A jumbo banner reading “You Matter Here,” placed on the side of a building, welcomes students from the parking lot to the campus of Los Angeles City College (LACC). The two-year college serves Koreatown, Little Bangladesh, Little Armenia and many other communities that make up the diverse fabric of Los Angeles.
Across the nation, community colleges previously designated as Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs) highlighted 26.8 million AANHPI people representing diverse cultures, languages and ethnic origins. Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month gives us an opportunity to center, honor and make visible AANHPI students and communities through data, service and storytelling.
Kris is a student worker hired in my vice president’s office at LACC. Fluent in English, Tagalog and Japanese, he thrived at the college as he became involved in programs and activities such as Math, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA), Game Club and undergraduate research. He is graduating with multiple honors, including placement on the President’s List and recognition as a semifinalist for the Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship. Kris found a sense of home in multiple campus spaces and student organizations despite initially not knowing how to navigate college as the first in his family to go to college in the United States.
I got to know William when he started working in my provost’s office as a student worker at Valencia College in Florida. He moved from Calgary, Canada, after barely finishing high school. He was intelligent and hardworking, but the pressure of being a high performer led him to burn out. After arriving at Valencia — a community college, not the Ivy League institution his family expected him to attend — he was able to reconnect with himself, reset expectations and find his own path to success. This month, he graduated as the college’s Distinguished Graduate, a journey shaped by finding community, building connections and engaging in curricular and extracurricular activities.
Last week, I met Subah, a Bengali American student who wears a hijab and attends LACC. She received a writing award for her poignant poetry. In her remarks at the award ceremony, she shared that she had never felt as valued and heard as she did in her creative writing class, where her professor reminded her that her feelings were valid and that her voice mattered.
Intentional connection, affirmation and care
For all three students and for the 1.45 million AAPI students enrolled in postsecondary education across the nation, 20.5% of whom attended community colleges in fall 2023, how we listen to and support AANHPI students matters. William, Kris and Subah are examples of students we must continue to serve through intentional connection, affirmation and care.
In today’s challenging national climate, where identities are increasingly homogenized and marginalized communities often feel unseen, community colleges continue to play a critical role in nurturing under-resourced and minoritized students. In California, state lawmakers are stepping in to support students in the absence of federal funding for Minority-Serving Institutions, including AANAPISIs and Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Meanwhile, colleges across the nation are creating conditions for student success through strategies such as data disaggregation to address achievement gaps, expanded dual enrollment and access opportunities for local high school students, and increased local investment through foundations, community organizations and Promise programs that support students financially in the absence of federal grants.
As AANHPI Heritage Month comes to a close, it is important to remember the multitude of experiences, identities, abilities and aspirations represented within this immensely diverse population. Community colleges remain uniquely positioned to ensure these students are seen, heard, supported and reminded every day: You matter here.
