Happy Black History (and Futures) Month, and Happy Lunar New Year / Tết / Seollal / Losar, Lantern Festival, Maha Shivaratri, and Mashramani to everyone celebrating this month!
Welcome to QCAP’s February newsletter for the Spring 2025 semester!
Updating you on events and opportunities for our Queens College AAPI community.
📣ANNOUNCEMENTS
The QCAP Community Space Is Now Open!
For the Spring 2025 semester, the QCAP Community Space will be open every Tuesday from 9:30am to 4pm, starting on Feb. 4! Stop by to study, take a break between classes, or learn more about QCAP’s programs and resources for AAPI students. We have snacks and a microwave and computer available for student use.
The QCAP Space is also still available for students Monday through Thursday by reservation! If you would like to reserve the space for studying, meetings, etc., please book online at least 1 day in advance at https://qcapspacereservation.setmore.com/.
Learn More about Asian American Community Studies (AACS)!
We are excited to help revitalize Asian American Community Studies (AACS, pronounced “aches”) on our campus! AACS is an interdisciplinary academic program at QC, housed in the Urban Studies department, that collaborates with QCAP to support AAPI students, faculty, staff, and allies across campus. AACS courses and programming are open to anyone interested in learning more about AAPI communities (with roots in Central, East, South, Southeast, and West Asia and the Pacific Islands, and including Asian diasporas like Indo-Caribbeans) and the field of Asian American studies.
AACS is also a minor! The AACS Minor provides opportunities for students from all majors to learn about the complex histories, cultures, and politics of Asian America; to connect critical inquiry and action for social change; and to engage in research and service learning here in Queens/NYC. The minor is ideal for students who want to pursue careers in the arts, business, education, government, healthcare, international affairs, the law, nonprofits, social services, and more.
The minor is 18 credits and consists of THREE required courses (AACS 107: Immigrant Communities in Queens, ENGL 369: Asian American Literature, and AACS 370: Capstone, Fieldwork in Asian American Communities) and THREE additional elective courses.
Prerequisites for AACS minor courses may be waived upon request, and there is a lot of flexibility with the electives. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please reach out to AACS at [email protected] or the AACS Faculty Advisor, Dr. Soniya Munshi, at [email protected]. And please join us for our first Chai Chat of the semester—see announcement below!
⭐️UPCOMING EVENTS
Tue 2/11: AACS + QCAP Chai Chat
Stop by the QCAP Community Space (Powdermaker Hall 251, on the 2nd floor by the Urban Studies department office) on Tuesday, February 11, during free hour (12:15–1:30pm), for some chai and snacks and the chance to be in community with AAPI faculty, students, and allies! This is a great opportunity to learn more about Asian American Community Studies (AACS) and about QCAP and to ask any questions you might have! This is part of a series of regular free-hour Chai Chats that AACS and QCAP host throughout the academic year, so please join us! No registration necessary!
Save the Date: QCAP Mental Health Workshop with Renee Floresca on Wed 3/05
Mark your calendars for the first QCAP Mental Health Workshop of the spring semester! Filipina actor, artist, writer, and educator Renee Floresca will be returning on Wednesday, March 5, during free hour (12:15–1:30pm) to help us destress! Keep an eye on our QCAP Instagram for more details soon!
🌈 GETTING TO KNOW QCAP
Meet Our Research Partners!
As many of you already know, QCAP aims to support the academic success, mental health, and community engagement of QC’s diverse and underserved AAPI students, and we’re funded by a federal grant from the US Department of Education’s AANAPISI Program. What you may not know is that the QCAP Team has been collaborating with a group of awesome educational researchers who are studying our work and helping us figure out how to best serve and support our students. Together we formed something called a Research-Practice Partnership (RPP). Learn more about our research partners below, and please say hi next time you see them at one of our events!
Hello there! This is Mike Hoa Nguyen. I’m an Assistant Professor of Education at New York University. For our RPP, I’m an AANAPISI researcher, where I focus on how AANAPISIs like QCAP can use its federal funds to build capacity to serve students like you. I’m excited to be a part of this RPP and grateful for the opportunity to work with so many wonderful people at Queens College. And as you can tell from my picture, I really like Star Wars.
Hello! My name is Ung-Sang Lee, and I am an Assistant Professor of Qualitative Methods at University of Nevada, Las Vegas’s College of Education. To our RPP, I bring expertise in participatory research methods, which seeks to make research more collaborative, grounded in everyday problems, and justice-focused. I am honored to be part of this RPP, which aligns with the absolute priority in my research, which is to advance racial justice and equity in educational institutions. In my spare time, I enjoy gardening and cooking.
Hello! I’m Federick Ngo and I am an Associate Professor of Higher Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. I study the effects of education policy and practice on student outcomes, and I am excited to be supporting the RPP team with quantitative data analysis. Here’s a photo of me from the perspective of a bench. Why? You’ll have to ask the photographer about that! Fun Fact: I spent the first decade of my life in Syracuse, NY. Go Orange!
Håfa adai! My name is Odorico San Nicolas. I am an indigenous Chamorro scholar who was born and raised on the island of Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands, and I am a PhD candidate at New York University studying higher and postsecondary education. My research focuses on examining the role of academic institutions in supporting Asian and Pacific Islander college student success. As a member of this RPP, I support the data collection, management, and analysis processes as we work to better understand how AANAPISI institutions, like Queens College, serve its Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AA&NHPI) communities. Outside of academia, I enjoy frequenting local coffee shops, parks, and museums.
Hello! This is Toby Wu, and I’m a 3rd year PhD candidate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at NYU. My role as a research assistant is to support different aspects of the research project, especially qualitative data collection and analysis. I’m a proud Brooklynite, and I love to talk about food in New York City. Here’s a photo of me carving my first jack-o-lantern!
⏪QCAP RECAP
QCAP Mental Health Workshop with Tyler Yin (12/04)
We had an amazing time at QCAP’s final Art + Mental Health Workshop of the Fall 2024 semester with artist, designer, and creative technologist Tyler Yin! Through collage-zine making, we explored how creating rules and instructions can guide us through uncertainty, helping us reflect on boundaries and discover new perspectives. The workshop offered a creative and relaxing way to unwind, connect, and think differently about the role of rules in our daily lives. Thank you to Tyler for an engaging presentation and session and to everyone who joined us! This was a great way to end the semester on a creative and thoughtful note.
🏫CAMPUS EVENTS
Club Day Spring 2025, Wed 2/05, 12:15-1:30pm, Student Union Ballroom (SU 4th Floor)
Know Your Rights: Empowerment Workshops for Immigrant Students, Wed 2/05, 12:15-2:00pm, virtual, & Tue 2/18, 12:15-2:00pm, Q-Side Lounge (Dining Hall)
Career Conversations: Media Studies QC Alum Will Sammon, Wed 2/05, 12:15-1:30pm, Powdermaker Hall 113
Harvest Fest, Wed 2/05, 12:30-2:00pm, free fresh produce while supplies last
Smoke ft. Ashlee Haze: Poetry Performance, Mon 2/10, 12:15-1:30pm, Student Union 301
Chinese Christian Fellowship, Mon 2/10 (and every Monday), 11:00am-2:00pm, Student Union 304
Nacho Tappo: Bhangra Workshop, Wed 2/12, 12:00-2:00pm, Dining Hall Patio Room
Lunar New Year Celebration, Thu 2/13, 12:15-1:40pm, Dining hall (Midway cafe)
QC Caribbean Student Association Presents Sweet Talk, Thu 2/13, 5:30-9:30pm, Student Union 126 (Faculty & Staff Lounge)
Pakistani Student Association Meet and Greet, Thu 2/13, 6:00-10:00pm, location TBA
Cupid’s Ball, Thu 2/13, 7:00-11:00pm, Ball Room
QC Jalsa Spring Auditions, Tue 2/18, 6:00-8:00pm, Fitzgerald Gym 313
Black History Month Trivia, Wed 2/19, 12:15-1:30pm, Student Union 126 (Faculty & Staff Lounge)
Mash Up Yuh Mask Mashramani Celebration, Wed 2/19, 12:15-1:30pm, Powdermaker Hall 132
Squid Games Survival Race, Wed 2/19, 12:15–1:30pm, Student Union LL-50 (underground)
Technology and AI Tools for Justice, Thu 2/20, 12:15-1:15pm, Student Union 310
Building Harmony Among Diversity, Wed 2/26, 12:15-1:15pm, Student Union 310
Collaging Workshop, Wed 2/26, 12:15-1:30pm, location TBA
💗COMMUNITY EVENTS IN NYC
Cymbeline, through 2/15, Angelson Theater, 136 E 13th St, Manhattan; $25 student tickets
Rice Cake as Offerings: A Nian Gao Cooking Workshop, Wed 2/05, 6:00-8:00pm, Think!Chinatown Studio, 1 Pike Street, Manhattan
English Community Night Performance, Thu 2/06, 6:00-8:30pm, $20 tickets with code ENGLISH25CN
Book Launch: Fragments of Wasted Devotion by Mia Arias Tsang, Thu 2/06, 6:30pm, World’s Borough Bookshop, 34-06 73rd St, Jackson Heights, Queens
First Person: Writing Black Activist Lives from the Inside, Thu 2/06, 6:30pm, online
In Celebration of The Magnificent Ruins by Nayantara Roy, Thu 2/06, 7:00pm, online & in person at Asian American Writers’ Workshop, 112 W 27th St Ste 600, Manhattan
Super Saturday Lion Dance Parades, Sat 2/08, 10:30am-5:00pm, Chinatown, Manhattan
Roots and Rise: A NYC Black History Celebration, Sat 2/08, 11:00am, Museum of the City of New York, 1220 5th Ave, Manhattan
Wellness Strategies during Ramadan, Sat 2/08, 1:00-2:30pm, NYC Muslim Center, 90-20 191st St, Queens
Leekyung Kang’s Solo Exhibition, open 2/11-2/26, opening reception Tue 2/11, 6:00-8:00pm, Queens College, Klapper Hall Student Gallery (4th Floor)
Book Launch: The Riveter by Jack Wang, Tue 2/11, 7:00-8:00pm, Yu & Me Books, 44 Mulberry St, Manhattan
Author Conversation with Mimi Khúc, Tue 2/11, 8:00pm, via Zoom; register here
Book Talk: Taiwan Travelogue by Yang Shuang-Zi, Wed 2/12, 7:00-8:00pm, Yu & Me Books, 44 Mulberry St, Manhattan
Shades of Truth Theatre Presents Mothers of the Movement, Thu 2/13, 5:30-7:30pm, Queens Public Library at Flushing, 41-17 Main St, Flushing, Queens
Touring the Abyss with dear elia by Mimi Khúc: Unwellness and Care in the University, Fri 2/14, 12:00-1:00pm, via Zoom; register here
Beena Kamlani: The English Problem, Fri 2/14, 2:00-3:00pm, NYPL Schwarzman Building, Lenox and Astor Room 216, 42nd St & 5th Ave, Manhattan
Chinese Theatre Works Presents: Hao Bang Ah! Snake!, Sat 2/15, 1:00pm, Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd, Flushing
Stuy or Die Workshop Production, Sat 2/15, 2:30-5:00pm, Glow Cultural Center, 133-29 41st Ave FL1, Flushing, Queens
26th Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade & Festival, Sun 2/16, 11:30am-3:30pm, Bayard St between Mulberry and Mott Sts, Manhattan
Skin as Technology in Asian/America, Wed 2/19, 4:00-5:15pm, via Zoom; register here
A Revolutionary Friendship: Malcolm X and Yuri Kochiyama, Wed 2/19, 6:30-8:30pm, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Blvd, Manhattan
SUMO, 2/20-3/23, Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St, Manhattan; $45 tickets with code SUMO45
Campu: An American Story – Honoring Day of Remembrance, Thu 2/20, 9:30pm, via Zoom; register here
Book Readings: Artists from Bulgilhan Press, Thu 2/20, 7:00-8:00pm, Yu & Me Books, 44 Mulberry St, Manhattan
A Transformative Look at the Lives of Filipina Care Workers and Their Mutual Aid Practices, Fri 2/21, 5:30-7:00pm, via Zoom; register here
Sangjaru: Korean Folk Fusion, Fri 2/21, 8:00-10:00pm, Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd, Flushing; buy tickets here
Literary Thursdays: Prithi Kanakamedala, Brooklynites, Thu 2/27, 6:00-7:00pm, online via Microsoft Teams; register here
Book Talk: The League of Kitchens Cookbook by Lisa Kyung Gross, Thu 2/27, 7:00-8:00pm, Yu & Me Books, 44 Mulberry St, Manhattan
📌INTERNSHIPS & OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
Please note that the Queens College website is under construction, so some of the links below may not currently be working.
Handshake – Online platform for QC students to search & apply for internships & jobs
CUNY Career Launch – Sign up for an info session on 2/06 or 2/11 via Zoom here; apply here by 2/17
Apex for Youth Volunteer Opportunities – Apply here; currently recruiting volunteers for their elementary basketball program in Flushing
Jahajee Volunteer Training – Virtual training via Zoom on Thu 2/06, 6:00-7:30pm; sign up here
NYCPS Human Resources Paid Summer Internship – Apply here by 2/28
NYC Summer Youth Employment Program – Apply here by 2/28
Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) Program – Applications due 3/15
✨RESOURCES
In case you didn’t already know, we have a Resources section on our website, where you’ll find not just QC- or CUNY-related resources but other Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) resources as well. These resources range from scholarly journals to various podcasts and YouTube channels to local AAPI-serving community organizations. Check them out!
And if you need any support or help accessing resources, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].
