The leaders of the Asian American Pacific Island (AAPI) Club — seniors Larissa Bonn, Isabella Montecucco, and Kyra Nguyen, along with juniors Lila Kim and Katie Liu — all agree that getting involved in more club meetings and events no matter your background is important. 

“Everyone’s welcome if you want, even if you’re not Asian or Pacific Islander,” Bonn said. “We love to just celebrate it, and I think just being exposed to the culture is enough.” 

They all encourage new members to join, hoping for it to be more widespread and have a bigger outreach within the La Salle community. Urging anyone who is interested to join, Bonn said that they encourage everyone’s presence, regardless of race or background.

“It can be really fun to have to meet people that you don’t know through a shared characteristic or identity,” Bonn said.

Montecucco also added that, through AAPI Club, students are able to create an inclusive community with an uplifting and supportive space. 

“It’s for everybody,” she said, “I feel like that’s a kind of misconception, like people think that they have to be of certain ethnicity or to, you know, join, but it’s for everybody, because we want other people to join who don’t know about the culture.”

Liu feels that through the club, students have the opportunity to learn more about themselves. 

“I wanted other people to find the connection that I felt with my culture in their own ways,” she said. “We are here to proudly show culture.”

Kim expressed that AAPI Club serves to “make places for conversations that might not usually happen and just share stories and experiences,” she said. 

Similarly, she emphasized that the AAPI Club is committed to accepting and creating a community where students can be comfortable enough to be themselves and express how they feel. To Kim, it’s important that the La Salle community knows that the club is a space to “feel safe and included.”

When asked how she felt about the club, Bonn used the word “family.” She said that the time spent with the club is enjoyable and she feels connected with her other members.

Alongside the community, the club also offers chances to have fun. 

Throughout the year, they host events to get the student body engaged, such as potlucks, ramen challenges, Lunar New Year celebrations, meetings, and more.

“It’s great to have events that people are excited to go to and participate in,” Nyugen said.

Each leader echoed that through celebrating culture and educating others, the AAPI club has grown as a community. Whether you are looking for a place with a strong community or to learn more about culture, the AAPI club has both and more.