AAPIs@Oakton: Recent Episodes
COMPASS - Oakton CC
The AAPIs at Oakton is a podcast featuring the Asian American Pacific Islander community at Oakton Community College. We invite guests to share their stories and what's happening in Chicagoland's Asian American community.
In celebration of Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) week, we interview Dr. Robert A. Underwood, a former member of the U.S. Congress (D-Guam, 1993-2003) and president of the University of Guam (2008-2018). He shares the origin story behind the designation, the significance of the AANAPISI program, and strategies to elevate the AANAPISI status in the U.S. higher education landscape.
In 2002, Dr. Underwood introduced H.R. 4825 to create an AAPI-serving institution designation to be housed in the U.S. Department of Education, along with other Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) Programs. The introduction of H.R. 4825 paved the way for the establishment of AANAPISI program in 2007.
In 2021, Illinois became the first state in the country to pass a measure requiring K-12 public schools to teach at least one instructional unit of Asian American history. The episode will discuss the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (TEAACH) Act and the importance of learning Asian American history.
Credits:
CBS Chicago (Producer), (2021, July 10). Illinois Public Schools to be required to teach Asian American History [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17dfA1ziJlk
WGN News (Producer), (2021, July 9). Pritzkers signs laws requiring Asian American history to be taught in Illinois schools [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7__obNGzC9E
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum [Webinar Host], (2022, May 10). Teaching equitable Asian American community history [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4kkDc_2SlI&t=403s
This month, we connect with the Muslim Student Association (MSA) at Oakton College. In this candid conversation, we sit down with members of the MSA to explore their experiences and challenges as Muslim students navigating higher education.
We're continuing our conversation with Dr. Anthony Ramos, Chief of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging Officerat Elgin Community College. In this episode, we explore our challenges doing DEI work uplifting Asian American students in the Midwest and the importance of the Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs).
We sit down with Dr. Anthony Ramos, Chief of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging Officer at Elgin Community College. Dr. Ramos shares his journey to his current role and his take on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work in higher education.
Century College is the first 2-year college to receive the Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving-Institution (AANAPISI) status by the US Dept. of Education in the Midwest. In this episode, Nhia Xiong, AANAPISI Project Director, shares her experience managing the grant and navigating conversations on support for AAPI students at Century.
This month, we interviewed members of the South Asian Club at Oakton College, the second largest AAPI student organization on campus. They shared their ideas and ways the college can better support South Asian and other AAPI students on campus.
According to the 2020 AAPI Census Data Report, there are about 16,000 Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders living in IL. At Oakton, there are only a handful of NHPI students.
In this episode, we interviewed Lydia Cruz, our student trustee, about her journey to higher education, her plans for the year as the student trustee, and ways higher education can uplift the Pacific Islander community.
We wrap up this season with the recap of the 2nd Annual Asian Night Market at Oakton College, Des Plaines Campus.
This event was organized by Oakton's Center for Organizing Minority Programs to Advance Student Success (COMPASS) and Everybody's Market.
In celebration of the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month at Oakton College, we interviewed members of Pilipino in Alliance Yearning for Opportunities (PAYO), a Filipino student organization on campus. We asked for their takes on ways the college can better engage with students and secrets on keeping their organization active.
Microaggressions are comments or actions that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally express a prejudiced attitude or biased toward historically marginalized groups. This episode features an interview with a former Oakton student who experienced a microaggression in her class. With our guest co-host, Dr. Jacob Chacko, we discuss ways the college can do to minimize microaggressions on campus.
Oakton's Discrimination & Harassment Complaint Form
In this episode, we're continuing our conversation with Karen Su, Clinical Assistant Professor of Global Asian Studies, Principle Investigator and Project Director of the UIC AANAPISI Initiatives, about her experience navigating institutional climate and creating a campus culture for Asian American and Pacific Islander students.
The University of Illinois - Chicago (UIC) is the first school in the Midwest to receive the Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) designation by the U.S Department of Education.
University of Illinois - Chicago (UIC) is the first school in the Midwest to receive the Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) designation by the U.S Department of Education. In this episode, we're talking to Karen Su, Clinical Assistant Professor of Global Asian Studies, Principle Investigator and Project Director of the UIC AANAPISI Initiatives, about her experience navigating institutional climate and creating a campus culture for Asian American and Pacific Islander students.
In this episode, we'll be talking about the history of night market and its cultural impact in Asian American communities.
In celebration of Filipino American History Month, COMPASS and Everybody's Market are hosting Para Sa Kultura (For the Culture) Night Market, featuring 40 Filipinx-owned microbusinesses and food vendors around the Chicagoland area. We invited the founder of Everybody's Market to talk about the event and the importance of supporting small and micro Asian American businesses.
To learn more about the event, visit linktr.ee/oaktoncompass
To learn more about Everybody's Market visit their Instagram Page at @EverybodysMarket
Code Elevate is a summer coding program for young women of color. We invited Niles and Evanston Township high school students to share their experiences with the program and how Oakton College can better engage with this student population.
Code Elevate is organized by the Center for Organizing Minority Programs to Advance Student Success (COMPASS), AANAPISI grant at Oakton College.
In this episode, we continue our conversation with Amy Wu, a counselor at Oakton's Counseling Services. We discuss how to find a therapist, things we need to be mindful of, and counseling services at Oakton College.
Show Note:
Counseling services contact and resources
Oakton counseling services: https://www.oakton.edu/studentservices/counseling/
Oakton crisis intervention services: https://www.oakton.edu/studentservices/counseling/crisis/
Oakton Wellness Center Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oaktonwellnesscenter/
Directories:
https://www.inclusivetherapists.com
https://www.melaninandmentalhealth.com
Hotlines:
Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
NAMI Helpline: 800-950-NAMI
Veterans Crisis Line: 800-273-8255, press 1 https://www.veteranscrisisline.net
The Trevor Project: Text START to 678678
Black mental health resources:
http://blackmentalhealth.com
https://www.sistaafya.com
https://www.chicagoblacktherapists.com
Latinx mental health resources:
https://latinxtherapy.com
Indigenous mental health resources:
https://www.ihs.gov
http://www.oneskycenter.org
AAPI mental health resources:
https://www.asianmhc.org
https://samhin.org
https://southasiantherapists.org
LGBTQIA+ mental health resources for BIPOC folks:
https://nqttcn.com/directory
http://www.nqapia.org
http://aglp.org
http://translifeline.org
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month and the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we chatted with Amy Wu, a counselor from Counseling Services at Oakton College to talk about mental health stigma and our experiences navigating enoughness as Asian Americans.
Resources:
Oakton College
Oakton counseling services
Oakton crisis intervention services
Oakton Wellness Center Instagram
Directories
https://www.inclusivetherapists.com
https://www.melaninandmentalhealth.com
Hotlines
Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
NAMI Helpline: 800-950-NAMI
Veterans Crisis Line: 800-273-8255, press 1 https://www.veteranscrisisline.net
The Trevor Project: Text START to 678678
Black mental health resources:
http://blackmentalhealth.com
https://www.sistaafya.com
https://www.chicagoblacktherapists.com
Latinx mental health resources:
https://latinxtherapy.com
Indigenous mental health resources:
https://www.ihs.gov
http://www.oneskycenter.org
AAPI mental health resources:
https://www.asianmhc.org
https://samhin.org
https://southasiantherapists.org
LGBTQIA+ mental health resources for BIPOC folks:
https://nqttcn.com/directory
http://www.nqapia.org
http://aglp.org
http://translifeline.org
Asian Americans are often an afterthought in conversations on providing support and resources to minoritized students. Many assume that Asian Americans are high academic achievers. Generalizing the overall Asian American experience dismisses the educational inequity that Southeast Asian Americans (SEAA) face in the U.S higher education system. Often time, SEAA voices are ignored by decision-makers. In this episode, we interviewed Albert Chantaboury, a Lao-American doctoral candidate from National Louis University, to talk about his journey to higher education and strategies for elevating the voices of SEAA in higher education.
Notes & References:
APIDA - Asian American Pacific Islander Desi American
Dr. OiYan Poon, www.oiyanpoon.com
In this episode, we're wrapping up our conversation with Dr. Mary Danico on what it means to be an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).
In 2020, Oakton Community College received an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution Designation (AANAPISI) by the U.S Department of Education. AANAPISI is one of 7 federally recognized Minority Serving institution programs.
In this episode, we interviewed Dr. Mary Yu Danico from Cal Poly Pomona to talk about the stories behind the AANAPISI designation and what it means to be an Asian American Pacific Islander serving institution.