| Madison Area Technical College holds First Asian Youth Career and College Fair |
| The First Asian Youth Career & College Fair at Madison Area Technical College draws in 150 Asian American students from Madison-are high schools. |
By Heidi M. Pascual
March 19, 2010, MATC, Truax Campus,
Madison, WI -- This day marked a "historic"
day in the minds of Asian American
students in the Madison area. Why? For
many years now, our colleges and other
post-secondary institutions have been
holding career fairs for African Americans
and Latinos separately, but nothing
whatsoever for Asian Americans,
presumably because of their "small"
number in relation to the general
population. But times have obviously
changed. On March 19, the Madison Area
Technical College, in collaboration with
the Madison Metropolitan School District,
held its First Asian Youth Career and
College Fair in its Truax Campus in
Madison.
This special day would not have
happened without the relentless efforts of
the members of MATC's Asian Council (a
steering committee under the umbrella of
Community Councils of Color), presently
led by Jerry Vang, with assistance from
Madison School teacher Elizabeth Reyes.
The council met several times and
succeeded in getting other organizations
and schools to join their mission-- "to
expose local high school Asian American
students to various career pathways and
to provide them with information on
postsecondary education."
High school students from the Madison
area, about 150 of them, trouped to MATC
to participate in the career fair which
featured workshops conducted by Asian
American professionals in the community.
Topics discussed included college
preparation, job preparation, dentistry,
engineering, firefighting, social work,
graphic design, education, IT/Web design,
business, publishing, etc. Presenters
entertained questions from the students
after each workshop.
Members of the Asian American
Students Association were on hand to
help make the career fair a success.
March 19, 2010, MATC, Truax Campus,
Madison, WI -- This day marked a "historic"
day in the minds of Asian American
students in the Madison area. Why? For
many years now, our colleges and other
post-secondary institutions have been
holding career fairs for African Americans
and Latinos separately, but nothing
whatsoever for Asian Americans,
presumably because of their "small"
number in relation to the general
population. But times have obviously
changed. On March 19, the Madison Area
Technical College, in collaboration with
the Madison Metropolitan School District,
held its First Asian Youth Career and
College Fair in its Truax Campus in
Madison.
This special day would not have
happened without the relentless efforts of
the members of MATC's Asian Council (a
steering committee under the umbrella of
Community Councils of Color), presently
led by Jerry Vang, with assistance from
Madison School teacher Elizabeth Reyes.
The council met several times and
succeeded in getting other organizations
and schools to join their mission-- "to
expose local high school Asian American
students to various career pathways and
to provide them with information on
postsecondary education."
High school students from the Madison
area, about 150 of them, trouped to MATC
to participate in the career fair which
featured workshops conducted by Asian
American professionals in the community.
Topics discussed included college
preparation, job preparation, dentistry,
engineering, firefighting, social work,
graphic design, education, IT/Web design,
business, publishing, etc. Presenters
entertained questions from the students
after each workshop.
Members of the Asian American
Students Association were on hand to
help make the career fair a success.
The participants were also provided information about various colleges and universities in the State of Wisconsin, and
were given a tour of Madison Area Technical College. The event was highly successful in terms of educating and informing
students and proved to be a day of fun, as well. Andy Choi, WISC TV 3 weekend news anchor, delivered a keynote speech that
set the tone for the day's activities. AYCCF Chair Jerry Vang, MMSD's Elizabeth Reyes, AYCCF Planning Member Zong Her,
MATC's Thuha Dang, and everyone who helped them should be congratulated for this first-ever Asian American Youth Career
& College Fair.
were given a tour of Madison Area Technical College. The event was highly successful in terms of educating and informing
students and proved to be a day of fun, as well. Andy Choi, WISC TV 3 weekend news anchor, delivered a keynote speech that
set the tone for the day's activities. AYCCF Chair Jerry Vang, MMSD's Elizabeth Reyes, AYCCF Planning Member Zong Her,
MATC's Thuha Dang, and everyone who helped them should be congratulated for this first-ever Asian American Youth Career
& College Fair.