CAUSE on Campus (CoC) is a leadership program for California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) students, produced in partnership with the CSULA Asian and Asian American Studies Department and in collaboration with Associate Professor Dr. Juily Phun. This program provides students with the opportunity to develop leadership, advocacy, and civic engagement skills while working on a hands-on voter engagement project.
History and Impact
In 2021, CAUSE partnered for the first time with California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) Asian and Asian American Studies and Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP) to host a semester-long civic leadership training and paid “on campus” internship for 20 students. Through this program, participants:
Engaged with Asian and Pacific Islander advocates including Angela Oh, Dr. Rika Houston, the Honorable Melissa Ramoso, and the Honorable Sasha Renee Perez.
Practiced leadership skills that would shape their future careers and civic participation like team building, values based leadership, and networking.
Led a virtual, public town hall, titled “Uniting Against Anti-Asian Hate Crimes”, where they shared the history of Anti-Asian hate and strategies to prevent hate in their communities.
In 2022, CAUSE will be the lead nonprofit partner for this paid civic leadership opportunity with Dr. Juily Phun,
Assistant Professor, Asian/Asian American Studies and Director, Asian American Oral History Project.
2025 CAUSE ON CAMPUS, CSULA
SELECTIVE COHORT
The CAUSE on Campus internship course brings together a small, selective cohort of CSULA students to explore leadership inside and outside the university. Students gain firsthand experience working on civic engagement initiatives, professional skill-building, and advocacy training.
VOTER ENGAGEMENT PROJECT
Each cohort will produce a final civic engagement project. Interns will work in a team setting, each with a different role, to create a project related to the topic of the course.
CAPITOL SUMMIT
Interns will travel to the State Capitol to engage with elected officials and legislative staff advocating for API communities. This experience provides insight into government careers, policymaking, and the role of API leaders in public service.
Stipend
To ensure accessibility for a diverse group of students, this is a paid internship opportunity.
Meet the 2025 CAUSE on Campus Interns
Ada Ng, Asian and Asian American Studies; Minor in Marketing
Angelica Baranda
Antonion Gutierrez, Mechanical Engineering
Athena Ruiz, Computer Science
Aung Tun, Music
Caitlin Jane (CJ) Calica, Criminal Justice
Christian Mendoza, Civil Engineering
Daniel Williams, History
Diane Tabilas, Computer Science
Giovanna Calderon, Chicana(o) and Latina(o) Studies; Minor in History
Jeannette Calderon, History; Minor in Asian and Asian American Studies & Chicana(o) and Latina(o) Studies
John Gonzales, Asian American Studies
Karen Perez, Anthropology
Raenelle Irons, Anthropology
TRAINERS AND SPEAKERS
(Current 2022 List, as of May 13th)
'Alisi Tulua, Project Director, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) Data Policy Lab, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR)
Alison Dela Cruz, Consultant, Artist, Facilitator, Producer
Amy Watanabe, Managing Director, Client Services, Nakatomi & Associates
Art Li, Teacher, Los Angeles Unified School District
Bryant Yang, Superior Court Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court
Dannyboy Naha Ve'evalu
Eledy Vargas, Senior Program Coordinator, LEAP
Erik Takayesu, Senior Vice President, Asset Strategy and Planning, Southern California Edison
Godfrey Plata Santos, Community and Political Organizer
James Choi, Owner Café Dulce
Jason Song, Product Manager, Americas Innovation, EY
Juilus Sambajon, Promo Editor, Disney General Entertainment Content
Kathy Pham, Web TMT, Capital Group
Kyle Tsukahira, Co-Director, Asian and Pacific Islander Forward Movement
Mayta Lor, Development Associate, Khmer Girls in Action
Sean Miura, Supervising Producer, About To Eat, Buzzfeed
Stacia Kato Takayesu, Senior Business Analyst, Capital Group
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
“Despite the circumstances of a fully virtual spring program with CSULA and hybrid fall internship, CAUSE was still successful in not only fostering an environment meaningful for leadership development but also friendships among like-minded students who care and work to elevate the communities they represent”
The 2025 CAUSE on Campus is supported by
California State University, Los Angeles Asian and Asian American Studies
