The Asian American Student Association founded by sophomore Ziying Chen, held their first meeting on January 17, 2024.

“It was stressful making the club at first because it was very overwhelming to find an adviser and someone that has time to help me with the club,” Chen said. “However, I like my club and it’s a fun way to embrace Asian cultures.”

Many students have attended the first meeting to discover what the club has to offer.

“This was such a fun club to be in, we had snacks and interacted with everyone,” sophomore Justin Nobleza said. “I love all the board members and can’t wait to see what other things we get to do in this club.”

In the future, AASA plans to dedicate time for volunteering within their meetings in order to give members a chance to engage with their community.

“It’s such an important thing to volunteer for the Asian community because it helps our members build leadership skills,” Chen said. “It helps us give back and familiarize ourselves with our community that has helped us so much.”

Students who applied to be part of the board were chosen by anonymous voting by members within the club.

“The election was nerve racking, I was sitting on pins and needles the entire time,” Public Relations Officer Allyana Abao said. “A part of me felt that my design wasn’t as good as the others so I felt some self-doubt. So winning was such a big achievement to me because I’ve never done anything like this before.”

At their next meeting on February 21, they will be creating art projects in celebration of Chinese New Year.

“I’ve been to the first two meetings and I’ve had a really good time in both of them,” junior Kai Cruz said. “I’m really excited to start the Chinese New Year project, I plan on attempting to make a lantern.”