Introducing the 2022 OCA-UPS Gold Mountain Scholars

19 first-gen Asian American and Pacific Islander students were awarded scholarships funded by UPS.

2022 OCA-UPS Gold Mountain Scholarship recipients Marjella Lajuan and Lady Dorothy Elli were honored at the OCA National Convention held in Las Vegas, NV on August 6, 2022.

By Kent Tong

TODAY, OCA-ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN ADVOCATES is proud to announce the OCA-UPS Gold Mountain Scholars for the class of 2022! Sponsored by the UPS Foundation, 19 first-gen Asian American and Pacific Islander students — 15 graduating high school seniors and four rising college seniors — each received scholarships to support their education.

The following four rising college seniors each received $2,500 awards:

Lady Dorothy Elli
Lady Elli is a first-generation college student at the University of Arizona and a first generation immigrant from the Philippines. She is a third-year undergraduate studying Public Health with an emphasis in Global Health and Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. Among her fellow undergraduates, Lady Elli is known for her involvement in numerous organizations that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

During her term as the vice president of the Filipino American Student Association (FASA) from Academic Year 2020–2021, she introduced and promoted DEI initiatives in the organization through workshops like the Black and Asian American Allyship conversation and #StopAsianHate talk. Because of her work, she was granted the Emerging Student Leader Award by the Asian Pacific American Student Affairs cultural center during her second year at the University of Arizona.

Currently, as a third-year student, she serves as the president of the Pan Asian Council, the first officially recognized Asian Pacific American and Desi American (APIDA) coalition at her campus. During her term, she has advocated for more support towards cultural and resource centers on campus, and she also spearheaded the APIDA Heritage Week Celebration.

During her terms as a Senator-At-Large from the years 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 at the University of Arizona, she was able to create resolutions regarding anti-sexual harassment trainings and initiatives as well as the promotion of the land acknowledgment within club constitutions. She is an Access, Wellness, and Relational Determinants of Student Success (AWARDSS) research fellow, a peer mentor for Arizona’s Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Scholar (TRiO ASEMS) program, and an undergraduate teaching assistant for SAS 100, a MATH 100 success course.

After college, Lady hopes to pursue a JD/MPH joint degree program to advocate for international human rights and serve marginalized communities that have been neglected in terms of receiving basic needs and healthcare.

Xanthia Lam
Xanthia Lam (they/them) is a rising senior at UC Berkeley studying Cognitive Science. As a first-generation college student, child of disabled immigrants, and queer woman from East Oakland, Xanthia is dedicated to improving the quality of life for marginalized communities.

Xanthia is interested in the intersection of politics, healthcare, and community health. Growing up, Xanthia loved helping take care of their parents and talking to people. They love listening to people’s stories and learning more about the world around them. They are passionate about making systemic change and giving people spaces to tell their stories. This is why Xanthia has been an active member in a variety of community projects including being a participant in the Asian Pacific Youth Leadership Project, being a participant and the Disability Caucus facilitator at the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Association 2018 Summer Conference, interning for Oakland City Council, and being a founding board member of Oakland Unified School District’s Gender Sexuality Alliance Student Advisory Board.

For the summer of 2022, they are doing an internship with Health Career Connections and the Alameda County Department of Public Health. Now, Xanthia will soon be applying for MPH programs specializing in Health Policy in hopes that the skills they will learn will help them on their journey to change current systems which produce and sustain violence against vulnerable communities.

Xuan “Lance” Li
Lance Li (He/Him/His) is a rising senior at Georgetown University, majoring in Biology with concentration in BMCDB (biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. He was born in Fujian, China and immigrated to New York City at eight. His experience growing below the poverty his whole life has taught him the privileges of higher education, the need to amplify marginalized voices against social/political/economic oppression, and the miraculous opportunities the scientific method and intellectual curiosity uphold for social advancements.

On-campus, Lance has an upperclassmen mentor for the Georgetown Scholars Program, a university initiative to assist in the flourishing of First-Generation or Low-Income students, and the Asian American Student Association. On the academic spectrum, Lance has also been a Teaching Assistance to several upper-division biology course labs. To expand his understanding of current social justice issues, he has previously worked with the Center of Social Justice, Teaching, and Services in establishing and leading a spring break immersion trip for Georgetown Students in learning about the revolution of Food Justice in the DC area from the federal, judicial, and local levels. Currently Lance is working with ASBMB (American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) in acquiring skills to communicate with all levels of the US government and learning about ways academic society advises the federal government on science policy issues. He is particularly interested in advocating to increase funding for basic and translational research.

In the future, Lance is interested in obtaining a Ph.D. in Chemical Biology to study metabolic pathways. He is currently interested in learning about environmental stress factors’s prevalence in increasing cellular organelle damage that could induce an individual’s risk for cancer or metabolic diseases like diabetes. The field currently holds limited knowledge of the mechanism, origin, and treatment of these diseases. The medical diagnosis and treatments are further disproportionately impacting underserved communities in our society. In preparing himself for a career in Chemical Biology, Lance has previously worked on a glycolytic energetic output project at UC Berkeley and examined the genetic origin of Acute Myeloid Leukemia at Harvard Stem Cell Institute. His senior thesis research project with the Georgetown University Medical Center is to examine alteration on energy metabolism pathways in skeletal muscle in relation to microgravity analog and space radiation.

Peter Pham
Peter Pham (he/him) is a senior at the University of California, Berkeley. He is majoring in Public Health and Molecular Environmental Biology with a concentration in Environmental Health. He is the son of working class immigrants and learned the value of hard work and community throughout his life. These experiences shape his motivations to serve his communities and others like it across the country.

As a student, he researches LongCOVID. He previously conducted a regional surveillance study of COVID-19, and the data was shared with public health departments to inform the public health response to the pandemic’s evolving conditions. He has also worked on Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine trial, which contributed to the US Food and Drug Administration to grant Emergency Use Authorization for children 5 to 11 years of age. He has been able to complement his clinical research work with patient-facing experience as a medical interpreter and COVID-19 testing and vaccine distribution volunteer.

Outside of medicine, Peter has served as a redistricting commissioner for his county, drawing new electoral boundaries for one of the most populous and most diverse counties in the country. He serves on citizens advisory commissions for his regional transportation and public park agencies. He engages in the youth climate movement to pass climate action at the municipal, county, and state levels, and is a board member of a youth-led nonprofit focused on empowering and organizing young people to fight climate change.

In his free time, Peter enjoys baking with new recipes, going down rabbit holes on Wikipedia, and learning languages.

Learn more about this scholarship at www.ocanational.org/gold-mountain-scholarship-for-rising-college-seniors.

The following 15 graduating high school seniors each received $2,000 awards:

Candace Cang
Candace Cang (she/her) is an incoming freshman at Stanford University from Atlanta, Georgia. As a child of Cambodian refugees and as the youngest of three, she looks up to her parents and

sisters every day for their resilience, care, and diligence. She plans to study a field that intertwines art and business, but she is also excited to explore different areas and interests in the coming years.

In high school, she was the founder of her school’s Asian American Student Association, an active member of the Gwinnett Student Leadership Team, and co-president of her school’s DECA chapter. Outside of school, she worked with the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, the East Coast Asian American Student Union, and AYPAL Power to learn more about Asian American Pacific Islander communities and deepen her pride in her Teochew-Cambodian heritage. She feels the most fulfilled working with her communities through community building and meeting new people.

Some of her favorite hobbies include doodling on ProCreate, playing the ukulele, and sticker-making through her small shop. She loves designing shirts and social media posts for the organizations she is a part of. In her free time, she enjoys grocery and boba trips, walking around new places, taking naps, and will always say yes to any opportunity to spend time with people she loves.

Jiexin Chen
Jiexin Chen is an incoming psychology major at the University of San Francisco. She is from the city of Zhongshan, China and immigrated here when she was 5. With parents that spoke little english, Jiexin practiced speaking Chinese at home and only spoke English at school now being fluent in both languages.

As she grew up, she started to explore different interests and community service events around her area which helped her find her passion for the medical field. She was intrigued with psychology after attending a General Psychology course at Laney College. Using the knowledge she gained from the course, she and along with a few other friends developed a mental health app called Urspace. Through this online platform, teens were able to connect with their peers if they needed someone to talk to. She was also accepted to Brain Camp and Healthlink at the University of California, San Francisco, where she enjoyed reading electrocardiogram tests, practicing suturing techniques, and attending lectures on the dynamics of the brain.

Going into college she hopes to better develop her understanding in the world of psychology as well as what it is like working in healthcare. She aspires to be a Physicians Assisant after her bachelors helping those that are in need of care.

Nazmul Dewan
Nazmul Dewan is the first-generation child of an immigrant family. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He plans to attend Hunter College, located in the Big Apple. He is considering majoring in Economics. His interest for Economics has stemmed ever since he was in elementary school. He learned to do origami by watching YouTube videos. His classmates were quite intrigued with the origami and wanted to purchase it. He learned a variety of other origami crafts such as cranes, ninja stars, and helicopters which he began to sell. He realized how supply and demand chains are a major factor when it comes to determining prices. As a result, He wants to major in Economics as it will increase his limited knowledge on factors affecting the supply and demand chain.

Over the summer Nazmul has a goal of attaining an internship, job, and experience because it is crucial as it helps develop life skills. He has been successful in acquiring a few opportunities as it helps develop communication, public speaking, and problem solving skills. This helps strengthen his abilities to perform well and gain professionalism which is necessary in a work environment. At school, he is a Student Ambassador because he loves to help parents and students with any questions they have, provide tours around the school building, and explain statistical information about the school.

Outside of school, Nazmul is a Library Intern, providing community service to the public. He is highly motivated in seeking opportunities to enhance his abilities by improving my skills.

Christine Doan
Christine Doan is a first-year attending UC Berkeley from San Diego, California. She plans to double major, attending the Haas School of Business, and integrating psychology alongside it. As the eldest daughter of a Vietnamese immigrant family, she will be the first within her family to attend a four-year university.

Christine is an active member on her school campus ranging from being the captain of the Girls Varsity Basketball Team, the president of the National Historical Honor Society, the media officer of the Robotics Club and Gender & Sexualities Alliance, alongside being the finance officer of the Preuss Esports Organization. With her various interests and wide skill set, she hopes to be able to provide mental health resources to financially disadvantaged families alongside integrating more resources to bridge the culture/language barrier between immigrant parents and their children.

Karen Huang
Karen Huang is a first-generation, Asian American high school student who plans to attend college this fall. She was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and speaks English and Cantonese. Her parents immigrated from China. From a very young age, Karen served as her family’s translator, where she would help her immigrant family translate for internet services, car dealership documents, and medical papers for grandparents and parents. When her parents contracted COVID-19, she helped her mother complete and translate unemployment forms. In college, she plans to major in the field of humanities and minor in Education, in hopes of becoming a public educator or children’s psychologist. She is passionate about curbing the socioeconomic barriers faced by low-income children and envisions providing academic and emotional support to underprivileged children.

Karen participated in the Constitutional Rights Foundation’s Expanding Horizons internship, where she participated in weekly virtual seminars, was exposed to career paths, networking, college admissions, financial literacy, and mock interviews. She also developed a Civic Action Project on LA homeless issues, conducted a survey, contacted elected officials, and created an Instagram page to spread awareness.

Outside of school, Karen is an active member of her local community. As the Sunshine leader of her local Chinatown Teen Council, she facilitates teen council meetings by leading ice breaker activities, giving motivational advice, and offering self-care tips to teens. As a cabinet member, she has contributed to meeting ideas, proposed mental health panels, and painting classes. She has also shared strategies with her librarian and cabinet members to address Anti-Asian hate crimes. In addition to her Teen Council participation, she has volunteered at the Chinatown Service Center, Reach for the Stars, and ENGin.

In her free time, Karen loves to take her dog on walks, listen to music, and do yoga.

Mandy Jiang
Mandy Jiang is a current freshman at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, studying Computer Science and Business Administration. She was born in Manhattan but raised in China.

In high school, Jiang was heavily involved in Key Club, which she founded and was also the president. She was a senior member of National Beta, an international English tutor, and a community volunteer at her local food bank and soup kitchen. Since sophomore year of high school, Mandy has interned at various companies in the fields of business, travel, education, and nonprofit. She was also the founder and executive director of The Upstate Outreach, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness, goods, and funds for hunger in the upstate region of her state.

Jiang is a curious and open-minded person, who is passionate about volunteering, leadership, business, and bridging the gender gap in STEM (Tech). She holds a strong background in analytics, translation, and management.

Mandy loves sushi, coffee, boba, and tea (any). She is also a fan of Patrick Star from SpongeBob SquarePants. Jiang loves to travel, watch C-dramas, and play volleyball and badminton during her free time.

Marjella Lajuan
Marjella Lajuan was born and raised in West Valley City, Utah. Proud daughter of parents who migrated to Utah thirty years ago from the Marshall Islands. She is the youngest of three, raised with two older brothers. Marjella graduated from Mana Academy Charter School, a culture-based school that highlights and empowers its students’ cultural backgrounds and implements those values within the learning curriculum. Mana Academy’s vision is to educate upcoming scholars to be able to represent their cultural roots and help elevate their communities. Marjella will be attending the University of Utah this upcoming fall semester, majoring in business with an emphasis in marketing. She will be the first in her family to attend a four-year university. She intends to involve herself in student and university wide programs designed for students that are BIPOC and first-generation college students. Furthermore, she also hopes to gain the opportunity and join sports clubs on campus. At the University of Utah, Marjella will be part of the First-Ascent Scholars program which will provide guidance and mentorship in her area of study.

A few programs that Marjella has been a part of include Youth Voices and PATHS, both at the University of Utah. It has been through these programs that she was able gain her interest in attending college and the importance of doing so. Some extracurricular activities she has been a part of include high school basketball, volleyball, and football, as well as being active within the community and her church group.

Marjella has been involved within the New Hope Marshallese fellowship youth group for all four years of highschool. Serving as a leader role her first year, she was a secretary and eventually was promoted to president by her third year. She has worked on many projects with the youth group; such as fundraisers, community services, and attended in-state and out-of-state conferences. The most notable event was Camp Yokwe, a camp meant for Marshallese youth to assist them with finding their voice and learn about their identity. Marjella has learned to be patient with the youth group and has developed a set of leadership skills throughout her involvement.

Some of her interests are staying active and playing sports, reading books, and meeting new people/networking.

Joyce Lin
Joyce Lin is an incoming first year at Barnard College where she plans to study sociology and entrepreneurship, with the intent of becoming a social-impact entrepreneur. Recognizing the challenges that first-generation, low-income students face from both an academic and resources perspective, Joyce launched multiple initiatives to help bridge the gap. She started her high school’s Fashion and Art Club to teach students art and provide access to free art supplies, and JoyceConsults, to teach students how to write resumes, cover letters and conduct interviews, to obtain competitive internships. Joyce is an active leader, serving as Vice-President of Student Government and the Events Coordinator for the Student Culture Team to promote diversity and inclusion within the student body. She has been recognized as a LEDA Scholar, a semi-finalist for the Jack Kent Cooke Scholars Program, and a Minds Matter NYC scholar. She has interned twice at Blackrock, as well as completed fellowships at NBC Universal and Deloitte. In her free time, you can find Joyce designing and making jewelry for her e-commerce business: WearYourJoyce, volunteering, experimenting with gastronomy, and vlogging.

Raef Makrai
Raef Makrai is an incoming freshman at UC Berkeley planning to major in Economics. He left Yemen in 2012 for a better education. Neither of his parents completed high school so he feels that it is his duty to finish his education to pave a path for his siblings and family. With strong academic skills, Raef has excelled in both his courses at Capuchino High School and in the Middle College program at Skyline College. His dedication to his academic excellence is shown by his acquisition of the Dean’s List of Honor and the Phi Theta Kappa Honor titles at Skyline College. Along with academics, Raef loves to help the community. He has tutored at the Skyline STEM center and volunteered with the Blackman Music Group and Skyline’s Grocery Distribution. Raef has strong ties to his Yemeni community and actively joins groups to write about and discuss issues facing his community. In his free time, he looks for more ways to become integrated within the community through other interactive activities and community service. He hopes to continue his journey of helping others in college and starting his own non-profit.

Ai Vy Nguyen
Ai Vy is an incoming Fiat Lux scholar at the University of California, Berkeley as an intended major in Chemistry. She is a first-generation student and the first to attend a 4-year college in her immediate family. Ai Vy was born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. She is fluent in both Vietnamese and English.

In high school, she was a part of the founding team and board member of her school’s Dental Club. She participated in giving presentations on oral health, diseases, as well as ways to prevent poor dental hygiene. Ai Vy is passionate about improving health illiteracy among refugees and immigrants. She hopes to use her fluency in Vietnamese to give back to her community.

Besides her interest in healthcare, Ai Vy also has a passion for research. The summer after her high school graduation, Ai Vy had an opportunity to intern with The Tilley Group, an inorganic and organometallic research group at UC Berkeley as an American Chemical Society Project SEED student. During her internship, Ai Vy was astonished and amazed by her mentor’s research on the synthesis of bimetallic complexes. She was especially excited by how scientists can make new complexes from existing molecules, and apply their creativity to understand natural biological processes further. She hopes to further her scientific research interest during her undergraduate career.

In her free time, Ai Vy enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She likes to go to the beach during sunset time or to bike around the park. Ai Vy is a big foodie who always loves trying out new cuisines. A fun fact about Ai Vy is that she runs a boba and dessert blog on Instagram.

Rimsha Reem
Rimsha is a freshman at Rutgers University planning to major in Politics with a minor in Environmental Science. She was born in Virginia into an Indian family, and seeing their struggle navigating the American legal system as new and hardworking immigrants inspires her to pursue a policymaking career focused on supporting underrepresented populations. To pursue this passion, Rimsha currently interns in her town hall.

As a proud first generation Asian individual, she hopes to use her education for the purpose of supporting and uplifting her family and community. In her high school journey, Rimsha was selected to become a national Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA) Scholar which made her sharpen her devotion to become a leader in her community. She plans to achieve this by attending Rutgers University for undergrad and afterward, she plans to attend law school in order to pursue a career in the field of law and politics.

Rimsha aims to become a dedicated congresswoman who will serve as an active public servant, advocating for diverse and underserved communities similar to her own. Ultimately, her goal is to break structural barriers that dismantle marginalized communities to improve the quality of life for all.

Poe Reh
Poe Reh is an incoming freshman at the University of North Texas, from Watauga, Texas. He grew up in a small refugee camp between the border of Myanmar and Thailand. Poe was given the opportunity to migrate with his family to the United States at the age of six and since then he has placed a high value on pursuing an education.

Poe plans to pursue a degree in Business. His commitment to his community in and outside of high school and giving back is evident through his volunteer work. One nonprofit in particular, Habitat for Humanity, has inspired Poe’s college and career aspirations through its mission to help underrepresented communities. Poe’s participation in Upward Bound has impacted him through their mission of allowing equal and fair opportunities to high-achieving and low-income students. Outside of academics, he enjoys playing soccer, time outdoors, and caring for his younger siblings.

Un Ieng Sit
Un Ieng Sit is an incoming freshman at UC Berkeley planning to major in computer science. She was born in China and immigrated to the United States at the age of 10. As a first-generation student, Un Ieng always aimed to attend college. Therefore, she participated in the JCYC Talent Search program for college preparation and career exploration support. In school, she challenged herself to take AP classes and community college classes to prepare herself for college academics. She also took advantage of different clubs and youth programs to develop skills, gain experiences, and make new friends.

Outside of school, Un Ieng is an active member of her local community. She has been involved in different volunteer programs such as Youth for Community Engagement, Youth for Single Room Occupancy, and Newcomer Club because she wants to give back to her community and make more positive changes. Throughout her high school years, Un Ieng has served Single Room Occupancy (SRO) families in Chinatown, immigrant students in school, low-income elderly, etc. As a youth leader, she planned and facilitated bilingual tablet classes to teach senior citizens how to use technology, organized an educational health program with a series of health workshops for SRO families, and provided online curriculums as a math tutor for SRO children during the pandemic. In the future, Un Ieng hopes to continue serving her community and helping people in need.

Collinn Tran
Collinn Tran (he/him) is an incoming first year student and Jefferson Scholar at the University of Virginia where he intends to double major in economics and commerce in hopes of attending a top law school one day. He was born in Seattle but currently resides in Charleston, West Virginia where he attended George Washington High School.

During his time in high school, Collinn sought to contribute to his school community by immersing himself in various clubs, honors societies, and extracurricular activities. Most notably: Model United Nations (Vice President), Economics Club (Vice President & Co-Founder), and Mock Trial Club (Vice President & Co-Founder).

Outside of high school, Collinn spent his time working with CreateWV, an economic development nonprofit, in an initiative called “Goal Miners,” to assist with workshop efforts to educate youth West Virginians on creating business layouts and plans, business development, and the preparations of pitching a business before him and the team he led participated in a pitch event themselves.

Goal Miners eventually led Collinn to creating his own initiative and business incubator startup separate from Goal Miners but still in collaboration with CreateWV: OmniCreate. Collinn plans to continue OmniCreate in college and use it to improve the economic conditions of his state and attract more population.

Yifi Wu
Yifi Wu is an incoming freshman to UC Irvine, intent on studying Aerospace Engineering. Coming from a household that has taught him to challenge expectations, he seeks to push himself to make the most out of every situation. Being the younger sibling and the first generation to attend college, he hopes that he may overcome the pressure that follows these titles.

Yifi’s infatuation with things beyond the clouds first began with a small gift shop telescope. Then it was lego rocket models. When those items could no longer provide any creative sparks, Yifi looked to their actual counterparts. He’s been learning how to operate a 20-inch telescope at his local observatory and has gotten himself involved with amateur rocketry. He not only enjoys researching space and flight but hopes to spread his interest to others through education. Among other activities, Yifi has spent countless weekends as an intern at that observatory as a guide and demonstration specialist to visitors.

When not blowing up his rockets or staring at stars, Yifi is snapping his guitar strings and getting lost on mountain trails. Yifi finds nature and music an essential part in maintaining his health, as much as long bike rides and eating his fill at hot pot restaurants.

Yifi plans to one day repay his family and community back for all their support and reassurance through difficult times.

Learn more about the OCA-UPS Gold Mountain Scholarship for Graduating High School Seniors at www.ocanational.org/gold-mountain-scholarship-high-school.

Kent Tong is the Associate Manager of Programs at OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates.