COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM (CEP) is a structured course-based platform that cultivates and supports students with a passion for service, success, and self-development. CEP offers a unique opportunity to bridge traditional “classroom” education with “real world” application via direct interaction with mentors, groups, organizations, and institutions. Students who recognize value in the narrowing of the gap between the “academy” and the “community,” between the university and the people it serves, will find in CEP an opportunity to develop supervised projects in areas of education, humanities, social sciences, sciences, and business. The projects, however, fall under certain guidelines. They involve regular seminar meetings, semester-long research and development of a major project, and must lead to a campus/community event that 1) educates the campus and public about some aspect of Asian American communities and 2) culminates in a final project or study that can be accessed by the academic body and general public via a publicly available database, collection, or paper. Limited to juniors and seniors. AAAS 480S: Register with instructor permission.
Click here to download the 2011 CEP Asian American Resource Guide. (.pdf, 277kb)
Click to read about CEP in Binghamton University's Inside.
Click to read about CEP in the Binghamton University Magazine.
Director Lisa Yun (BA Yale University, PhD University of Texas) is Associate Professor of Asian American Studies and of English. She is the author of Coolie Speaks (Temple University Press, 2008), a groundbreaking study of the earliest Chinese labor migration to the Americas. As well, she has written on topics of campus hate crime, cross-racial liberatory movements, and Afro-Asian cultural politics. She teaches courses with special focus on literature, culture, race, and Asian Americans and Asian diasporas. Her students have gone on to careers in law, education, public service, arts, scientific research, and medicine. More information about her can be found by clicking here.
Apoorva Aggarwal is a senior, double majoring in Financial Economics and Asian and Asian American Studies with a concentration in South Asia. She is currently the only student pursuing the South Asia track in the AAAS Department. She is involved with a lot of different things on campus and loves to experience working in different offices. She was an Orientation Advisor last summer, and this summer she was a campus Tour-Guide with the Undergraduate Admissions Office, a Conference Assistant with ResLife and interned at the Center for Civic Engagement as a Marketing and Social Media intern. Currently, she is the Vice President of Binghamton Bhangra, Vice President of UNICEF at Binghamton University, a peer mentor in the Emerging Leaders Program for new students including freshman and transfers and a Service Ambassador for the Center for Civic Engagement. She is also working two jobs: Student Manager in the University Union and a Student Assistant at the Student Athlete Success Center. This winter she is traveling to India and will be accompanying a group of students from the School of Management who are taking a course called India Rising about the Indian economy. She hopes to use this research next semester, to work on an Independent Study that combines both her majors.
Raymond Eng is double majoring in Management Information Systems and Global Management, with a minor in Asian and Asian American Studies. He is a regular member of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, served as a member of the Large Group Committee, and is now a co-leader of the Publicity Ministry. During his college years, he has also participated in several School of Management opportunities, including being a project intern for Blue Fly Web and a member of the Student Review Committee of his Operations Management 311 class. During his free time, he likes to dance, play basketball, go bowling, and enjoys a simple night of board games and movies. He especially enjoys going home to spend some time with his 8-year-old brother. After graduation, Raymond plans to gain some work experience before possibly going to graduate school. He hopes that his occupation will one day allow him to travel the world so that he can explore all the different cultures that the world has to offer.
Anita Guo is a Financial Economics major with minor in Asian and Asian American Studies. She grew up in China and came to the United States when she was 13. Currently a junior in BU, She is the marketing director in Imagination Craft Works (ICW) and also a member of the executive board in Chinascope. She works as a student assistant in Binghamton University Library. Since High School, she has been an active youth leader and teacher assistant at The Door, a non-profit organization that provides diverse services to young adults in NYC. In this past summer, she worked at a Medical office as a clinic biller/receptionist in Chinatown, Lower Manhattan. During the course of CEP, she volunteered at the American Civic Association at Binghamton to provide assistance for new immigrants who needed legal translations. In the future, she will continue to partner with ACA and volunteer her time to serve the needs of the Asian community in Binghamton. She lives by the motto that “The possibilities are infinite”. Opportunities don’t come look for us, we have to take initiatives and track them down! During her free time, she loves cooking, traveling as well as playing billiards competitively, and she is also a member of the American Pool Association. After graduation, she plans to work at a multinational corporation where she can gain a broader understanding of the world by traveling and doing businesses for the company. At the same time, she hopes to serve the Asian American community, and to give back those who have helped her along the way.
Mark Lim is a Political Science and Economics major, minoring in Asian and Asian American Studies and Binghamton Scholars. However, his interests in civil society and social entrepreneurship currently motivate his academic and extracurricular life at Binghamton. He has studied abroad in China and interned at Project Enterprise, a pioneering microfinance institution in New York City. Seeing the community involvement of PE and learning about Asian-American issues through Asian Outlook magazine ignited his initial interest in CEP. He is the treasurer of the BU chapter of Amnesty International and president of Binghamton Microfinance Connection, which strives to raise support for micro-entreprenreurs and grassroots community development efforts in Binghamton and abroad. Mark performed traditional dances for Barrio, Philippine-American League's annual cultural performance night, and took consecutive classes in Beijing opera combat, bamboo flute, and Chinese singing, a saga which unfortunately came to an end. He has been humbly fortunate to work with the American Civic Association through this class, and hopes to continue to learn from them and volunteer in some way. In his free time, he enjoys reading, especially about self-improvement, playing piano and working out. After graduation, Mark plans to either teach English in China or work for a socially-concerned small business.
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Jenny Cheng is majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Law and English with a minor in Asian and Asian American Studies. She has interned at the Broome County Public Defenders’ Office and the law offices of Levene, Gouldin & Thompson LLP. On campus, she has been an active part of the Hinman community serving as public affairs vice president and a Hinman fellow. She has been a part of the University Judicial Board, a Student Representative for the Undergraduate Student Assembly, philanthropy chair for Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity, and Hillside Community Representative for Harpur College Council. Jenny is planning to attend law school after graduation and has been accepted to five top law schools at the time of this posting. She has no idea what type of law she wants to go into but she is leaning towards something in public service. During her free time, she enjoys yoga, jogging, and trying to cook. After a successful career in law, Jenny plans to focus on philanthropy work.
Susanna Lee is a Philosophy, Politics and Law major with minors in Chinese and History as well. She is a member of Sigma Omicron Pi Sorority where she has held positions as Formals Chair and Treasurer. She is now chronicling the founding history of ten Asian-affinity sororities and fraternities on this campus. She was also part of the University Judicial Board and the English Conversation Pairs Program. She currently works at the Undergraduate Admissions Office. She has interned at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Tuckner, Sipser, Weinstock & Sipser LLP, and with New York State Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan. She has also worked as a personal assistant to political consultant, Chung Seto and has been a swimming instructor for Dolphin Swimming Corporation for the last seven years. She also worked as a scoopologist at The Chinatown Ice Cream Factory this past summer. After graduation, she intends to take a year off before applying to law school. She wants to stay close to her community because she hopes that one day, she will be able to give back and help those with high ambitions as many others have helped her along the way.
Calvin Prashad is majoring in History and Political Science. He has interned for former City Councilman John Liu (now New York Comptroller) and completed a study program in China. He is currently the co-editor in chief of Asian Outlook magazine, a leading campus publication that is a student-run Asian American literary journal and activist organization. Calvin is also a part-time blogger for Asian Pacific Americans for Progress with a specific focus on the New York City area and its Asian-American population. After graduation, he plans to enter public service. He cites his experience working in a political office as his primary motivation to enter public service, particularly in ensuring that government services are available to immigrant communities.
Diane Wong is majoring in Political Science and Asian and Asian American Studies with a concentration in Chinese language. Recently, she was awarded Binghamton University’s President’s Award for Undergraduate Student Excellence. She is also the assistant editor of Asian Outlook Magazine and serves as a Cultural Ambassador to the Institute for Asian and Asian Diasporas, Student Ambassador for the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL) and , Federal Service Student Ambassador for the Partnership for Public Service. She is a member of Binghamton’s nationally-ranked Policy Debate Team, vice-chair of the Student Assembly Student Outreach Committee, and sits on the Student Assembly as a Student Representative. Diane works with faculty members and advocacy organizations such as the International Leadership Foundation and the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership serve the Asian Pacific American community at large. In the summer of 2010, Diane interned for the Asian American Justice Center where she helped plan the 2010 Advancing Justice Conference, and at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs where she helped plan the Veterans Health Administration Senior Management Conference. In 2011, she will be a student research fellow at Columbia University. In the future, Diane hopes to pursue graduate studies in Asian American Studies and enter public service.
Anna Yeo is a graduate of Binghamton University and was a CEP student. She grew up in Korea and came to the United States when she was 17. She majored in Political Science and minored in Chinese. She graduated with a 3.9 GPA and is currently a staff member and a teacher at the CCB School of New York. She previously was a campus organizer for USPIRG, the founder and former president of Global Education Investment, vice president of external affairs of Model UN Club, and a University Student Conduct Board member. Anna has interned in law offices in Beijing, NYC, and the Broome County Public Defender's Office in Binghamton. She has also volunteered in the Binghamton University pre-school and interned in Binghamton High School for the Cultural Exploration Program.
Dianna Lam is a graduate of Binghamton University and was a CEP student. She majored in Politics, Philosophy and Law and was in the Phi Alpha Delta Pre-law Fraternity. She interned at Queens District Attorney's Office, Alan Lee Immigration Firm, and Levene, Gouldin & Thompson, LLP. Currently, she is working as a paralegal at a personal injury law firm, Weitz & Luxenberg. Her job consists of setting up estates for clients who are exposed to asbestos. She intends to go to law school. Her fields of interest are immigration, real estate and tax law. During her free time, she likes to cook and bake. Food has been her kryptonite and she loves everything about it. She also loves to travel. During the Fall semester of her junior year, she studied abroad in the United Kingdom. The experience had a lasting impression on her and she loved every moment of her travels there. During the winter months, she loves to go snowboarding in Vermont where the mountains are much bigger than those in New York. She lives by the following: we should all live life to the fullest; see and experience as much as we can because it is amazing what you will learn along the way.
Graduate Student Advisor Sandy Woo is a PhD student of Sociology at Binghamton University and is currently adjunct faculty for Asian & Asian American Studies. She began her academic career at Bakersfield Community College and went on to graduate from the University of California, Irvine with a BA in Sociology. Her research interests include Chinese women’s labor migration, human trafficking, and sex work in the colonial context. Sandy has experience coordinating events headed by organizations, such as the United Nations, that have raised awareness about the issue of human trafficking. Throughout her career, she has also founded various community outreach programs aimed to support underserved populations and advocate community building. In addition, while affiliated with non-profit organizations such as the National Urban League, Sandy has worked with special needs youth and low-income families. Sandy is dedicated to bridging her career in academia with her passion for public service.
