As soon as Undergraduate Student Government approved the formation of Asian Students in America Club at its March 13 meeting senior Gabbie Ryan and junior Samantha Yang, the club’s co-presidents, began to solidify plans to jumpstart their new student organization.

St. Thomas already offers numerous cultural clubs for specific Asian groups, like the Hmong United Student Association, the Chinese Cultural Association and Japanese Cultural Club.

However, the purpose of this new organization, Ryan said, is to bring all the Asian ethnicities together under one roof in the same way that the African Nations Student Association and the Hispanic Organization for Latino Awareness do.

“St. Thomas doesn’t have a student club currently that represents all Asian cultures, so we wanted a place for [both Asian and non-Asian] students … to come learn and celebrate Asian culture,” Ryan said.

Junior Billy Singvongsa, ASIA Club secretary, said he was interested in joining the organization for that very reason.

“I liked the idea of having Asian representation on campus, and not just scattered separate groups, but one that can be a hub for any Asian student,” Singvongsa said. “I think having something like this on campus … will be good in the long run to hopefully retain students and show them that they are wanted on campus.”

ASIA Club held its first executive board meeting March 29, and its first general club meeting was held April 5 over convo hour.

“I think (the April 5) meeting was extremely successful. It was a lot of fun, our turnout was really great, and everything went really smoothly,” first-year Gwen Miller, the organization’s treasurer, said.

Students played ice breaker games to become better acquainted, and joyful shouts and laughter could be heard from outside the meeting room.

“It was really fun. It definitely broke the ice, and it started the conversations between people,” Miller said.

Singvongsa said he could see the members were already building a sense of community at the first meeting.

“A lot of younger students showed up that aren’t necessarily involved in other clubs and organizations, so it was good to see new faces,” Singvongsa said.

Each meeting going forward will shine a spotlight on a different Asian experience or identity, according to Ryan.

“We will … be focusing on one culture in particular — focusing on some type of celebration depending on the time of year, or focusing on different discussion topics that involve … Asian ethnicities,” Ryan said.

Students of any ethnic background are welcome to attend the club’s meetings and events.

“It’s a great place for all students to learn more about Asian culture and also to build an inclusive community for all students at St. Thomas,” Ryan said.

Students interested in ASIA Club added their names to a sign-up sheet at the Spring Activities Fair or sent an email to the co-presidents. Ryan said more than 85 students signed up for the club.

Miller said she was inspired to join after receiving an email from Student Diversity and Inclusion Services notifying her of the formation of the new club.

“I have never been in any kind of cultural club before, so I thought this would be a really good fit for me (as) an Asian student here at St. Thomas, where it’s a little bit harder to maybe find a good group in which you have that (characteristic) in common,” Miller said.

Because May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Ryan and Yang want to host a club kickoff event for the campus community to attend, celebrating the cultural history of Asians and Pacific Islanders.

The upcoming event, scheduled for April 28, will feature multiple mini-game stations that have been borrowed from various Asian ethnicities. According to Singvongsa, the goal is for the event to serve as fun, relaxing entertainment.

As a brand new group, many upcoming events are still in the works. But Ryan is clear about one aspect of the future of the club: she hopes its members will maintain its founding principle of celebrating Asian identity on campus for years to come.

“We just hope that the club will always be a safe space to build community and to unite the Asian ethnicities at St. Thomas,” Ryan said.

Sophie Carson can be reached at sophia.carson@stthomas.edu.

*Samantha Yang is employed with TommieMedia as a reporter.