Each May, our country celebrates Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month. It’s an opportunity to explore and pay tribute to this group of people, who has not only helped to shape America’s history and culture, but also is vital in its future success.  

In fall 2023, Missouri State University had about 2% of its student population that identified as APIDA. Sam Wang, a history and anthropology second-year student at Missouri State, speaks about his experience as an Asian American student in the Ozarks. He talks about how listening to the experiences and stories of students can help to lead to a more diverse campus. 

Dr. Nina Barudzic, director of multicultural programs at MSU, speaks about the importance of the events planned to celebrate APIDA Heritage Month and encourages the public to attend and learn more about the APIDA community.

• April 16: Lela Lee will be on campus to talk about her experience as an Asian American immigrant in the media; 7 p.m. in the Plaster Student Union (PSU) Theater.
• May 2: Thursday Talks – Asian history in Hollywood; 2 p.m. in PSU, Room 101.

To learn more about the events planned for APIDA Heritage Month, visit the multicultural programs event website.

Read the full transcript.