FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2022
Media Contact:
Kent Tong, Manager of Programs
[email protected]
Washington, D.C. — OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates unveiled its first in-person summer intern cohort since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic on Monday, placing 12 outstanding college students in national policy and advocacy organizations across the Washington, D.C area.
The group—the result of a highly competitive interview process launched in December 2021—will support OCA National Center’s day-to-day operations, learn about issues affecting Asian American communities, and perform paid work at key nonprofits, federal agencies, and congressional offices for ten weeks. Interns will also attend OCA’s National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada and participate in legislative visits to educate Congress about OCA’s policy priorities.
“We are absolutely delighted to be able to have our 2022 OCA National Summer Internship back in person this year,” said OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates National President Linda Ng. “These future leaders will not only be exposed to important issues and community leaders, but they always will bring new ideas and inspiration to our organization as well.”
“This competitive program selects Asian American youth who have shown a strong interest in serving their community and a proven track record in their persistence and dedication,” said OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates National Executive Director Thu Nguyen. “We are grateful to our partners and supporters who have enabled us to provide a program that is rigorous in leadership and identity development and expansive in exposure to the federal policy and national advocacy landscape. On behalf of OCA, we congratulate these leaders and look forward to their accomplishments this summer.”
The 2022 OCA summer interns’ educational institutions and placements include:
- Khatami Chau, University of Washington, placed at APIA Scholars
- Jack Fuld, Vassar College, placed at Teach For America
- Ananya Ganeriwalla, University of Pennsylvania, placed at the Institute for Educational Leadership
- Sahil Jaiswal, Virginia Commonwealth University, placed in the U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Lincoln Le, Georgetown University, placed at the Democratic National Committee
- Thai Loyd, Loyola University Chicago, placed at the Human Rights Campaign
- Molly Moran, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, placed at OCA National Center
- Rehana Morita, University of California, Irvine, placed at the Japanese American Citizens League
- Claire Qian, Cornell University, placed at OCA National Center
- Kiran Rudra, Vassar College, placed at the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
- Linh Truong, Georgetown University, placed at the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders
- Josephine Wu, Georgetown University, placed at the office of Rep. Andy Kim
Full intern biographies can be accessed at ocanational.org/intern-bios.
Since 1989, OCA National Center has hosted the oldest and largest program for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) college students in the nation’s capital, sending more than 500 interns to Washington, D.C. over the course of 30 years.
Monday’s announcement marks the nonprofit’s latest step to promote stronger Asian American participation in government and advocacy. In 2021, OCA National Center more than doubled the stipend for interns to $5,250, and the 2022 cohort includes broad geographical, ethnic, cultural, and educational diversity that reflects the Asian American experience. OCA also invests heavily in the success of aspiring AAPI leaders year-round through additional programs, events, and tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of scholarships.
The 2022 internship program was made possible by generous support from the Coca-Cola Foundation, the Comcast Foundation, the Mary Ann & Paul C. Yu Internship Fund, the Ken & Ashley Lee Foundation, Stan Lou, and individual donors.
In addition to the 12 students selected for OCA’s Summer Internship Program, we are pleased to recognize the three outstanding students placed to intern with us this summer at OCA National Center through the US-Asia Institute’s IMPACT! Program for Filipino Americans and The Fund for American Studies Academic Internship Program:
- Kayla Chandler, University of Michigan
- Chau Nguyen, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
- Lana Mae Vanta, George Mason University
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