When Arcadia High School students reach their senior year, they want to leave the San Gabriel Valley (SGV). To say Arcadia High School is competitive is an understatement. Yet, there is no better word to capture insanely packed schedules filled with AP classes, tutoring, extracurricular activities, volunteering, homework, and, often, familial obligations. All of it underscores a juvenile but sincere belief that admission into an elite private or public college will validate one’s efforts, and more importantly, prove one’s own individual self-worth and value. My supervisor asked me my thoughts on what would be the best thing for Assemblymember Mike Fong to say to high school students completing the SoCal APIs Mobilize Summer Program. I told her that I think what they needed to hear the most is that they are inherently valuable as human beings, beyond achievement and accomplishment.
Many Arcadia students leave for college and have no intentions of returning and most of them unconsciously suppress memories and details of their high school experiences. Yet for me, a combination of tenacity, privilege, resolve, opportunity, and even some resentment catapulted me in the opposite direction, especially with my placement at Assemblymember Fong’s district office. Instead of suppressing my experiences, I’ve been able to wield them towards further inquiry and see new dimensions of my home.
CLA Interns Samantha Leong, Robinson Lee, Nathan Yeung, and Gabrielle Shen posing with Assemblymember Fong
An example of this is being more conscious of the mechanisms of power and politics in the SGV. The League of California Cities API Caucus had a reception at the Granada, in Alhambra, that honored Assemblymember Fong. Here, I saw how AAPI politicians and leaders from all over the greater Los Angeles area, from Arcadia to Irvine, made an effort to continuously build rapport with each other. Significant leaders from predominantly Mandarin Chinese-speaking organizations and foundations were also here, illustrating the fact that immigrant professionals who speak limited English can now have professional careers in the U.S. similar to careers from where they immigrated, in contrast to the post-1965 trend of Asian professionals experiencing downward class mobility and exclusion on the basis of spoken language.
Assemblymember Mike Fong with other AAPI elected and community leaders
With this knowledge and experience, I am encouraged to challenge myself to use my familiarity with more conventional power and politics to seek out and inquire about some unnerving questions regarding the SGV and address folks who are often unheard and unseen. While the SGV is very diverse, it is also informally segregated, just like a plurality of Los Angeles County. How did this happen and how do we change it? What are the needs and concerns of our unhoused population? How do we confront subtle yet palpable racial tensions that still impact the ways that residents are expected to act, live, and build lives in the SGV? These are massive yet pertinent questions that I intend to try to answer over the course of my life. Yet, these lingering questions also motivate me to explore further the world I thought I knew whether it be in interpersonal interactions, scholarly research, or in a professional setting.
Temple City Residents Celebrating their Annual National Night Out
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the views or positions of CAUSE or the CAUSE network.
Written by Robinson Lee, Leadership Academy 2024 Intern.
The CAUSE Leadership Academy (CLA) for students is a nine-week, paid, internship program that prepares college undergraduates to lead and advocate for the Asian Pacific Islander community on their campuses and beyond.