Take a Trip to ASIA

Elijah Nuebel, Student Editor • September 12, 2023

ASIA, short for Asian Students in Apopka, was founded in 2022 to create a safe space for Asian students at our school, who represent 2% of our school’s population. ASIA had their interest meeting on September 5th and will continue to meet on the first Tuesday of every month in room 432. ASIA was founded by Junior Colin Poon and is sponsored by Mr. Sensiper.

A look at ASIA’s Interest meeting, courtesy of @apk_asia

Part of creating a safe space means that a diverse group of cultures must all be represented. Recognizing the importance, ASIA President Colin Poon explains that “ASIA has such a HUGE responsibility of representing the most diverse racial group in America. We work to represent South, Southeast, and East Asia throughout our meets, where we will have meets on the Philippines, South Korea, India, and Pan-Asian holidays to ensure representation! Moreover, Florida is such a special place with the number of people from the Asian Diaspora that we have from Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago who have Asian heritage but don’t have any nuclear family born on the Asian continent, namely those of the Indian and Chinese diaspora! Due to this, we are planning meetings that specifically talk about the Asian diaspora and its relationship to America, as well as our historical and current relationships with other POC groups.”

While the club is meant to provide a safe space for Asian students, it isn’t exclusively for Asian students. Regarding this, Colin mentioned that “we are doubling down on a commitment we are making to identify our club as a cultural education club open to any students willing to come to our meetings and take the time to learn about Asian culture!” As long as you have an open mind and are willing to learn, you can be a part of ASIA.

Turnout at the first ASIA meeting, courtesy of @apk_asia

ASIA will have Asian food available at each meeting, and plans for this year include a Korean hot noodle challenge, an AAPI film and fun day, and a Lunar New Year celebration. Additionally, they are looking into the idea of a multicultural festival. Outside of school, Colin says that members can “interact with Asian culture through festivals, parades, and eating out, while simultaneously earning community service hours for many of those activities.”

Following the interest meeting, Colin had to say, “We were quite excited at the turnout that we had, where more than 40 people showed up to our interest meeting where we served snacks like shrimp chips and pocky galore, and additionally played a game of Blooket to win some seaweed and Hello Panda. We hope to continue to see such high turnout, and just as a reminder to anyone reading, pay your $15 dues to get our meeting’s food in the future, which are the 1st Tuesdays of every month.”

For updates and further information regarding ASIA, follow their Instagram account, @apk_asia, and join their Remind, @apkasia, to stay in the loop.

About the Contributor

Elijah Nuebel, Student Editor

I’m Elijah Nuebel, a senior at Apopka High. I have been on The Blue and White for the last two years as a staff writer, and this year I am proud to be the student editor for the 2023-2024 school year. I was born to an American father, and a Dominican mother, and have lived in Apopka my whole life. I grew up with one sibling, my twin, Samuel. My upbringing has allowed me to have a wide variety of experiences, allowing me to be fair and moderate on most issues. Around school, I am most heavily involved in the newspaper and our lacrosse team, among other clubs and organizations. Outside of school, I am an avid sports fan, supporting our local professional teams and Florida State for collegiate athletics. I'm also into video games, cooking, chess, and music. This school year, I hope to make the most of my senior year, by having fun, graduating from both Valencia and Apopka, and getting into colleges that are a good fit. As editor, I aspire to do my part in continuing our shared goal of producing quality content for the newspaper. And always, remember to smile!