Asian American and Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2023

May 8, 2023

May is Asian American and Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Join us in celebration by educating ourselves on the accomplishments of individuals in this community. To be entered to win an AANHPI Heritage Month giveaway, please read the information below and submit a quiz. Those with the most thoughtful answers will win!

Swing by the Student Life Lobby during the month of May for free boba, origami activities, and puzzles! In a hurry? Grab an activity bag to do at home!

Submit your quiz HERE!

Reflection Wall: Tell us what Asian American and Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month means to you in form below.

Lili'u Loloku Walania Kamaka'eha (1838 – 1917)

Lili'u Loloku Walania Kamaka'eha was the only queen regent and last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Ascended to the throne on January 29, 1891 and forced to abdicate on January 24, 1895.

Tye Leung Schulze (1887-1972)

Schulze was the first Chinese woman employed by the federal government and the first Chinese woman to vote in the United States (and perhaps the first Chinese woman to cast a vote, worldwide).

Dr. Margaret "Mom" Chung (1889-1969)

Dr. Chung was the first Chinese American Woman Physician. She founded one of the first Western medical clinics in San Francisco ' s Chinatown in the 1920s.

Philip Vera Cruz (1904-1994) & Larry tliong (1913-1977)

Cruz and Itliong were Filipino American Labor Leaders who helped form the Filipino Farm Labor Union in 1956.

Min Chueh Chang (1908-1991)

Min Chueh Chang was a Chinese American who is credited with co-developing the birth control pill. He ' s also responsible for pioneering research that has made in vitro fertilization possible.

Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu (1912-1997)

Dr. Wu was a Chinese American who is sometimes known as the "Queen of Nuclear Research" for her contributions to nuclear physics in the 1930s and 1940s.

James Jabara (1923-1966)

Jabara was a Lebanese American who was the first jet ace in the U.S. and the world during the Korean War.

Wataru Misaka (1923-2019)

Misaka was a Japanese American who was the first person of color in the NBA.

Vicki Draves (1924-2010)

Draves was a Filipino/English American who was the first Asian American to win an Olympic medal.

Patsy Mink (1927-2002)

Born in Hawaii, Patsy T. Mink was the first woman of color, first Asian American woman, and third-generation Japanese American to be elected to the House of Representatives.

Abraham Karem (1937-Present)

Iraqi American Karem is a designer of fixed and rotary[1]wing unmanned vehicles. He is regarded as the founding father of UAV (drone) technology.

Nancy Kwan (1939-Present)

Nancy Kwan Ka-shen is a Chinese American actress, philanthropist, and former dancer who played a pivotal role in the acceptance of actors of Asian ancestry in major Hollywood film roles.

Rosemary Barkett (1939-Present)

Syrian American, born in Mexico, Barkett was the first woman on the Florida Supreme Court and its first female Chief Justice. Since 2013, she has worked as a judge on the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal.

Roman Gabriel (1940-Present)

Gabriel is the first NFL quarterback of Filipino-American descent.

John Tu (1941-Present) & David Sun (1951-Present)

Taiwanese American, Sun and Chinese American, Tu are the founders of Kingston Technology which makes memory storage devices found in MP3 players, cameras, and cell phones.

Alex Sink (1948-Present)

Thai American, Adelaide "Alex " Sink is the former Chief Financial Officer for the state of Florida.

Gary Locke (1950-Present)

Locke is a Chinese American who was the first Asian American governor of a mainland state. He was elected in Washington in 1996.

Elaine Chao (1953-Present)

Chao was the first Taiwanese American woman to be appointed to the President' s cabinet in U.S. history.

Maya Lin (1959-Present)

Lin is a Chinese American who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Saivash Alamounti (1962-Present)

Alamouti is an Iranian American engineer who is best known for the invention of the so-called Alamouti space– time block code,in the areas of wireless communication applications and wireless systems design.

Kalpana Chawla (1962-2003)

Chawla became the first Indian American woman to go to space in 1997.

Kamala Harris (2964-Present)

Harris is the first African/Indian American Vice President of the United States.

Tammy Duckworth (1968-Present)

Duckworth is the first Thai American woman and first woman with a disability elected to Congress, not to mention the first U.S. senator to give birth in office.

Steve Chen (1978-Present) & Jawed Karim (1979-Present)

Taiwanese American, Chen and Bangladeshi/German American, Karim are two of the three creators of YouTube.

Bowen Yang (1990-Present)

Yang is an actor, comedian, podcaster, writer and pop[1]culture lip-syncer who is also the first Chinese American cast member of Saturday Night Live.