies.
My goals in the next three months are to get my pharmacy technician certification, pass all my classes with A's and B's, and build my business bigger. Besides pursuing all of these goals for my future, I also do charity. A couple times throughout the year, my friends and I put together money and cook for the homeless in downtown Los Angeles. We usually make food like fried rice and fried chicken.
An interesting fact about me is that I do not like games and can say that I have never played a game in my life. I enjoy watching scary movies while I do my homework, and I love sleeping.
Hello all! My name is Abhinav Sharma; I go by Abhi for short. I'm a junior at Emory University and I'm set to graduate in 2014 with a BS in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. After college, I plan to pursue MD and PhD degrees, to combine my passion for science and my fascination with the human body.
I was born in Houston, TX, and currently reside in the sweetest city on Earth, Sugar Land, TX. I LOVE sports, and most of my hobbies involve watching or participating in athletics. In high school, I played baseball and football, and I currently enjoy being a part of several intramural teams in college.
I'm incredibly grateful for having been named a 2012 APIASF/Sodexo Scholar. This award is not only a very significant achievement for me, but also a substantial blessing for my entire family. Thanks, once again, to everyone at APIASF and Sodexo for believing in me!
Whether it is the anxiety felt when arriving to class on the first day of freshman year or the questions that come as you begin to wonder what to do after graduation, our APIASF staff members have faced many of the challenges that come with big life transitions. To wrap up this month’s theme, we thought it would be fun to share the things we learned that made some of those transitions a little easier and hopefully help you get to know our staff a little better as well. We are wishing a great school year to all of our Scholars and all the students heading back to class!
Elena Anderson
Role at APIASF: Vice President, Finance and Operations
College or University: University at my hometown in Russia
Major: Business Administration
Advice to Students: You have to be flexible, adaptable and able to learn new things. Also – it’s important to be able to connect with people.
Devita Bishundat
Role at APIASF: Director, APIASF Scholarship Program
College or University: Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland
Major: International & Intercultural Studies with a Concentration in International Relations and a Minor in Spanish
Advice to Students: My best advice to those in college is to form strong relationships with at least two professors during your college career and keep in touch with them every so often. This will make it easier for you in the future if you decide to go to graduate school because you will most likely have to have one letter of recommendation from a professor.
Katrina Chambers
Role at APIASF: Director of Development
College or University: George Washington University in Washington, DC
Major: International Affairs – Middle East Regional Concentration
Advice to Students: Take the time to develop relationships with your professors. You never know when you’ll need a job or graduate school recommendation in the future.
Prema Chaudhari
Role at APIASF: Director, Programs and Scholar Relations
College or University: University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania (undergraduate and graduate studies)
Major: Ph.D. Candidate in Applied Developmental Psychology, M.S. in Applied Developmental Psychology and B.S. in Psychology & Certificate in Conceptual Foundations of Medicine
Advice to Students: The piece of advice that resonated with me in college was to make time for yourself and the things you love to do – it’s good for your soul!
Sarah Ha
Role at APIASF: Director, Programs and Student Affairs
College or University: University of California, Los Angeles (graduate studies) and Boston College (undergraduate studies)
Major: M.Ed. in Student Affairs and B.A. in Sociology with a minor in Faith, Peace & Justice
Advice to Students: Whether you are entering college or starting your career, striving for and maintaining a healthy and balanced life is challenging but important. Make sure to prioritize some “me” time to de-stress. This will serve to be helpful in getting re-focused on taking the steps to reach your goals.
Neil Horikoshi
Role at APIASF: President & Executive Director
College or University: University of Hawaii (undergraduate studies) and University of Southern California (graduate studies and law school)
Majors: BBA, Management, MBA and JD, Law
Advice to Students: Gather a portfolio of portable and marketable skills.
Joo Young Lee
Role at APIASF: Director, Gates Millennium Scholars Program
College or University: University of California, San Diego
Major: Political Science
Advice to Students: If you are seeking employment after graduation, utilize established networks on your campus. Go visit with the alumni relations office and get connected to other alumni who are in the same field as you or talk with your professors about potential contacts. Also, don’t forget to use the career services center. There will be opportunities to receive guidance and support on building your resume and job interview techniques.
Phong Luu
Role at APIASF: Program Specialist, Outreach & Community Relations
College/University: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Major: Economics and International Studies
Advice to Students: I encourage incoming freshman to be willing to try new things and explore new places; it’s a great way to learn about the institution and everything it offers, an opportunity to meet a lot of new people, and students will learn a lot about themselves by doing so.
Boosaba Pananon
Role at APIASF: Assistant Director of Development
College or University: University of Maryland, College Park
Major: Sociocultural Anthropology
Advice to Students: In your last year of college, be sure to get started on the job hunt early! Take advantage of your school’s career fairs, but also remember to attend networking events, speak with your professors or advisors about any professional contacts they may have in the field of your interest, and practice your 2-minute elevator speech because you never know who you might meet that can help connect you to your first job out of school. I would recommend starting to look for career opportunities in your fall semester so that you know for sure that you’ll have something to jump into as soon as you graduate in the spring.
April D. Rongero
Role at APIASF: Program Coordinator, Gates Millennium Scholars
College or University: Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland
Major: East Asian Studies
Advice to Students: Chances are, college won’t be like anything you ever imagined, and neither will your first job. This isn’t a bad thing. Be open to the unexpected, and enjoy the adventure!
Katie Tran-Lam
Role at APIASF: Director of Communications & Marketing
College or University: Otterbein College (now Otterbein University) in Westerville, Ohio
Major: Public Relations and Organizational Communication with a minor in Speech Communications
Advice to Students: One of the best things that I did for myself in college was to seek out leadership roles in campus organizations. Getting involved in campus organizations early on during my freshman year helped me connect with upperclassmen, build friendships, find my place on campus and made it easy to step into leadership roles even as a sophomore. This gave me several great experiences that I could speak to when I was applying for my first internship and ultimately many skills that I have taken with me throughout my career.
