There aren’t many Hmong students at UC San Diego, but that didn’t deter Eugene Tsim Nuj Vang from deciding to enroll. Instead, they treated it as a challenge; how could they grow by being transplanted from their hometown of Merced in the Central Valley of California where they were surrounded by familiar culture and values, into a university where connections with those of their heritage were not guaranteed? For Vang, who’s now a senior, the answer was helping to launch a Hmong Student Association to unite the approximately two dozen students who shared their identity. “Connecting with other Hmong students allowed me to find home here on campus.”
UC San Diego enrolls more than 13,000 domestic undergraduate students who identify as Asian American, Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian—about 40% of the total undergraduate population. Yet their diverse identities can become homogenized without an intentional commitment to learning about the needs of their nearly 50 distinct ethnicities.
These ethnic populations vary greatly in size (from under a dozen to over 3,000 students), in family history in the United States, and in levels of access and retention in higher education. Some of UC San Diego’s Asian American and Pacific Islander students come from communities that experience opportunity gaps similar to those from other historically marginalized student populations. For Vang, a first-generation student who comes from an immigrant family, belonging and support means having a strong peer community, accessible mental health services and staff mentors to help navigate university resources.
To continue strengthening the student experience for Asian American and Pacific Islander students, UC San Diego has become designated as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving-Institution (AANAPISI). This means that UC San Diego is now eligible to apply for competitive federal grants to fortify and expand efforts to address the unique…
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