NAA Affinity Club Profile
The Northwestern University Asian and Asian American Alumni Association (NU-A5) builds community and unites alumni and students around the world. Named a 2020 Club of the Year by the Northwestern Alumni Association, NU-A5 offers innovative programs that focus on careers, culture, and social justice, and provides fundraising support for the University’s Asian American Studies Program.
Since the club was founded in 2002, the number of Asian and Asian American students at Northwestern has risen from 13 to 16 percent. Today, NU-A5 is dedicated to programming that reflects the growing numbers of alumni from across the Asian diaspora, says Jack Kang ’90, club president.
“The Asian American alumni base is multicultural, including a fast-growing South Asian alumni community,” he says. “It encompasses a broad spectrum of people from many backgrounds, from first-generation college students such as myself to legacy Northwestern graduates.” In the past year alone, NU-A5’s distribution list has increased more than 12 percent to approximately 6,000.
Here are three things to know about NU-A5.
COVID-19 inspired a programmatic pivot.
When the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit, NU-A5 leadership saw a big opportunity to engage the group’s alumni base. Within weeks, they tapped alumni experts from the US to China to share on-the-ground insights on some of the pandemic’s biggest issues—becoming one of the first alumni clubs to pivot to virtual programming. The three-part webinar series, “Perspectives from the Front Lines,” featured journalists who were locked down in Wuhan and New York City and alumni who imported PPE to Chicago, shared strategies on countering anti-Asian incidents, and provided mental health services to the elderly, among others.
More than a year later, NU-A5 is still developing timely, relevant programs. NU-A5 is currently working with the NU Club of India to bring a balanced perspective of how India is combating COVID-19. The club has also gone “beyond Zoom” to broadcast a Facebook Live event from a Thai restaurant in Chicago, where the owner talked about the cuisine, cultural significance of the food, and operating during the pandemic as viewers posted questions in real time.
NU-A5 used social media to boost fundraising for the University’s Asian American Studies Program. Recent alumni posted heartfelt videos about the program before #CATSGiveBack, Northwestern’s annual day of philanthropy held on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. The effort helped the club bring in more than $8,000 for the program in a single day—up from $3,500 a year earlier. Since September 2020, NU-A5 has directed over $19,900 to the Asian American Studies Program.
The club wants to break stereotypes.
NU-A5 seeks to challenge racial, gender, and cultural stereotypes in two ways, Kang says. First, the club contemporizes the way alumni are viewed by developing programs that avoid common Asian stereotypes around fashion and festivals. For example, this year’s virtual Lunar New Year concert, in partnership with the NU Clubs of Dallas/Ft. Worth and Greater New York, featured live performances from talented alumni who have performed on Broadway and around the world. The concert included Zachary Noah Piser ’15 of Dear Evan Hanson; Chloé Nadon-Enriquez ’19 of Hamilton; Sherry Kim ’14, an award-winning pianist; and Yuchi Chiu ’14, an actor, singer, and musician.
Second, the club highlights women as strong role models. The club supported the Women Mastermind Program fostering peer-to-peer mentoring relationships for high-achieving Asian American alumnae. NU-A5 also has been a key partner in the Alumni Leaders and Learners Mentoring Program, an identity-based mentorship program that connects undergraduate students with alumni leaders.
Social justice is a new programming focus.
Amid rising anti-Asian racism and violence in the United States, NU-A5 has added social justice–oriented events to its slate of activities. In March, the group featured a virtual event for parents about raising Asian American children in the current environment and strategies for addressing bias. The program was held shortly after the tragic killings of eight people, including six women of Asian descent, in Atlanta, Georgia, and drew more than 100 participants—the club’s largest audience to date. NU-A5 also has shared statements on its Facebook page that denounce racism and police brutality in support of Black alumni.
The club is addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in the office as well. In April, an event called “Be Heard in the Workplace” focused on career progression for Asian Americans as companies are increasingly open to diverse leaders and perspectives. Another event about best practices for participating in office affinity groups is being organized.
“We’re not shy about experimenting with ideas,” Kang says. “This past year we’ve addressed topics such as racism, mental health, and female empowerment. We’ve not only used different programming platforms, we’ve diversified our events and stayed relevant with our topics that we’ve chosen.”