31st Annual Leadership and Scholarship Gala: A masquer-Asian Ball

By Ninette Cheng

Last Saturday (November 6), NAAAP-Seattle celebrated thirty-one years of scholarship, leadership and the future at the 31st Annual Leadership and Awards Gala.

180 of us dined, networked, auctioned for items and danced the night away at the Golf Club at Newcastle. This year’s scholarship winners included Stacy Huynh, Erin Kim and Tian Kisch. The NAAAP national scholarship awarded Seattle’s Erika Sanchez, also in attendance.

Huynh is a recent graduate of the University of Washington and former director of UW’s Asian Student Commission. She will be using the scholarship to continue her education in UW’s Master of Professional Accounting Program for Audit & Assurance.

NAAAP-Seattle MasquerAsian Ball Photo Booth, Nov. 6, 2010, Newcastle Golf Club.
To see more: http://tinyurl.com/24tck7b
Photo by Don Pham (http://www.donaldpham.com/)

Kim is a graduating senior from Issaquah and founder of charity Fostering Tunes, a branch of the Treehouse foster care organization, which allows foster children to share their stories through music.

Kisch is the co-president and co-founder of Redmond High School’s first Asian Student Association and is a lifelong member of the Families with Children from China Northwest (FCC-NW). Kisch organized and planned a volunteer trip to work in Chinese orphanages in and around Beijing and Xian during the summer of 2009.

Sanchez is a senior at Seattle University. She is currently involved with the United Filipino Club (UFC) and her youth group Bukas Loob sa Diyos (BLD).

Christine Umayam, founder and CEO of Child United, stepped in at the last minute (replacing James Sun) as the keynote interviewer. Umayam spoke about her charity and the importance of working with and helping children receive an education.

“Education is the key to everything: a better future, limitless opportunities and intellectual growth,” Umayam said. “Through education, we are seeing a ripple effect happening before our own eyes... seeing a child shine gives hope to their families, in turn it helps their community.”

The gala is not only for the scholarship; like all our events, it’s a great networking opportunity and time for our members.

“It’s a good way to network and meet people and see what’s happening in the community a little bit,” guest and NAAAP member Ed Goh said. “In that sense it was good to see some of the work and the initiatives that are happening. It was good to see young people moving ahead and getting their dreams fulfilled. I didn’t grow up here so to hear these high school kids talk about their conflicts and confusions was a little interesting.”

Despite the stormy weather outside, the evening was great fun. We hope you had fun and if you did not attend, be sure to join us next year!

First NAAAP-Seattle College Scholarship awarded to Stacy Huynh

Stacy Huynh is a native of Seattle, Washington and a proud UW Husky. She recently graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration - Accounting and will be continuing her education in the UW's Master of Professional Accounting Program for Audit & Assurance this Fall.

Stacy shares her thoughts on being a scholarship winner, on NAAAP-Seattle, and on where she would like to vacation.

1) How do you feel about being the first-ever recipient of this NAAAP scholarship?

I am extremely honored to be chosen as the first-ever recipient of the NAAAP College Scholarship. I truly admire that NAAAP-Seattle is doing more to help Asian American students develop professionally and by creating a scholarship for graduate school, NAAAP is pushing us to achieve even more. I hope this scholarship continues long into the future.

2) How did you hear about the scholarship and about NAAAP?

I first learned about NAAAP through my connections as the 2009-2010 Asian Student Commission (ASC) Director at the University of Washington. My predecessor and I were both students at the UW's Foster School of Business and we discussed the need for some program or event that would address contemporary issues of Asian Americans on professionalism and achieving our education and career goals. He was the one who first told me about NAAAP and then throughout the year, I received weekly e-newsletters from NAAAP's Seattle chapter and would eventually work with the Student Relations Chair to organize an ASC Networking Night. I hope that ASC continues to work with NAAAP so that the two organizations can work together in helping Asian students at the UW meet their post-college goals.

3) If you had $1000 to spend on anything non-school related, what would it be?

Part of the $1,000 would definitely go to my family because I would not have earned any of my achievements without their love and support. I would also use some of the money to help fund backpacking trips through Europe and Asia. If there is anything left, I would either put it in a savings account (this is the Accounting major in me) or donate it to a worthy cause.