ECAASU Trailblazer Award Finalists
Update: We are glad to announce the winner of the first ECAASU Trailblazer Award – Christopher Zou from New York University.
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Introducing ECAASU’s Trailblazer Award Finalists and the great work that they have accomplished in their community!
Please take a moment to read each of their biographies and vote for the student whom you feel best has paved the way and blazed trails for activism and advocacy in the Asian American & Pacific Islander community.
ANTHONY REYNOLDS
Anthony Reynolds is the University of Florida’s Student Body President, representing more than 52,000 students, both in Gainesville and around the world. As Student Body President, Anthony leads one of the most productive and powerful Student Governments in the nation, overseeing a combined budget of $17.6 million. Anthony’s role marked a historic occasion for the State of Florida, as he is the first Asian American collegiate Student Body President in the entire state.
As only a sophomore, Anthony was unanimously elected to serve as an executive officer in UF’s Filipino Student Association. At the same time, he served as the Associate Treasurer for Kaleidoscope Month, a month of events dedicated to celebrating Asian culture. His hard work and dedication to UF’s APIA community soon became evident, as he was swiftly selected as a Chair to the executive board of UF’s Asian American Student Union. While at UF, Anthony has also served as a Director for the UF Agency, Students Taking Action Against Racism. Reynolds is also a Knight of the Philippine Fraternal Order of the Knights of Rizal. He is extremely proud to be a first generation American, where he works to give back to the community while still retaining his Filipino and Asian American heritage
In May 2012, Anthony will graduate from the University of Florida with a Bachelors of Science degree in Public Relations, a Bachelors of Arts degree in Criminology & Law, and a minor in Communication Studies. He plans to pursue education in law school after graduation.
CYNTHIA (CINDY) GAO
ANDREW YEH
Andrew Yeh is a Senior, at the University of Colorado, Denver, double majoring in Biology and Psychology with minors in Communications and Ethic Studies with an emphasis on Asian American development. Andrew has taken an active role in the capacity building of AAPI youth through his participation in various community and University of Colorado, Denver, student organizations. He is a founding member of the organization, Colorado Asian Pacific Youth Association, aimed at working with AAPI youth to provide experiential educational opportunities and training. In addition to providing professional and community networking opportunities through a youth council, this organization fosters leadership and encourages students to explore and define their cultural identities. As Program Coordinator at the Asian Pacific Development Center Youth Strengthening Youth Program, Andrew designed and implemented weekly trainings for a group of high school students in order to promote the development of AAPI youth while providing a culturally competent and safe environment that preserves values of school, family, community and identity.
Andrew is a council member and community developer on the Asian American Justice Center’s Youth Advisory Council where he addresses issues of racial equity pertinent to the Asian American community as well as civic engagement of AAPIs though the coordination, development and execution of community-based projects. He also is the Sponsorship Director for the Union of North American Vietnamese Student Association where he is responsible for the creation of sponsorship materials, fundraising and financial management.
Andrew has worked across several different higher educational campuses to promote Asian American Studies, involvement and activism among the various student communities. Andrew has conducted outreach to other student organizations, not just the AAPI community, to engage them in open conversations to help provide a better understanding of the community fostering a sense of inclusion. He was President of the Asian Student Alliance at the University of Colorado, Denver. He also is currently the Networking Chair for the Asian Student Union Colorado, Student Advisor and Student Advocate in Educational Programs & Outreach where he works to build a pan-ethnic AAPI community and promote cultural competency and diversity on his campus. In addition, Andrew is a founder of the Collective Asian Pacific Society of Activists. This organization works to promote and advocate for an increase in civic and political engagement in the AAPI community.
Andrew possesses an ability to communicate well with others, his outgoing personality makes it easy to make the much needed connections to assist in his efforts. His experiences in various organizations has made him a strong leader and advocate committed to serving the AAPI community. Through his efforts to educate the greater University of Colorado Denver Community on issues and information impacting the Asian Community, Andrew has provided a distinct model of the types of efforts needed to continue to build and improve the University of Colorado, Denver’s commitment to the Asian community.
CHRISTOPHER ZOU
Christopher Zou is currently a junior at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, pursuing his BFA in Film & Television and a second major in Asian/Pacific/American Studies. Chris exemplifies overwhelming talent in filmmaking, and even more awe inspiring is his ground-breaking advocacy for Asian Pacific Americans in the media.
This past summer, Chris debuted two short films, shot on 16mm black and white film, at the 34th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF). Closed, co-directed with classmate Alex Shin, is about an apparent robbery one night at a Chinese takeout and was screened in competition while This is a Story of a Girl I Love, a narrated tale of a boy and his relationship, was a part of AAIFF’s “For Youth By Youth” shorts program. The shorts program that Closed was in became the first to sell out and given a second screening. At a press conference for AAIFF’s community screenings, Chris was featured in many Asian language publications including World Journal, Sing Tao Daily, and The Korea Times.
Chris’ film experience includes working on the season finale of NBC’s The Apprentice IV and David Choi’s “By My Side” music video by Wong Fu Productions. He has been interning since his freshmen year, most recently for ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and on the set of the independent film California Solo this past summer in Los Angeles. This fall, he is one of fourteen NYU students selected to study abroad at the Film & TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU).
On campus, Chris is an active student leader in a number of APA interest organizations. He is currently Tisch Vice President for the Stern & Tisch Entertainment Business Association (STEBA), sits on the planning boards for Asian Heritage Month at NYU and the APA BRIDGE (Asian Pacific Americans Building Relationships to Inspire Diversity, Growth, and Empowerment) Program, and was the Vice President of the Asian Cultural Union. Chris has also played an integral role on the planning board for the NYC Asian American Student Conference (NYCAASC), for which he has served as Co-Sponsorship Chair, Associate Director, and this year, Co-Director. As Associate Director, Chris pushed for more outreach to high school students, and from this, he developed and implemented the High School Liaison Program, an initiative inviting NYC public high school students to join the NYCAASC planning board and gain exposure to organizing and activism in a college environment. In addition, Chris is an Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF) Scholar and a US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Scholar.
Chris is ambitious, innovative, and infectious energy. His personal outlook and contributions to the APA community reveal a deeply minded individual, whose goals span wider than his immediate surroundings. Through the utilization of the limited resources, Chris is a conscious filmmaker, aware of the consequences that come with limited media representations of minority groups, such as LGBT, women, immigrants, refugees, the disabled, and religious minorities. Through his studies, he is developing innovative strategies and tools to create a more diverse and accurate representation of the Asian American community. Because of his work, he has developed a keen perspective on the social structure of race relations in America and able to use this unique perspective to serve as an outstanding advocate for the Asian Pacific American community.
MANSOOR ALAM
Mansoor Alam is a freshman at Wesleyan University, double majoring in History and Economics, while pursuing a minor in Arabic and certificate in Educational Studies. As a multi-cultural Asian American, Mansoor has worked to advance many causes and pressing malignancies in our world. At 16, Mansoor founded The Enough Foundation, which he still is the Executive Director. This organization aims to encourage global community service by utilizing the creativity and passion of today’s youth through education, peer-to-peer relationship building and leadership development, not only in the United States but also in Pakistan where the organization has established three schools in North Nazmibad Karachi. Furthermore, because of Mansoor’s exceptional leadership and vision for this program, The Enough Foundation is now an umbrella group for 12 new chapters at various high schools and colleges throughout the nation.
He is also founder of Fort Box Publishing, a not-for-profit solution for cause minded authors (notable authors include Yasmin Mogahed, Jill Tan) in which authors pledge 15% of profits they receive through sales to go to a charity of their choice. Additionally, Mansoor is the acting CFO of Amirah Couture, an Islamic modesty-oriented high-end fashion line. He also was recently appointed as the youngest organizational consultant to the United Nations Department on Development of Social and Economic Affairs. In September, Mansoor’s first book,Ten Years Older, a memoir chronicling growing up in a post-9/11 world.
His commitment to educating and empowering youth in the AAPI Diaspora not only shows that he is an exemplary leader and activist, but that he is also dedicated to the cultivation of future leaders. Mansoor has been a positive influence in his community and a dedicated advocate for his community. Mansoor is an exceptional leader and outstanding role model for all.
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After reading the bios of the ECAASU Trailblazer Finalists, please vote for the student whom you feel best has paved the way and blazed trails for activism and advocacy in the Asian American & Pacific Islander community.