Events

UTMB School of Public & Population HealthAsian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month 2023

For the closing of AAPI Heritage Month, SPPH would like to highlight some of the faculty, students, and an honorary member. These individuals work across many different areas of public health, including education, patient care, research, and practice.

Click on their names below to learn more about them and their work.

Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month

What does Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month mean to you?
Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is a time to honor and acknowledge the accomplishments, achievements, and various cultures of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. It provides an opportunity to recognize the histories, traditions, and experiences of the AAPI community while also raising awareness about the challenges they face.
What do you hope to contribute as an AAPI in the field of public health?
As an AAPI individual with a diverse background and proficiency in multiple languages, I can bring a unique perspective and valuable skills to the field of public health. Growing up in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, studying in Russia and China, interning in the United Kingdom, and pursuing higher studies in the USA, I have been exposed to various healthcare systems, cultural norms, and public health approaches. This breadth of experiences can enable me to better understand and address the health needs of diverse populations, especially those within AAPI communities. In the field of public health, I am poised to contribute by advocating for equitable access to healthcare, promoting culturally sensitive approaches to healthcare delivery, and addressing health disparities within AAPI communities. Furthermore, I can serve as a bridge between different cultures and languages, facilitating effective communication and promoting health education and awareness. Given my linguistic skills, I can play a vital role in reaching out to individuals from AAPI backgrounds who may face language barriers in accessing healthcare and public health services.
How does one show pride in their AAPI heritage?
There are several ways to express pride in one's AAPI origin. This includes educating others about the history, traditions, and contributions, as well as sharing personal stories to enhance cultural understanding. Actively participating in cultural events such as festivals and community meetings that highlight the diversity of AAPI cultures, is another way to demonstrate pride. In addition, engaging with AAPI community organizations, as well as contributing time and skills to support initiatives that address community needs, can enhance the well-being and empowerment of AAPI individuals. Mentoring ambitious AAPI individuals in professions such as public health or healthcare, providing guidance and support, and assuming leadership roles in organizations that encourage AAPI representation are all powerful ways to make a difference. Moreover, it is critical to advocate against discrimination, racism, and disparities encountered by AAPI groups, as well as to support policies and activities that promote social justice, inclusivity, and equitable opportunity for all. It is important to remember that celebrating one's AAPI heritage is a personal journey that should be done in ways that are meaningful to the individual, such as embracing cultural identity, celebrating diversity, and actively contributing to the well-being of AAPI communities and society as a whole.

Shilpa Rajagopal

MD/MPH Student

Denny Fe Agana-Norman, PhD, MPH, CPH

Director of MPH Program

Chris Chanyasulkit, PhD, MPH

President of the American Public Health Association (APHA)

What does Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month mean to you?
As the Thai-Chinese daughter of immigrants, AAPI Heritage month is a wonderfully full and inspiring month. From being viewed as a monolith, a Model Minority, and a Perpetual Foreigner, AAPI Heritage Month is important for sharing of the diversity of cultures, histories, and continued needs and concerns within the AAPI community. But, we cannot only celebrate and share and of course, we must carry this throughout the year. With dramatic increases since the start of the pandemic in anti-Asian violence, racism, harassment, bullying, and continued efforts to marginalize AAPIs, it's critical that we also continue to advocate for AAPIs, for disaggregated data in research and clinical trials, for teaching AAPI history in all of our nation's K-12 school, and to empower AAPIs voters to vote as a means of speaking for health for all communities of color.
What do you hope to contribute as an AAPI in the field of public health?
I have too many hopes to detail here, but I must stress that I want our AAPI students and early career professionals to know that the field of public health is incredible, rewarding, challenging, and needs our diverse experiences, talents, and input to help us reach health equity for all. I say this because from an early age, my parents wanted me to be a medical doctor. That is a wonderful and critical field, of course, but I wasn't aware of public health until much older. So, I want to share (scream it from the mountaintops?) that there are so many opportunities for positively affecting population health for AAPI students too. Of course, medicine is great, but public health is just as critical and a most rewarding career.
How does one show pride in their AAPI heritage?
Showing pride in one’s AAPI heritage can manifest in so many personally meaningful ways - participating in cultural traditions and the arts, sharing a meal with family and friends, and supporting the work of AAPI creatives and local businesses!So many ways and not just to show pride in this one month of May, but all year round! But, here are a few:
- If eligible, register to vote. Already registered? Great! Then, be sure to vote in all the elections - not just national elections, but especially your town/city and state elections. Local elections matter and especially so for all of the conditions that affect public health. And show that the AAPI community votes, that our votes count, and that our needs must be taken seriously. And of course, be an educated voter - research the candidates and topics on your ballot. Use your vote to speak for health. More information and to join me here: https://apha.org/Policies-and-Advocacy/Advocacy-for-Public-Health
- Support AAPI businesses/business owners, especially your local, small businesses.
- Support AAPI courses in your K-12 schools.
- Sign up to take intervention trainings for bystanders (many are free on-line).
- Make sure to support our public school and public librarians so that they can offer a wide range of diverse books! More information here: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks