Annie Chen (left) and Bettina Talento are two of the passionate student leaders who helped plan Syracuse University’s annual Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebrations.
April is a time for the Syracuse University community to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.
Celebrated nationally in May, the University hosts its annual AAPI Heritage Month in April so all campus members can join in honoring the histories, cultural diversity, identities and contributions of AAPI communities.
Annie Chen
This year’s theme is “Harmony in Heritage,” celebrating the rich diversity found within AAPI communities while also highlighting the unity and shared experiences that bring these varied cultures together. Asian Americans trace their roots to over 20 countries in East and Southeast Asia, each with its own unique histories, languages beliefs and traditions. Pacific Islanders represent another ethnically diverse group with Indigenous peoples from Hawaii, Guam, Samoa and other Pacific islands and territories.
AAPI Planning Committee co-chairs Annie Chen ’25 and Bettina Talento ’25 say the month-long festivities are the perfect way to showcase their proud cultural heritage while emphasizing that the differing heritages serve to unite the AAPI community.
“Harmony in Heritage aims to pay homage to our heritage and the different traditions that have been passed down and subsequently shaped our cultures. It’s important to recognize and celebrate our heritage while also welcoming the present,” says Chen, who is studying psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences and plans on pursuing a career promoting mental health and well-being once she graduates.
“It means finding our middle ground among the diverse cultures in Asia and the Pacific islands, where we all can thrive in harmony,” adds Talento, a dual major in advertising in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and marketing management in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management who hopes to work in a role combining her passions for design and marketing.
Bettina Talento
Chen, Talento and Chelsea Kang ’24 served as AAPI Heritage Month co-chairs on the planning committee, and they worked alongside Multicultural Affairs to cultivate an extensive calendar of events and programs highlighting and honoring the cultural heritage, history and achievements of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
The month opened with a celebration kickoff on March 31 and included speakers, exhibitions, performances and student organization events. Some of the remaining highlights include Friday night’s AAPI Banquet, Paving the Way Alumni Speaker Sandhya Bathija ’03 (April 17), Mr. Asian Students in America (ASIA) (April 19), the AAPI Badminton Tournament (April 20), and Orange After Dark: AAPI Heritage Month Grocery Bingo (April 20).
Chen and Talento sat down with SU News to share why they were passionate about planning this year’s events, the important role their culture plays in their lives and how their time on campus has strengthened their ties to their heritage.
Talento: I’m an international student from Manila, Philippines. I’m the first in my family to pursue higher education abroad. My heritage has played such an essential role in my life because it has kept me grounded in why I’m pursuing all of this. Sharing my culture has been my best memories in creating meaningful relationships on campus!
Chen: I am a first-generation Chinese American college student. My heritage has played an important role because it has shaped my identity. It has shaped the values I hold today and aided me in discovering what is most important to me.
Talento: I joined the Filipino Student Association (FSA) and I’ve met my best friends, roommates and people I consider to be family through this organization. I celebrate my culture by taking part in fiestas and traditions back home. Our culture is deeply rooted in religion, and my best memories were of visiting churches around Luzon [the northernmost island of the Philippines] with my cousins and enjoying family time on Sundays. On campus, I always try to cook Filipino food for my friends. I think the easiest way to connect with people is through food, which is why most of our events serve Filipino food cooked by the members of the club.
Chen: Through becoming involved with events on campus. My freshman year, I went to an event held by Asian Students in America (ASIA), where I met many people I’m still friends with today. That was one of the first places where I was able to feel a sense of community on campus. My sophomore year, I became a sister of Kappa Phi Lambda sorority, Inc., which is an Asian interest—but not exclusive—organization. I found a great sense of community in this organization, which has shaped much of my college experience. It has provided me with a safe space with others who share similar cultural experiences. Through different events we’ve hosted, I’ve gotten the chance to share my culture with the greater Syracuse campus. Being on the AAPI Planning Committee has also given me a cultural home and a chance to provide that sense of a cultural home to other students on campus. Helping to create a month that celebrates AAPI heritage for our students allows me to celebrate my culture and other cultures within the community.
Talento: I was tasked to it my freshman year for FSA and have stayed on through the last three years of my career because I just love collaborating with Multicultural Affairs and being in a room full of ambitious and determined AAPI leaders on campus.
Chen: I remember going to a kickoff event during my freshman year and thinking it was so amazing that all those events were created for the month to celebrate AAPI students. I wanted to help create that space for students with similar identities as mine to feel celebrated and to see that there is a community here on campus. Creating that feeling of community is so vital for AAPI students and I find it fulfilling being part of that organization process.
Talento: I created the hate-crime exhibit poster and have been planning out and organizing the events throughout this semester, making sure each Asian organization on campus has the resources and the opportunities to promote their events during this campus-wide celebration.
Chen: The co-chairs helped to head the committee and worked with different student organizations and offices on campus to put together a month’s worth of events to celebrate AAPI heritage. We held committee meetings weekly with other students on campus to ensure we were hearing diverse opinions and making sure we created meaningful events for the campus community.
