OCA Intern Alum: Matthew Noerper
Written by Kent Tong
WHEN HE WAS A GRADUATE STUDENT STUDYING ECONOMICS at Pomona College, Matthew Noerper was recommended to apply to the OCA internship program by his mentors at the Asian American Resource Center. As an OCA intern in 2001, he was placed to work at the office of Representative Danny K. Davis, where he contributed to drafting and commenting on legislation sponsored by the congressman, conducted legislative research, and facilitated constituent relations—no matter how niche the complaints were. “I remember drafting a communications plan to address pushback from certain constituents who were not supportive of the Army’s general adoption of the black beret,” Noerper recalls. These daily experiences with constituents and lobbyists gave him insight into a broad range of people’s concerns and their impact on the legislative process.
Noerper made the most of his time in Washington, D.C., working late hours at his placement site, wanting to learn as much as possible in the internship program’s short period of time. Since he didn’t have financial support to survive in D.C. solely from the internship program’s stipend, he also worked weekends at a Korean-owned sandwich shop in Dupont Circle to support himself. He remembers playing basketball with local youths similar in age in the neighborhood where he was living during the internship. “They nicknamed me ‘The Korean Nightmare,’” he says.
The OCA internship also gave him insight into the Asian American journey in America, which was new to him. “I truly appreciated [that] the program’s designed to convey key points in Asian American history, as well as important figures,” says Noerper. “These are things that, when I was growing up, we did not learn about in school.” This was a major influence on his decision to pursue a Fulbright Fellowship after graduating, where he worked in South Korea leading a volunteer group providing mentorship and English language support to Korean orphans.
Matthew Noerper (front, second from the left) and his OCA internship cohort with Rep. Mike Honda (center)
After Fulbright, Noerper received his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He specializes in tax law, working seven years in Singapore for Google before returning to the States to work as a tax attorney for Chevron. While his profession turned out to be quite apolitical compared to the reputation of other OCA intern alumni, he believes the lessons learned from the internship program—how people, society, and government operate—serve him well as an everyday citizen.
Today, Noerper currently resides in Los Angeles, California, with his family and twin daughters, while volunteering to provide tax filing assistance to low-income Asian American communities, assistance with tax controversy, and assistance with 501(c)(3) matters.