Life as a Student Leader

Being president is no joke. Being in the previous Asian American Student Association executive board at University of Central Oklahoma as historian the year before, I only got to experience a fraction of all the planning. A lot of my skills gained from strategic communications actually helped me run our AASA Instagram. I knew I was filling in some large shoes when becoming president. Despite the small bumps I had experience during my journey, I don’t regret a single thing.

As we approached the third month of school, I felt like I had done so much in so little time. I am incredible proud of my executive board and what we achieved so far despite my worries as a leader. What worries? You may ask. Well, I wasn’t sure if I was fit to be president or a leader in general (still don’t think I am, but it’s been a learning experience.)

We had been planning for the Asian Moon Festival, the biggest event we host and the very first of the year, since the summer. I did my best to delegate my board and plan out all the little details with my internal and external vice presidents. Even then, after everything was ready and prepared for the festival, I still felt unconfident in myself. It was a constant feeling of fear of missing something or having the festival be a failure.

I was wrong to say the least. Asian Moon Festival was a success! Despite some hiccups here and there, I was incredibly happy about the turnout of guests and volunteers as well as all the amazing performances.

Asian Moon Festival volunteers hosted on September 27th, 2019.

I actually took part in one of the performances! I was able to dance with Naach Central, a Bollywood/Bhangra fusion dance team at UCO. That was a whole new experience for me, but I was excited to join and learn about the Indian culture.

I was lucky enough to surround myself with wonderful people who care for me and pushed me to learn and grow as a person. The year has come to an erupt end due to COVID-19, but my team and I still managed to host incredible events throughout the year.

UCO AASA 2019-2020 Executive Board at the Sushi Rolling Night event hosted on March 4th.

Check out the video below of my organization year in review!