19 AAPI Students Named OCA-UPS Gold Mountain Scholarship Recipients

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2021

Media Contact:
Andrew Peng, Communications Associate
andrew.peng@ocanational.org

Washington, D.C. — OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates announced the 2021 recipients for its annual Gold Mountain Scholarship program on Friday, continuing its historic commitment with the UPS Foundation to support AAPI students who are the first in their families to attend institutions of higher learning.

Fifteen graduating high school seniors, who are scheduled to begin classes at various colleges and universities in the fall, will each be awarded $2,000 based on grants from UPS to cover tuition and school expenses.

The OCA-UPS Gold Mountain Scholarship for Graduating High School Seniors was awarded to:

• Crystal Banh; Morgan Hill, CA; Brown University

• Nina Dao; Virginia Beach, VA; Duke University

• Jiepeng "Jackson" Deng; San Francisco, CA; University of California, Berkeley

• Abigail Eun; Los Angeles, CA; Duke University

• Catherine Figiel; West Valley City, UT; University of Utah

• Nicole Lam; San Gabriel, CA; Yale University

• Tiffany Le; Oakland, CA; University of California, Berkeley

• Cindy Lei; Los Angeles, CA; Princeton University

• Celina Mac; San Francisco, CA; University of California, Berkeley

• Eh Ler Moo; Logan, UT; Utah State University

• Sandtelle Nguyen; Santa Ana, CA; California State University, Fullerton

• Heyu "Julia" Sun; Barrington, IL; Cornell University

• Sanjna Tailor; Henderson, NV; University of California, Los Angeles

• Choua Thao; Stockton, CA; California State University, Sacramento

• Diamond Thlang; Saint Paul, MN; Stanford University

Full scholar biographies can be accessed here.

Meanwhile, four rising college seniors will each receive $2,500 to cover tuition and school expenses.

The OCA-UPS Gold Mountain Scholarship for Rising College Seniors was awarded to:

• Rimpal Bajwa; Puyallup, WA; Georgetown University

• Kimberly Cang; Peachtree Corners, GA; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Amina Khalique; Detroit, MI; Wayne State University

• Celia Le; Queens, NY; Columbia University

Full scholar biographies can be accessed here.

The title of the OCA-UPS Gold Mountain Scholarship program calls back to a time when many Asian immigrants looked upon America as a mountain of golden opportunities. Awardees seek dreams of higher education, which are not only the dreams of the students but also of their parents and extended family.

UPS has generously funded the program since 1999, and in partnership with OCA, has distributed hundreds of scholarship opportunities to AAPI students over the past two decades.

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Founded in 1973, OCA–Asian Pacific American Advocates is a national, member-driven civil rights organization dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). Learn more about our work at ocanational.org/about.