Alex Sahai (Abroad Spring 2019)
School & Year: Pomona College, 2020
Committees: Committee for South Asian Voices (CSAV) and Southeast Asian Committee (SEACOM)
Majors/Minors: Major: Economics; Minors: Computer Science, Anthropology
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC is a community of thoughtful, engaging, and respected leaders who facilitate connection between individuals and groups from a diverse set of backgrounds.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
I’m highly involved with Pomona Ventures, the 5C entrepreneurship group. I primarily lead work with student companies and organizations, helping them achieve their goals. I also enjoy playing soccer, badminton, and ping pong!
What is your comfort food?
Peanut butter trailmix
Alison Choi
School & Year: Pomona College, 2019
Committees: Pacific Islander Empowerment (PIE) and Production
Majors/Minors: Major: History
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC is a place of learning, care, intersectional justice, and community. For me, it is a place where I experience political education, from being mentored by our incredible staff, Asena and Sarah Lynn, to attending AARC retreat, to having honest and insightful conversations with my fellow interns. The AARC also provides me with resources to engage our Claremont Colleges community in conversations and action about class consciousness, Pacific Islander issues, indigenous ways of knowing, and more, through hosting events in committees and collaborating with other campus organizations. For myself, the AARC has facilitated my radicalization and self-empowerment, and I’m excited for everything to come this year!
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
I love spending time with my friends and meeting new people! I also enjoy making food and watching vegan cooking channels on Youtube. I love finding new music and sharing it with others. And finally, I love long-boarding on smooth, flat surfaces 😀
What is your comfort food?
Gimbap. English Breakfast Tea. Chocolate oatmeal. Sweet, sticky fruit. Fresh banana bread. I love cooking, so almost everything I make brings me comfort!
Briana (Anna) Liu
School & Year: Harvey Mudd College, 2019
Committees: Claremont Colleges Asian American Advisory Board (AdBoard)
Majors/Minors: Major: Engineering, HSA; Concentration: Asian American Studies
What does the AARC mean to you?
To me, the AARC isn’t just a space. It’s also an intentional community that embraces and uplifts. It seeks to bring people into discussion around difficult, often overlooked topics, but always grounds that work in care for marginalized people. The AARC is by and for our communities – it makes me feel valued just for being myself and inspires me to carry that love into the rest of my life.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
My hobbies include cooking/baking and sharing food, admiring pretty plants, and doing extremely amateur graphic design (and other kinds of art – I’ve been trying to learn traditional Chinese painting recently!). I also just like to spend time with my loved ones and make them laugh with my bad jokes.
What is your comfort food?
In my opinion, toast (aka twice baked bread) is one of the purest joys in existence. It’s quick, easy, and great with peanut butter.
Camille Sanchez
School & Year: Pomona College, 2019
Committees: Asian American Mentor Program (AAMP) Head Mentor
Majors/Minors: Major: Public Policy Analysis (Economics Concentration)
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC is full of caring, passionate individuals that want to make campus better for the Asian American Pacific Islander community. It is a study space, an informative space, a healing space, and a thriving space. It is a second home on campus for me, and when I make it big you can bet I’ll be donating my riches to the AARC!!
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
Reading webcomics, watching videogame playthroughs, drawing, painting, baking sweets, eating sweets, taking pictures of sweets (my bio pic is actually of me snapping a pic of ube rolled ice cream).
What is your comfort food?
The chocolatiest ice cream available, my aunt’s lumpia (Filipino egg rolls), my mom’s tuna soup, the things I’m good at baking.
Dom Aiu Taber
School & Year: Harvey Mudd College, 2021
Committees: Pacific Islander Empowerment (PIE) and Saturday Tongan Education Program (STEP)
Majors/Minors: Major: Undeclared (Engineering)
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC is a community that engages the AAPI community in a way that I feel no other community does. Focusing on engaging various underrepresented communities and addressing AAPI issues, I feel that the AARC does a great job at being the AAPI voice this campus needs. Overall because of this, to me, the AARC is a welcoming space that fosters a unique AAPI community.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
Outside of the AARC I do a lot of school work (because I am a Mudder). Just kidding! Outside of this I enjoy a pretty diverse set of activities. I love being outside walking around, playing Inner-tube Water Polo, and working out. I also like really relaxing, playing board games, watching movies with friends.
What is your comfort food?
My comfort food is fresh poke. Fresh tuna seasoned with pa’akai (sea salt), limu (seaweeds), inamona (crushed candle nut). Authentic poke from Hawai’i.
Emagene Pham
School & Year: Scripps College, 2019
Committees: Claremont Colleges Asian American Advisory Board (AdBoard Student Coordinator)
Majors/Minors: Major: Science Management (Biotechnology Concentration)
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC is a space of learning, growth, and support. It is also a space with individuals who inspire and challenge me to both be more active in the community and to stand up for what I believe in.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
I love dancing, sitting in the sun, and listening to music with good friends.
What is your comfort food?
My mom’s pho ga (chicken pho). I could eat it everyday for the rest of my life and never get sick of it!!
Emily Nishimura (Abroad Spring 2019)
School & Year: Pomona College, 2020
Committees: Pacific Islander Empowerment (PIE), Saturday Tongan Education Program (STEP), Healing Through HeART, and Co-Sponsorship Committee
Majors/Minors: Major: Psychology; Minor: Asian American Studies
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC is a space and community where I feel supported, challenged, and empowered as I navigate what it means to identify and live as an Asian American, fifth generation Japanese American woman in Claremont and in this current sociopolitical climate. This community seeks to welcome, respect, love, and appreciate individuals as we recognize that their identities and stories are valid. Through introspection and reflection, the AARC provides opportunities to engage in sometimes difficult, but relevant, critical conversations that may inspire growth and healing. I feel empowered and inspired by this community to believe that productive change can happen.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
I value the time I share with friends, surrounded by quality music and food. I also enjoy the occasional (actually rare) run or adventure in the outdoors. Honestly, my hobbies are constantly changing since I often become fascinated with random niches I come across. My current hobbies include embroidery, k-pop dancing, and photography.
What is your comfort food?
Udon, potato croquettes, kimchi fried rice, roasted brussels sprouts, homemade croutons, and my mom’s coffee cake.
Gabby Lupola
School & Year: Pomona College, 2021
Committees: Saturday Tongan Education Program (STEP) and Pacific Islander Empowerment (PIE)
Majors/Minors: Major: History; Minor: Italian
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC is both a physical space and community on campus fostering connections between all the folks who fall under the AAPI umbrella; it’s a manifestation of the AAPI activists work on campus spanning several decades, so for me as a Chamorro Italian female on campus, it’s a way to further that vision of seeing our collective issues, cultures, and ultimately dreams as worthy and valid.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
I’m really excited to also be a head mentor for the 5C Indigenous Peer Mentoring Program (IPMP), a really great place for Native American/Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islanders (NHPI) students to connect and meet other native folks on campus. Besides that, I love to sing, write, and read when I have the time. Also: movies.
What is your comfort food?
My mom’s fried rice. Also, I know this sounds really annoying, but ever since I became a vegetarian a couple years ago, salads at restaurants.
Guneet Kaur
School & Year: Scripps College, 2019
Committees: Committee for South Asian Voices (CSAV) and Re-Imagining Social Expectations (RISE)
Majors/Minors: Majors: Biology and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
What does the AARC mean to you?
To me, the AARC means growth~ socially, politically, interpersonally, spiritually. It means guidance- from the incredible folks I am so blessed to work with and learn from and our loving mentors Asena and Sarah Lynn. The AARC is the most intentional community I have ever been in– it defines what celebrating and coming together not in spite of, but for our differences means to me. The AARC to me is the warmest hugs, tears of growth, nurturing relationships~ it is care, strength, and compassion.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
Outside of the AARC, I am involved with community engagement work in my local Sikh community, on and off campus, and coalition building with other communities of color. I am incredibly passionate about the intersections of social justice and medicine- particularly mental health as well as reproductive and sexual healthcare in communities of color.
I also ~LOVE~ lifting weights, doing yoga, hiking with my parents, reading poetry, making zines and creating art with my friends, spending time in the sun and outdoors, belly laughs with my little brother, and plant-based cooking!
What is your comfort food?
Aloo Parauthey ~a Punjabi speciality~ a flatbread stuffed with potatoes and spices! …my mouth is watering as I type this.
Josephine Ren
School & Year: Scripps College, 2019
Committees: Healing Through heART and Production
Majors/Minors: Major: Art Conservation; Minor: Art History
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC to me means intersectional community-building, growth, support, and education. It is a space for developing respect and appreciation for not just one’s own identity, but for various identities and backgrounds. It is a way for me, along with others, to further examine issues related to race, gender, sexuality, class, etc. It is a place where I can practice self love and care, and continue championing the voices of those who are marginalized and oftentimes unheard.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
Eat!!, watch TV, hangout with people, do art stuff, make drinks at the Motley!
What is your comfort food?
So many things!! Various types of noodles (ramen, pho, pad see ew, Italian pastas, so many types of Chinese/Taiwanese noodles, noodle soups…) And boba!! Especially milk teas where the tea flavor is really strong 🙂
Kandace Fung
School & Year: Claremont McKenna College, 2019
Committees: Healing Through heART and Pacific Islander Empowerment (PIE)
Majors/Minors: Major: Biology
What does the AARC mean to you?
AARC is my home on campus and full of people who inspire me everyday to be more compassionate and open-minded. AARC is a place where I feel connected to all the student activists before me who fought for the space and resources we have today, and AARC is also a place where I feel strong enough to be vulnerable with my feelings.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
Outside the AARC I enjoy spending time with friends, watching movies and TV shows while munching on snacks, and creative writing. This year, I hope to set aside time dedicated for writing!
What is your comfort food?
Comfort food is my dad’s 蒸鱼 (steamed fish) with a large bowl of rice.
Kim Tran (Abroad Spring 2019)
School & Year: Pomona College, 2020
Committees: Pacific Islander Empowerment (PIE) and Southeast Asian Committee (SEACOM)
Majors/Minors: Major: Public Policy Analysis (Economics Concentration); Minor: Asian American Studies
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC is a physical space and home that encompasses community, love, and warmth. It’s where I’ve met some of my closest friends on campus and where I feel like I can be the best version of myself. Over the past two years, it has facilitated and challenged my preexisting knowledge of education, community outreach, and self-love– all at the same time. The AARC continually reminds me to stay grounded as a first-generation college student and to be mindful with the work that I do for the community.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
I really value spending quality time with friends in Claremont and keeping in touch with loved ones from home, wherever they are. I appreciate discovering good music, environmental sustainability (it doesn’t stop at recycling!!!), interrupting conversations to point out dogs, using Twitter, and exploring cities.
What is your comfort food?
Mashed potatoes, chicken pot pie, goi cuon, bun thit nuong, and my mom’s fried tofu with rice.
Lauren Su
School & Year: Pomona College, 2019
Committees: Production and Re-Imagining Social Expectations (RISE)
Majors/Minors: Major: Neuroscience; Minor: Asian American Studies
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC is a place and group of people that has come to mean community to me. I have grown through the AARC, and it has helped keep me balanced and fueled throughout my time here. The community at the AARC constantly teaches me how to organize, advocate, uplift, build and value relationships, and empower myself and others.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
Outside of the AARC I love to spend time with friends, watch TV, watch scary movies ( :-0 ), eat yummy food, play with pets, listen to music, daydream about NC fast food, and sing badly in the car.
What is your comfort food?
I have lots of comfort foods – my mom’s cooking reminds me of home and family, especially tomato egg soup noodles and zha jiang mian, or the Chinese desserts tang yuan and jiu niang. Other foods that remind of home are NC-style pulled pork bbq and fried okra :^)
Lemuel Lan (Abroad Spring 2019)
School & Year: Pomona College, 2020
Committees: Committee for South Asian Voices (CSAV), Re-Imagining Social Expectations (RISE), and Production
Majors/Minors: Majors: Computer Science and Linguistics
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC is a place where I can find community in an otherwise isolating environment at the colleges. It is a place where I can fully explore who I am as a person and how various aspects of my identity relate to me being Asian-American. But it also allows me to pursue social justice and activism. The AARC motivates me to constantly strive for a better future and never settle for anything less. Whether we focus on healing and growth, political unrest, education, or community outreach, it is a bridge that lets me do good work with people to achieve something great for the APIDA community.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
Hanging out with friends! Playing/listening to music (violin + piano), dancing, writing fictional/poetry pieces, going on runs and working out, doing more outdoorsy things (e.g. hiking and camping), playing Overwatch, and watching a lot of TV shows and movies.
What is your comfort food?
Hot croissants with butter. I think there’s something so nice about a really fluffy, warm pastry that has such a rich, buttery smell, especially when the outside is crispy but the inside is incredibly soft. It also reminds me a lot about Saturday brunch with my brothers at home.
Lily (Ilora) Naik
School & Year: Pomona College, 2019
Committees: Saturday Tongan Education Program (STEP) and Committee for South Asian Voices (CSAV)
Majors/Minors: Major: Chemistry
What does the AARC mean to you?
To me, the AARC is a space for growth and learning where we ground the work we do in the love and respect we have for one another and our communities.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
I enjoy eating cheese, playing/watching soccer, and doing weird things with friends.
What is your comfort food?
I love eating my mom’s theplas, which is a Gujarati flat-bread-type thing.
Lizzie Chun
School & Year: Scripps College, 2019
Committees: Saturday Tongan Education Program (STEP), Re-Imagining Social Expectations (RISE), and volunteer for the Southeast Asian Committee (SEACOM)
Majors/Minors: Major: Biology; Minor: Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
What does the AARC mean to you?
Finding communities like the AARC that sustain me has been such a formative experience during my time at Scripps. The AARC is an intentional space that fosters community and agency for AAPIs, both on and off campus. The AARC is grounded in the care, strength, and passion of its community and has been foundational to my learning, growth, and engagement regarding AAPI histories and activisms.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
eating / making / sharing / learning about food, (re)watching Bob’s Burgers, playing basketball, ice skating, hanging out / sharing space with friends, looking at dog pics and science memes
What is your comfort food?
Kimchi jjigae (Korean kimchi stew) is one of my favorite comfort foods. It reminds me of home, and I love to make it as a way to de-stress.
Maddy Ding (Abroad Spring 2019)
School & Year: Claremont McKenna College, 2020
Committees: Healing Through heART and Production
Majors/Minors: Majors: Psychology and Literature
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC is a place of many meanings for me. It is a place of comfort and community, but it is also an institutionally-supported, physical space open to AAPI students from all of the Claremont colleges. The AARC’s existence is a recognition of the needs of AAPI students and it provides invaluable resources and programming. Being able to be a part of the AARC family, activism, and committees has transformed my college experience and furthered my understanding of intersectionality.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
Outside of the AARC, I am mentor in Asian Pacific American Mentorship at CMC, a student writer for the CMC Forum, a CMC Advocate. Additionally, as a psychology major invested in mental health, I do research at the AMH-CARE lab, a combined CMC and Pomona lab. Outside of extracurriculars, I enjoy going to the beach, hiking, and traveling. Some other fun things I like to do are trying new foods, spending time with family and friends, and watching Netflix. Catch me napping 24/7 as well.
What is your comfort food?
My comfort food is watermelon! As one of my favorite fruits, it reminds me of home and eating excessive amounts during the summer. I also really enjoy Chipotle burritos to pair with my Netflix.
Nathan Hahn
School & Year: Pomona College, 2019
Committees: Asian American Mentor Program (AAMP) Head Mentor
Majors/Minors: Major: Religious Studies; Minor: Mathematics
What does the AARC mean to you?
It’s a space where API/As can come and feel like they as an individual are welcome and wanted. It’s a community that is always learning about what it means to be API/A and what issues surround our community, as well as how we can address those issues.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
Outside of the AARC I love the work I do with AAMP as a Head Mentor and on the Pomona-Pitzer Swim and Dive team as a captain, I like playing guitar and otamatone, hanging out with friends, looking for memes to tag people in, and playing video games!
What is your comfort food?
Bucket of Fried Chicken from Bernie’s in Columbia, SC with a side of Hawaiian rolls, fries, and a gallon of sweet tea
Peter Cha
School & Year: Pomona College, 2019
Committees: Asian American Mentor Program (AAMP) Head Mentor
Majors/Minors: Majors: Sociology and Asian American Studies
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC has given me community, leadership skills, a voice, and much needed space to think critically about my experiences and not lose touch with myself as I go through Pomona.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
I like to read, make late-night food, play guitar and trumpet, and skateboard around campus 🙂
What is your comfort food?
I love ddukbokki, a Korean spicy rice cake dish that is both my and my mom’s favorite food.
Sahana Mehta
School & Year: Scripps College, 2020
Committees: Committee for South Asian Voices, South Asian Mentorship Program
Majors/Minors: Feminist Gender Sexuality Studies & International Intercultural Studies Dual Major
What does the AARC mean to you?
In the words of Paolo Freire, the AARC has taught me that “revolutionary action is really human, empathetic, loving, communicative, and humble, in order to be liberating”. In the AARC community we strive to cultivate spaces for API students to explore their identities, feel belonging in community, and to be mobilized to dismantle systems of oppression. The AARC is not a community bound by shared identity and experience, but rather it is bound by shared vision. The AARC has been the most nurturing space for me during my time at the 5C’s. I have learned so much from being a part of this community with such a dedicated team.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
I love to drink boba with friends! Follow me at boba_revolution on Instagram.
What is your comfort food?
Homemade Indian-style okra or bhindi
Shreya Basu
School & Year: Scripps College, 2019
Committees: Saturday Tongan Education Program (STEP) and Healing Through heART
Majors/Minors: Major: Human Bio; Minor: Feminist, Gender, Sexuality Studies
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC is like another home to me. It’s sharing good conversations and good meals. It’s sleeping on the comfy couches and going to STEP every Saturday! It’s such a beautiful, nurturing space, full of such caring individuals. I am so grateful to have a community that is so intentional and always strives to do better.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
I enjoy creating art with friends, whether that means taking their photos, making things inspired by our interactions, or collaborating on projects. I like sleeping, eating good food, laughing with friends, doing things outdoors, watching quality documentaries and animations, and listening to music!
What is your comfort food?
Masoor dal (spiced red lentils) – My mom always makes it in a way no one else can! It’s so good by itself, with rice, and mixed with other vegetable dishes.
Sujay Singh
School & Year: Pitzer College, 2019
Committees: Committee for South Asian Voices (CSAV) and Southeast Asian Committee (SEACOM)
Majors/Minors: Major: Neuroscience; Minors: Asian American Studies and Chemistry
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC is a community that encourages students to be their best selves and gives us the resources to put on events that we wouldn’t normally see in institutions like the Claremont Colleges—events that center communities on the margins. For me in the context of the South Asian committees I’ve worked on, the AARC has supported me as I’ve tried to promote greater social awareness in the South Asian community.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
I love playing ping pong and listening to music, especially soul and R&B! I also sing in an a cappella group—Midnight Echo, shameless plug to come watch us perform at Scamfest and Frary snack concerts!
What is your comfort food?
Oof this is a tough one because it makes me decide between my parents’ home regions in India. It’d either be Hyderabadi biryani with mirchi ka salan or sattu paratha with aam achar. In Claremont though, I’d settle for farmbowl (wednesday salad bar at Pitzer)!
Tai Le
School & Year: Pomona College, 2019
Committees: Saturday Tongan Education Program (STEP) and Southeast Asian Committee (SEACOM)
Majors/Minors: Major: Mathematics
What does the AARC mean to you?
The AARC has given me the resources to start conversations on important social issues.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
I enjoy playing video games, sharing good foods with friends, and relaxing in the sun.
What is your comfort food?
My mom’s bun bo hue.
Tran Pham
School & Year: Pomona College, 2019
Committees: Southeast Asian Committee (SEACOM) and Re-Imagining Social Expectations (RISE)
Majors/Minors: Major: Computer Science; Minor: Asian American Studies
What does the AARC mean to you?
To me, the AARC is a community of students and staff who passionately work to advocate and raise awareness of issues in the APIDA community while simultaneously creating an intentional space that allows folks to be vulnerable and honest about where they are at and where they want to be in their lives. The AARC is a space for folks to engage in dialogue, decompress, and really challenge themselves to grow. To me, the AARC is the kind of workspace I want to be a part of or help create where ever I end up post-grad.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the AARC?
I really enjoy jamming (dancing, singing poorly) to music and joking around with friends. I love spending time with the Vietnamese community on campus and off campus. Mostly, I’m happy being around friends and family. Anything from playing basketball to chatting about what’s going on in our lives as we grab food.
What is your comfort food?
My mom’s cooking. Her food is always right for the occasion. A giant pot of Pho to welcome me home, a bowl of rice porridge with ginger for my sick days, and canh chua ca kho to (Vietnamese sour soup and carmalised fish) for whenever really. Her food tastes like home. (,:
The Asian American Resource Center 