Pan Asian Affinity Group Collaborates on Triangle Conference

The Upper School Pan Asian Affinity group recently partnered with Cary Academy and Durham Academy to plan the first Triangle Asian Alliance Conference. 

As Yi-Wen Liu, Upper School Mandarin teacher and the group’s advisor, explained, “A group of our students visited Cary Academy and made connections with their peers in the neighboring schools. Many of our students asked great questions to our keynote speaker, Dr. Ya Liu, N.C. House Representative. They also led breakout room activities for follow-up discussions.”

Here, two of the attendees — Eun Yoo ’24 and Tul Cherukuri ’24 — reflect on their experiences.

I was one of the student leaders that were part of the planning committee from when we started planning in the fall of 2022. Tul [Cherukuri] and I, with the help of our teacher-advisors and [DEIB coordinator Paul] Slack, planned three different activities for students to participate in, each of them fostering different conversations about our shared and differing identities and creating new relationships. I felt that it was important to get involved this way because we had many great ideas and thought that this was an opportunity to use them to serve our and other Pan Asian communities. 

During lunch, I was able to sit with students from DA whom I’d never spoken to before, and it felt refreshing and great to find that instant spark of conversation. Eventually, I gravitated to a group of students that I instantly clicked with, and we sat till the very end joking, teasing each other and learning more about each other. It was great to find a group that you immediately connect with and a group that can understand all of your cultural references and values, and I still am connected with them and am hoping to meet up again soon. I’m thankful to this conference for giving me the opportunity to make new friends that I already cherish.

 — Eun Yoo ’24

Clockwise from top: Ravenscroft participants included Eun Yoo ’24 (back row, second from left) and Tul Cherukuri ’24 (back row, second from right), along with faculty members Chiu-Ping Lin (at far left), Yi-Wen Liu (kneeling at left) and Daniel Munns (far right); the conference banner, signed by participants, hangs at Cary Academy; conference attendees enjoy lunch together.

This is only the second year of our Pan Asian Affinity Group, and we have so much more to do to grow this space to make it more accessible to everyone. The [group] we have here is so important because it offers a place for anyone who identifies as Asian, and, truly, from any part of Asia. It’s unique because we all have something that ties us together and we also have so much to learn about each other because Asia is so incredibly diverse. 

Eun [Yoo] and I were responsible for planning the break-out sessions of the conference, and, looking back, it feels like we grew as much from designing these sessions as we did from attending the conference. We had a general idea of things we wanted to address, like stereotypes surrounding Asian people, but every decision had to be intentional. Every choice we made, we made sure it would have a purpose, and it’s given us so much valuable feedback about what works and what doesn’t; but most importantly, it’s taught me the importance of being intentional. Meaning well matters, but to truly create spaces that are inclusive and foster meaningful conversation, it’s important to think and check and make sure that you know why are you making the choices you’re making.

The most meaningful part of the conference [for me] was simply being in a space with so many other Asian students and seeing joy. It was energizing to see their passion, drive and dedication to fostering inclusivity in their communities, and it certainly inspires me to bring that kind of energy back to Ravenscroft.

 — Tul Cherukuri ’24