Penn State Health and the College of Medicine are celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in May. The health system recognizes the important contributions of its Asian American and Pacific Islander workforce, patients, and community. To honor those who have made a significant impact within Penn State Health and the College of Medicine, the Asian Physician and Professional Association, along with support from the International Workforce Inclusion Resource Group and Multicultural Business Employee Resource Group, is leading the celebration with various initiatives.
One of these initiatives includes trailblazer nominations, where employees can nominate individuals who identify as Asian and have made a significant impact within Penn State Health and the College of Medicine. The selected trailblazers will be featured in The RITE Stuff in June. Nominations can be submitted to diversity@pennstatehealth.psu.edu throughout the month of May.
Another initiative is an AAPI-themed meal provided by Sodexo at all regional hospital sites on specific dates in May. This meal aims to celebrate AAPI culture and provide a delicious taste of traditional dishes from the Asian-Pacific region, which includes countries from the Asian continent as well as Pacific islands like Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.
The Asian Physician and Professional Association will also host a virtual seminar called “Language Talks.” This seminar aims to raise awareness of the language barriers faced by non-native English speakers and promote understanding across cultures. It is an opportunity for individuals to learn about different languages spoken by AAPIs in their daily lives, including Mandarin Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Cantonese Chinese, Filipino Cebuano/Bisaya/Ilocano/Pampango/Tagalog/Ilokano/Pangasinan/Kalinga/Luzon/Visayas/Mindanao/Palauan/Marianas Islands-Chamorro-Carolinian-Pelegansanese (CHamorro), Okinawan or Ryukyuan Languages (Japanese), or Korean Chinese (Sino-Korean).
Asian American Heritage Month was initially established as a week-long observance in 1978 by Congress and later expanded to a month-long celebration in 1992. This month holds significance as it coincides with the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in the United States in May 1843 and the completion of the transcontinental railroad in May 1869, where many Chinese immigrants played a significant role.
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