A Senior Farewell

Hi everyone! My name is Grace Zhang and I am graduating from the University of Delaware this year with a B.S. degrees in Finance, Management Information Systems, and Marketing, along with a minor in French.

When people say that time flies, they really weren’t kidding. The time I spent at the University of Delaware has been a whirlwind of odd mishaps, life lessons, and poignant memories. What I’ve realized over the course of four years is that the community you surround yourself with will undoubtedly shape the person that you become. I know that this statement can seem like common sense, but I still found it very easy to underestimate its effects.

I started at Asian Awareness Perspective and Connections Magazine as a writing editor in the fall of 2018 (which now seems like a lifetime ago). At the time, AAPC was still a newly formed organization under the direction of our previous President Jamie Weiner and Treasurer Sabrina Lee. I was a freshman still adjusting to my college life looking for new friends and opportunities, while AAPC was looking for a writing editor to get their operations off the ground. When I met Jamie and Sabrina at our campus bubble tea shop for the first time, I knew this was going to be a club that would have a permanent effect on my time at UD. The mission of AAPC was something that I resonated with immediately; Coming onto a predominantly white campus after having been surrounded by very homogenous communities my entire life, I had a chance to finally give students from multicultural backgrounds like myself a chance to express themselves creatively and share their unique stories. I knew this organization had the potential to grow into something bigger than itself and I was determined to see that mission through.

Fast forward four years and a worldwide pandemic along the way, I am finally ready to say goodbye to this organization and all the amazing work we have accomplished. I am eternally grateful for every single individual that I have worked with to help make AAPC a reality: whether it was our amazing AAPC executive board who have consistently contributed amazing content to the website, the executive board members of other Asian organizations who have supported and promoted our growth from the beginning, and of course the members who have agreed to sit in on interviews or wrote articles for the website. It truly takes a village, and I am so proud to hand AAPC off to the next generation who will undoubtedly carry our mission forward in the coming years.

I could probably write a whole book on all that I’ve learned since the creation of AAPC, but I will leave you with this: never underestimate the power of your voice and the weight of your unique experience. It’s easy to feel small when you are surrounded by people who look, talk and act differently than you. In fact, it might even feel wrong to speak about your life stories when the majority opinion has such a different experience. The truth is, there are countless individuals out there who can resonate with your story and will be eternally grateful to find someone brave enough to speak out. The people in AAPC helped me find my bravery, and I am certain if they can help you find yours too.

Thank you AAPC for four amazing years, I am so excited to see what else you do in the future!