Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
The MC Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month Planning Committee is a college-wide group of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to organizing activities that highlight the diversity and achievements of AANHPI populations.
Each year, the committee provides the College community with opportunities to engage in cultural programming, share knowledge, and learn about the contributions of AANHPI individuals. Our signature kick-off event serves as the capstone of our annual AANHPI Heritage Month celebrations.
Planning for the 2025 AANHPI Heritage Month Kick-Off Event will begin in October. If you have any questions or are interested in joining the Planning Committee, please reach out to us.
School Year 2024–2025
To qualify for The Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong Undergraduate Scholarship Program in Washington DC, Virginia, and Maryland, applicants must be US citizens or US Permanent Resident and must enroll in the University of Maryland, George Mason University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, University of Virginia, Northern Virginia Community College, Montgomery College, and Virginia Commonwealth University.
Scholarship recipients receive both a financial award and an opportunity to engage in job training with working professionals in their field of study. To accomplish the latter, each recipient should attend quarterly meetings with a professional mentor in the Washington DC area.
To accept the scholarships, applicants must be present at the award ceremony and also attend our semi-annual mandatory meetings.
Additional qualifications are:
- Vietnamese heritage (for Vietnamese American student applications)
- Age 17-30
- Outstanding academic achievement (for example, GPA of 3.0 or above)
- Strong leadership potential
- Demonstrated active service to the Vietnamese, and/or American communities
- Strong knowledge of your heritage (Vietnamese, American, and Others)
- Strong desire to support for a better world
- Passion to protect the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights world-wide
- In need of financial aid
Additional Requirements for Vietnamese students from Vietnam:
- Provide current family financial situation
- Students may NOT be from a Vietnamese Government Official family and/or NOT from a Vietnamese Communist Party family
- Special consideration will be given to students with unique situations, for example
- low to moderate incomes
- single parents returning to school to improve their families' lives, or
- students who are trying to recover from a past criminal record and improve their own lives.
For more information, visit the Kimmy Duong Foundation websitenew window. On menu, select Education, KFD Scholarship DC/VA/MD.
In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: the arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and contributions of Chinese workers to the building of the transcontinental railroad, completed May 10, 1869.
In 1992, Congress expanded the observance to a monthlong celebration that is now known as Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Per a 1997 U.S. Office of Management and Budget directive, the Asian or Pacific Islander racial category was separated into two categories: one being Asian and the other Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. Thus, this Facts for Features contains a section for each.
View some facts from the Census Bureau about the AANHPI communitynew window.
The Lunar New Year is the most important social and economic holiday for billions of people around the world. The holiday is tied to the lunar-solar Chinese calendar and was originally observed as a time to honor household and heavenly deities and ancestors.
Today, Lunar New Year is a special time to bring friends and family together for feasting and festivities in China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Mongolia and other countries all over the world. (Information taken from Center for International Affairs - Lunar New Year website.)
See some scholarships available to Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander (AANAPI) students. Please visit website for more information and deadline.
APIA SCHOLARSHIPnew window
The APIA Scholarship is our largest scholarship program, open to AANHPI undergraduate
students attending any U.S. accredited university or college. Scholarship amounts
range from $2,500 one-year awards to $20,000 multi-year awards. APIA Scholars has
a special focus on supporting AANHPI students who live at or below the poverty line;
are in the first generation of their family to attend college; are representative
of the APIA community's diversity, (geographically and ethnically}, especially those
ethnicities that have been underrepresented on college campuses due to limited access
and opportunity. Strong applicants would also have an emphasis on community service
and leadership.
THE AANAPISI SCHOLARSHIPnew window
The Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI)
Scholarship Program is a collaboration with AANAPISIs and the communities they serve
to provide scholarships, expand institutional capacity, and mobilize local resources
to help foster economic development. The AANAPISI Scholarship is available annually
to students attending APIA Scholars AANAPISI partner campuses listed below. The AANAPISI
Scholarship online application opens on September 7, 2022, and closes on January 19th
at 5:00 PM EST. Scholarship awards range from one-time $2,500 awards to multi-year
$5,000 awards.
Kimmy Duong Foundation Scholarshipnew window
Submission period ended but look out for next year. Each undergraduate scholarship
will be $1,000, $2,000 or $3,000 annually. The scholarship is renewable annually
for up to 4 years, for students who are pursuing a bachelor degree. See attached image
for more information. Also check website.
Are you interested in being on the Planning Committee? We are always looking for more ideas to make the Heritage Month Kick-off Festival a fun and learning experience for employees and students at the College. If you want to join the committee or have questions, please send an email to the Planning Committee!
Core Committee Members
Nghi Nguyen (Chair), Kaylin Nguyen (Vice Chair), Sharmini Azeez, Thanh King, Vathany
Say, Miho Shimizu
Last updated: 9/3/2024