Advancing Asian Advancing Asian

By Averie Perrin

31 years after the United States Congress officially designated May as Asian Pacific American Heritage (APAH) Month in 1992, students elected four Asian-identifying Senior Prefects for the 20232024 school year, coinciding with the APAH Month 2023 theme of Asian leadership designated by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council.

The four electees, Ryan Cheng ’24, Glory Ho ’24, Elizabeth Johnstone ’24 and Nyla Shelton ’24, will helm a council currently led by Simon Lee ’23 and Kimura, who made history as the first pair of Asian-identifying Head Prefects.

Kimura said she is excited for school leadership to be in the hands of a group that can understand a diverse array of perspectives.

“I’m definitely thrilled they were elected,” Kimura said. “Not just [because] they’re Asian American, but that they are very clearly individuals who are dedicated to inclusivity.”

Kimura, who is half-Japanese and half-Chinese, said her multicultural identity gives her insight into different aspects of the school community.

“It’s been nice being able to see the intersection between those two Asian American communities at school,” Kimura said. “How this translates to leadership is whenever I plan events or speak to school communities, I like to come at it from that lens of intersectionality.”

Though she said there is prominent Asian participation in leadership positions at the school, Kimura said diversity is always a goal.

“In terms of student government, there’s always been a pret- ty hefty representation of Asian Americans,” Kimura said. “It’s great to have people that I can identify with on [Prefect Council], but I do wonder sometimes if we’re a little underrepresented in terms of diversity of other cultures on [Prefect Council]. I’m not sure where that comes from, or why we usually have a majority of Asian Americans in student leadership, but I wonder if we can find ways to kind of promote more diversity within our leadership groups.”

Unlike Kimura, Science Teacher Nancy Chen said she experienced very little Asian representation in her hometown community.

“I was [part of] the only Asian family in my town,” Chen said. “In college, Asians were only about five to seven percent of students, and most of them were international students, so they weren’t really going for the leadership roles. In every community I’m in now, I do see that Asians are more willing to take leadership roles.”

Chen said despite underrepresentation, the tight-knit Asian American community at her college helped her enter into leadership roles at the school.

“In college, Asians kind of supported each other, because there weren’t that many of us,” Chen said. “Whenever I was trying to go for a leadership role, the senior Asians actually helped support me and guide me to get those positions.”

Even with more exposure to diversity, Chen said she is still trying to fully understand her Asian American identity.

“I haven’t really found a good balance in my Asian identity, because as humans, I think we all try to fit into the society we’re in,” Chen said. “So, I just kind of observe the room I’m in and see how much of my identity I can put out, or how comfortable I am with the people I’m with right now. In the science department, since I’ve worked here for so long, I’m more comfortable showing my Asian identity than potentially in other places.”

Despite feeling very connected to her Asian identity, Asian Students in Action (ASiA) leader and incoming Senior Prefect Glory Ho ’24 said she is always learning about new aspects of the Asian experience.

“My Asian identity is at the forefront of my leadership, and Asian identity is so broad, so I constantly learn new things as a leader and in our discussions,” Ho said. “I [have] always been somebody who was very comfortable in my identity as an Asian student, but it’s easy to think of the Asian experience as homogenized. Every Asian identity is different in ways that I never expected really, so I try to keep an open mind in terms of what exactly it means to be Asian and how that has affected people differently.”

Ho said stereotypes of high-achieving Asian Americans in leadership positions often diminish Asian students’ achievements.

“At prep schools like ours, there’s that stereotype of the Asian who’s just doing things to fill up their application and be that model student,” Ho said. “Honestly, I’ve always been wary of coming off like your typical Asian student who’s trying to fill up their resume. Because our school is like a prep school, the model minority myth can apply to a lot more [stu - dents], and it’s like you are working against that and showing that you are more than an application.”

Ho said she has not encountered a diverse array of Asian teachers. “I never really see Asian teachers outside of STEM courses,” Ho said. “But in ninth grade, I had [English Teacher Catherine] James as my teacher, and she’s Asian. I immediately really was able to connect with her. For English, which is a more vulnerable subject, I think it was easier to reach out and to just feel more connected to her from the start.”

Like Ho, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Coordinator Reb Limerick, who identifies as white, said employing diverse faculty and staff is crucial in helping students feel more comfortable in their identities.

“It’s important to continue to hire not only more faculty and staff of color, or who are queer or any identity that will help students of marginalized identities feel more supported and represented on campus, but to hire people who are committed to diversity and supporting students at their core,” Limerick said. “For fellow teachers who are not AAPI-identifying, I would recommend they take advantage of the incredible opportunities at HW to engage and educate themselves on Asian American culture and history.”

Limerick said the school has made significant progress in amplifying Asian voices within the community this year.

“This year, three of the five [Student Leaders for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (SLIDE)] Co-Chairs identify as Asian-American,” Limerick said. “As student leaders of DEI work on campus, they bring their multiplicity of identities to the work and work to uplift stu -