ACAM Dialogues Episode 10: An Interview with 2023 ACAM grads—Moira Henry, Lindsay Mak, Divine Reyes, and An Xu.
Tune in from your device via Anchor.fm!
ISA: The Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies Program would like to acknowledge that this podcast was recorded on the traditional, unceded, ancestral homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations. We hope that as we continue to facilitate these conversations about Asian diasporic communities, we also engage in critical dialogue about what it means to be uninvited guests and settlers on these lands.
Welcome to episode 10 of the Asian Canadian and Asian Migration studies (ACAM) podcast My name is Isa You. I’m the Multimedia Production Assistant at ACAM and I’ll be your host for this episode. We hope that this interview series can be a way to continue building connections between ACAM students, staff, faculty and community partners, while also providing our community members with a platform to share similar work they’ve been doing during this time.
My guests for this episode are 2023 ACAM grads, Moira Henry, Lindsay Mak, Divine Reyes, and An Xu. We sat down for a chat about their takeaways from the ACAM minor program, building community, and the power of storytelling. Let’s take a listen.
ISA: Well, first of all, thank you all for joining us here today. Can everyone here introduce themselves in a few sentences? Your name, your major, and then you and your family’s migration history?
AN: Yeah. Hi, my name is An. I majored in English literature and, of course, minored in ACAM. My family migration story is that well, my mom wanted to move abroad when I was starting kindergarten, grade one in China, because she saw that she didn’t want me to… kind of be really engrossed in China’s education system. So then we actually first moved to Montreal, and my mom learned French and everything and really impressed the immigration officers. But we moved in the dead of winter. So we only really lasted there for a month because it was so cold. And we didn’t know anyone there. So then she moved us to Coquitlam because her best friend from high school was living there at the time. And then yeah, so I grew up in Coquitlam, and then moved to Vancouver, around university, and yeah, I’ve been living here ever since.
MOIRA: Hi, my name is Moira and like An, I did my degree in English literature and minored in ACAM. I’m a fifth generation settler. On my dad’s side. He’s half Japanese, half Scottish. So the Japanese side of his family has history on the island and like Salt Spring Island, and then I think with his dad’s side, they emigrated from like Aberdeen at some point. And my mom is Japanese from Japan. So she is from Osaka. And then yeah, my parents met in Japan. I was born here, or I guess in New Westminster Qayqayt territory. And yeah, I moved around a lot when I was a kid, and made my way back to Vancouver in search of a stable living situation.
DIVINE: Hello, my name is Divine. I majored in gender, race, sexuality and social justice (GRSJ). And, of course, minored in ACAM. My family’s migration history… I know mostly about my mom’s. So she emigrated to… she moved to Hong Kong, just to get better job prospects there. And then was working for families, like a caregiver and stuff. And then a few months later, she read about Canada in one of the magazines there and thought that she can get like a better job, better pay in Canada. So then she and she heard about the live in caregiver program through the magazine too. So from Hong Kong, she went to, or she came over to Canada and then did the live in caregiver process and then did her PR like to get her PR from like, like the process for that and sort of like had to impress the immigration officers to in order to get her PR and yeah, I guess I don’t know about my dad. He’s Filipino, but he moved here, he immigrated here too, before I was born. So yeah.
LINDSAY: Hi, I’m Lindsay. I did a double major in English literature and history and having also completed the ACAM minor. My family immigration history, kind of long, complicated, so I’m going to try to simplify it here. My family’s been here, or at least one side my family’s been here since about 1950 or so kind of hard to pinpoint. But my great great great grandfather, paternal grandfather came to Canada. And then at some point, at least after 1947,we’re not sure, and eventually bought over my great grandfather as the person who eventually brought over my grandma, my paternal grandmother, and her sister and my great grandmother, in 1958, I believe. And we’ve been in Vancouver ever since. And then my paternal grandfather came. And I believe the 60s when he was a teenager being sponsored by his sister and her husband, eventually meeting my grandmother, I think in high school. And then on my mother’s side, my maternal grandmother came from China, but a first to French Guiana at some point. And then she was sponsored by relatives in Canada, came to Canada. And then was match made, with my maternal grandfather, who at some point was also sponsored by family to come to Canada. That’s the shortest, I think I can make it but my family’s been in Vancouver ever since. I am the second generation in my family to be born in Canada.
ISA: So we’re all gathered here today, because you’re graduating, and congratulations on that. So how does it feel? To be graduating?
MOIRA: So good.
AN: Finally, yeah.
DIVINE: Yeah.
MOIRA: I mean, for me, it’s been like 10, long years of post secondary education, like, on and off, so I’m just glad to finally be done. Yeah.
AN: Yeah, like, same, my, I think it’s been five, well, I graduated last November. But when I did graduate, it had been like five and a half years since I started undergrad. And honestly, like, having still well, because I’m still kind of working with some of the organisations and institutions at UBC, I feel like, well, I’m still around. So I feel like honestly, I could have taken longer just to relax a bit more and like, I guess pay more attention to some of the courses if I’d taken less at a time. But yeah, really relieved to be done. It’s really nice to not have like, the guilt debt of having schoolwork left to do when you’re doing anything else in your life. So yeah.
DIVINE: Yes, I agree. I am… I don’t know just like the stress from assignments and everything. And just like, Ah, I can relax. But yeah, I’m very happy to be done, even though I’m probably going to come back another degree, but you know, that’s fine. I can get a little break and not stress about any, any work or anything.
LINDSAY: Like it feels nice. But like I did it, I really condensed it to be able to finish it within a certain amount of time, because of other reasons. So I think I could have probably taken less on. But at the same time it’s like in my mind is go go go. But also because of the pandemic, it was kind of like everything was both going simultaneously really fast. But it also felt really paused. Because of everything going on. But I think now it’s kind of, okay, you can relax a bit. Now prepare yourself for the next thing.
ISA: What are your guys’ post grad plans?
LINDSAY: I’m starting the BC… I’m starting the UBC Bachelor of Education Program in September. I’m gonna do that with secondary teaching. So that’s my plan so far in the near future.
DIVINE: Mine is like long. Like I don’t know, for the longest time, I’ve also thought about teaching and I didn’t really think much about it until like the last few months, because then I didn’t really feel that spark or like that big motivation to work with kids later on. So then I tried to look at other options. And then I started looking into social work. And I thought it worked well with my major and I really loved learning about everything in my major. So I decided to apply to social work in the upcoming months like yeah, in January.
MOIRA: I feel like I kind of had the same experience as you, Divine. Like I was thinking like, oh, I don’t really know what to do. So I’m gonna maybe do education. But yeah, I don’t feel particularly passionate about like, teaching? I honestly, I’m not sure that that’s even my strong suit. Maybe not the best fit. But yeah, I guess I’m like, I don’t know, I’m gonna keep slinging coffee for the meantime. And then like, kind of see what happens, see if I can find any opportunities kind of related to my work with INSTRCC, just like something in the community, possibly something with like a museum? Yeah, I don’t have any clear path forward. I’m just gonna see what happens.
AN: I feel that. Yeah. I had thought about getting a certificate in publishing, because that’s kind of like book editing and all of that stuff. I was really interested in and I would say still am. But then, as I was graduating and kind of contemplating the idea of like, moving to Toronto to do that, because that’s kind of where all the publishing is. It didn’t really feel like something that I could imagine myself doing right away, just because well, I don’t really have any experience really, in the publishing industry, and I just, or any, like work experience, experience really outside of like worklearn positions and research assistants at UBC. So like Moira, I’d like to continue my work with INSTRCC which stands for the initiative for student teaching and research in Chinese Canadian Studies. And so basically, just get some more work experience. And then further down the line, I think I’ll probably try to come back to the publishing thing, if I find that I’m still interested in that path. So yeah.
ISA: And reflecting back on the years that you’ve spent in the ACAM minor, I’m curious, how did you guys get into ACAM in the first place? How did you hear about ACAM, how did you find out about ACAM? How did you end up in an ACAM class?
MOIRA: So I did the thing where I was like, looking for electives? And the course thing and then I spotted a camera. I was like, what’s that? Because I would literally just, I’m the kind of person to just like, spend hours doing something really dumb. So I would just like scroll through all of the course codes and stuff that I don’t stand for. Yeah. And then I came across JP’s ACAM 250 class. It’s like Asian Canadians in popular culture. Yeah. So I was in that class. It’s like, the first time I ever heard of ACAM or anything. And I was like, Oh, my gosh, this is so cool. That’s… I want to do that. And then I guess, throughout, possibly, like, at the end of the course, or something JP was like, it’s a minor program. I was like, Oh, it’s a minor program. Let me get in on that.
AN: Yeah, I think I was doing a course, finishing up some courses at Langara before I came back to UBC. It was kind of towards then when I started getting more into Asian Canadian literature. One of the professor’s there really, like, sparked something in me, I guess. And I was like, this is kind of, it kind of feels more like healing for the soul, like, if I’m going to continue my post secondary education, I want to do something that actually fulfills me in some way or like speaks to my experience. So I was really looking for more Asian Canadian, like, courses or programming back at UBC. And then I, I always tell that story where I really just serendipitously like, found ACAM as I was scrolling through Facebook, which now that I have worked with ACAM I’m like it must have been one of the rare ads that we took out or something. And then I like went down this really deep dive and I like read all of the pages on the website and I was like, This sounds like exactly what I wanted to do and also how accessible it was to to minor and because it’s only 18 credits, which is six courses, and I pretty much completed, like six courses my first year back at UBC. So I was, I think, technically done my minor and then I just kept trying to take as many courses I could. Yeah.
DIVINE: Oh, well, um for me, I was taking one of JP’s GRSJ classes and then he mentioned ACAM. I was like, Oh, what’s that? So I went onto the course website and then I realized that there were a lot of GRS J classes that align with the requirements for the minor so I was like, interesting, I guess I can get a get the minor and sort of like, well, I don’t know, like it was already halfway done. So I was like might as well you know, but I didn’t really like… I didn’t really expect to really like the classes. But I mean, I’m very glad that I took it because I got to meet some really cool people and also meet like some really great profs. Yeah.
LINDSAY: Yeah. I guess my first introduction to ACAM was during my second year, I also took ACAM 250 With JP, and at the same time that was kind of the beginning of my second year when I was really getting interested in Canadian and Asian diasporic studies. But the funny thing was, I had no intention of doing an ACAM minor. I was planning on doing an English and History double major, which I still did, and then I took another elective, ACAM 300 and Dr. Laura Ishiguro was like, Hey, I think you like… are you an ACAM minor? And I’m like, No. And she was like, I feel like you might. And I was like, nah. And so I was like, there’s no way and then I actually looked at the website, and like all the course descriptions, like the listed courses, approved courses, because I had no idea. And I was like, Hey, wait a minute, I did all these courses. And then I emailed Dr. Chris Lee. And I was like, Hey, is it possible for me to do this? He was like, Sure. It’s like, Oh, great. So a happy accident. No, but it’s kind of funny how things turned out because of how my English and History surveys were very much deep into Asian and Canadian Studies.
ISA: Do you guys have favorite memories or notable memories of your time being involved in ACAM?
AN:I think what I’m mostly taking away is kind of, like Divine. You mentioned, like all the cool people that I’ve met. Yeah, I think it’s hard to make friends, I feel like in general, in classes where you don’t already know people. But I feel like in ACAM classes, because so much of the lectures are well actually not lecture based. They’re more like personal experiences like discussion. So you really get to know the people there. So yeah, it’s been so wonderful, like meeting so many like minded people and so many great friends. Yeah.
DIVINE: I agree. Yes, but the great friends part, like, also joining ACAM dialogues. So like I was, I was like, all these people are so nice. And so welcoming. And like also the part that you mentioned and for, like having open dialogue, like I, I’ve experienced that in some GRSJ classes, but like in an ACAM class is kind of different. It’s like, it’s more relaxed, and it’s not, it’s not too much pressure that’s put on us and I really, I really liked that
LINDSAY: It was just like, the community that is part of the ACAM community, whether or not they you know, are actively doing it or they’re just taking the classes, you really get to meet a lot of people with similar experiences and similar, you know, questions or thoughts, I think. And not saying that everyone has the exact same experiences or opinions but it’s just it was so refreshing to find that really type of community which is honestly pretty rare considering how diverse academia is.
MOIRA: Yeah, I would have to agree that like I think that’s kind of… I feel like ACAM like opened up my life in a strange… maybe not that strange, just like an amazing way. I guess I feel like I finally found my community. And yeah, through it does have a lot to do with like having a lot of group work and stuff like that. I met so many queer Asian Canadians through the program and like, a lot of them are like, still my friends and stuff. And I’m like, yeah, it’s, it’s been great.
DIVINE: I was gonna say if I feel like if I didn’t take any ACAM classes, I wouldn’t really know much about my family’s migration history. So I was very glad that I was able to explore that. Yeah.
AN: I feel like, well, maybe this is not so much like a specific great memory. But I think what you’re saying about like, ACAM opening up, like, your life, it really was that for me, too. And I think like, the way that the professors are and like, the people like the administration’s, like Szu, and Chris, from the top down, everyone is very, like, open to just making connections and like, being just helping everyone around. And it’s also kind of like the networks that ACAM brings in too, it’s not only like an academic program, there’s like a lot of work done with, like community organizations that’s kind of bringing in… it’s like, not only what like what you learn in the classroom, but it’s how do we see like representation and activism in the in the community that’s, that kind of makes this academic program more real, in the outside world of UBC. It’s really amazing to like, hear about, like, more opportunities and just like things going on in the city. Where I think sometimes when you’re learning about a history, or people protesting or something, it’s, it’s hard to kind of imagine, like, real change, or whatnot.
LINDSAY: It’s not happening in a vacuum or being detached from the real world outside, which I feel like, oftentimes when you take a course at university, it’s just like, confined to that classroom. And I think with ACAM classes I have taken, it’s very much now there’s a connection with what we’re learning in the class with what you people are experiencing outside.
MOIRA: Yeah, I would have to agree with that. Like, I think I was, I was kind of getting to a point where I was feeling disillusioned with academia in general, because it’s very much… And maybe it’s like, taking like English literature. I feel that way. In particular, it’s like okay.
AN: You don’t see Jane Austen walking down Main street.
MOIRA: Yeah, I mean, it’s just like you write you write papers for other academics and like, it’s just like a whole scholarly conversation. And I think a lot of the times it doesn’t really feel connected to community, which maybe is also my own doing, like, I’m not involved in like the literary community. Besides like… actually, I don’t really do that anymore. Was gonna say just like going to like real Vancouver writers and stuff like that. But yeah, at least with ACAM the focus is very much on community engagement. And like, actually, yeah, bridging the gap between community and academia, which made school feel more meaningful, I guess. Yeah.
DIVINE: Yeah, I would have to agree. Like, I don’t know, just, I feel that disconnect in academia. And I guess name dropping, but I took two classes of Dr. Laura Ishiguro, and we stan her. But, like, I learned so much, like, on the ground history and individual stories about activism that I never knew, happened, especially in Vancouver, or BC, like, I don’t know. In GRSJ I’ve learned about, like feminism and all of these, like, really great feminist authors, but I don’t know it just, I didn’t really see myself part of that history. But then coming into one of like… like History 305, we learned about the very early migrations of like, Filipinx migrants or even just sort of like activism in Vancouver as well, especially for like the queer groups to like LGBTQ2S+ communities, like I never knew that they were. They were here in Vancouver and like, established for that long. And because I learned about those histories, I kind of felt more connected to it, rather than like being disconnected and learning about it. Like, I mean, of course, I have an appreciation for all the feminist historians that I learned in GRSJ but I felt more connected to learn about it, especially in the context of BC and Vancouver.
LINDSAY: I think it’s important to like, you know, remember, like, the stories and histories that we learn, there is a use for them in terms of community and activism. And, you know, I don’t really have any experience of, you know, work experience I guess within the field of academia, my work field is very much in the community, I work for the Vancouver Parks Board. So I am very much involved with community and to hear… to learn of different stories, you can really see how they connect with your own personal one on one experiences within the communities that you inhabit, and that you were working with. And I, I’m very thankful for that. For learning all those things in relation to my community work while during my time here at UBC. Very much agreed.
ISA: I feel like there’s also a lot of emphasis on storytelling within ACAM and ACAM classes. I don’t know if you guys feel this way?
MOIRA: Yeah, I kind of feel like it… I mean, obviously, it’s like an interdisciplinary program. And like, some of my English courses were also ACAM courses. But, I mean, nonetheless, I feel like it complemented, I guess, my Literature degree in that way, and that it is like, yeah, there is an emphasis on storytelling and just I, I feel like it was like, an appropriate extension to my major, and kind of an extension where like, I don’t know, as Imogene likes to say, an extension that fuels my soul, or feeds my soul. Yeah, feeds my soul.
AN: Yeah, I think, like in high school, I watched a lot of international news. And I remember saying this kind of dumb thing where I was like, yeah, like, who even watches local news anymore. Like, why does it matter? And I think before because we’re so exposed to like everything else that’s going on in the world, it can feel really like it can feel like a really big place, the world. And then I think that kind of led me to feeling really isolated in first year, and like, not being connected to my community, like I didn’t know what my community was, I had my family and my friends, but outside of that I didn’t like it was just, you know… And then I think what it kind of does is it kind of makes your world smaller in a better way. And like, with storytelling, like you’re getting to know people, like on a personal level, and well stories are really conducive to that. It’s kind of there’s no right or wrong, you just like, this is your story. And what’s really lovely about ACAM being story based is that it kind of makes room for everyone in the classroom, because your story matters, your family histories, no matter how insignificant you think that is. There’s like a little niche that it fits into, and like a community or history and on a broader scale.
LINDSAY: I totally agree. Like, for me, the reason I wanted… I decided to double major in English and history, it was because I wanted to learn stories, I wanted to understand people and you know, broaden my horizons of experiences in the world, not just my own. And, like, they’re, they’re two very different disciplines. But I find that the storytelling elements of both are, were like, so important to me. And I think, you know, again, very similar, I really didn’t know much about my story, my family history and story, you know. During the… probably the first year or whatever of the pandemic, I was so isolated, oh, everything’s going on in the outside world, so to speak. And it was really hard to kind of understand it all. And then you kind of go into learning all these different stories from diverse communities. And it just kind of helps to make sense a little bit more of the chaos that is society.
ISA: What are the classes you would recommend from ACAM and why?
DIVINE: I would say…
LINDSAY: I would say…we both took this class, ACAM 300. Yeah, that was probably… I had taken a class with Laura Ishiguro before, and I loved it. But this was more… I took this class more as like an elective. And it was like, you know, Asian Canadian history. And I was like, that’s totally up my alley, but it completely blew my mind in terms of what I was expecting. And it was like, that’s crazy. Besides, like, you know, when we talk about Asian Canadian history, it’s typically the bigger injustices. And yeah, that’s important. But there’s a lot of other of the smaller stories that don’t get recognized and they don’t get told and when they are told, it’s like, mind blowing.
MOIRA: I guess kind of to like, bounce off of that. I also did ACAM 300 and History 305 with Laura, who is amazing. Just, you know, just any class with Laura. She is the best.
LINDSAY: Did we all do ACAM 300 and History 305?
AN: I didn’t take 305, but I took 300.
LINDSAY: So we all took ACAM 300.
AN: Yeah it was amazing.
MOIRA: Yeah, I think what I that was kind of like the first time that I feel like Laura is the person who like opened my eyes to like histories of like resilience, and that it didn’t always have to be like, while it is an important aspect of like, marginalized histories, like the injustice and stuff. I feel like taking her classes I was able to, or she emphasized also that like, you know, she emphasized the activism, like the moments of joy and like coming together in those histories, which is also like, really important. And like it doesn’t have to be super depressing all the time.
LINDSAY: I really appreciated that at least those classes I took, it was unapologetic to explore the complexities of Asian Canadian Studies. Like, it’s not all rainbows and sunshines , there’s a lot of complexities to it. And I wouldn’t have thought about those intersections. You know, otherwise, or maybe it would have taken me a while to get there. But yeah.
I think if you’re also if you’re not sure about actually doing the minor, and so you’re just looking for a fun elective, ACAM 250 was a pretty fun elective. Yeah, like, because it’s Asian Canadians in Pop Culture. You know, pop culture, we’re so like, surrounded by it, it’s so hard to avoid, even if you try to avoid social media, you will have some idea of what’s going on. And I think that it’s just a fun class. And it does kind of touch on the wider issues, I think are themes that a lot of the courses already discussed. It’s just a more, I think accessible area for those who don’t have any background in Asian Canadian Studies.
DIVINE: Oh, also for like the affiliated ACAM course. Like any course that’s taught by Dr. Alifa Bandali. I’m sorry to just like (laughs), I stan her too. She’s so great in what she does and what she lectures about. And I feel like that opened up a big part of my activism. And I was just, I was so blown away by the topics that she brought up, and I am very glad I took her classes. Yeah.
LINDSAY: I would also recommend… I took Indigenous literature. And, you know, this is before I realized it was part of ACAM, but I think we have to remember Asian Canadian studies, it’s like, all the intersections. Like being on, at least at UBC we’re on unceded, ancestral, occupied Musqueam territory. And then in larger Vancouver, there’s the history of Indigenous peoples, we can’t be forgetting how that plays into Asian Canadian studies, and Indigenous literature it was a pretty fun course, you know learning these stories, and honestly, learning stories from any marginalized community is great.
MOIRA: Who did you take it with?
LINDSAY: I took it with Dallas Hunt.
MOIRA: Oh my gosh, me too.
LINDSAY: It was great.
MOIRA: You know, what ‘s funny is Dallas, the first time around, the first time I was at UBC, like 10 years ago, I took English like 100. Or it was some 100 level English course. And Dallas was my TA. And then when I came back, and then like, a few years ago, I was in Anti Post Decolonial Literature with him. And he remembered me.
LINDSAY: This is also funny, because he called me by my last name the entire term. And the people thought that was my first name. I was like, No, he just calls me that, but I’m okay with it. Yeah, that was a fun class. I also heard Brendan McCormack, who also teaches that class, is also a very good prof for Indigenous literature.
MOIRA: Also JP is a sweet angel, and an incredible prof. We love all the profs. Yes. Yeah.
DIVINE: Um, there’s also I think, like GRSJ 316. Like Queer and Trans Color Theorizing with Rosanne Sia, I also love her. But I mean, I think yeah, that’s an affiliate class too. But if you can take a class with her as well, I recommend.
AN: I really, really loved ACAM 320D, Race and Technology with Danielle Wong. And I’m not sure if she’ll be back and teach it again. But it was kind of like it was the last ACAM course I took and I think it was really, like it was a good idea to take it last because I think it kind of encapsulated all of the ideas that ACAM was talking about and that I was thinking about in terms of like, where all of these like histories converge with like gender and sexuality, and race, especially. And, like, I love Danielle as well, I’d taken an English class with her. And it kind of like, also changed. I think every class kind of changed my life in a way, but I just see, like, things that we talked about in that class, like my everyday life. And I pretty much think about, like, our readings in our discussions every day, and just how like my identity as an Asian Chinese woman has, like an effect than, like, a technology in a way that’s been constructed. And, like, the way that other people view me too has been really so transformative. Danielle is so amazing and so intelligent, and her. Like, her classes are very based in theory. So I think, like, it might be like a natural progression from like, 200, or 200 is more like accessible. But I think if you can get into it, it was like, so, so great. Yeah, I don’t have any other words for that, then. It was amazing.
ISA: We sort of went over this but what are your takeaways from your time at ACAM.
MOIRA: I think like, you know, besides learning about like histories of community resilience and stuff, something else that like, I appreciate being emphasized through ACAM courses is like histories of cross cultural solidarities. And also just like recognizing that… recognizing how like siloing marginalized communities serves white supremacy. Okay, I guess siloing racialized communities serves white supremacy and like, yeah, just like, recognizing how these different community histories intersect. And learning about that was like, mind blowing. Because yeah, it is very much like when we learn about stuff like that. You learn, okay, like Japanese Canadian history is this, this is Chinese Canadian history. This is Filipinx Canadian history, like it’s all very distinct and separate, typically. But ACAM kind of works to unsettled that which is great.
LINDSAY: I totally agree with that. Like they, you know, these histories that were there, it’s cross cultural. They intersect, their histories intersect, the experiences intersect. I think, also, for me, a big takeaway was as, you know, someone who wants to teach these histories and, you know, share these histories and stories with, you know, younger students, a big thing was unsettling the ideas of damaged communities and pulling from Eve Tuck’s work, you know, so often, the racialized communities, those stories, and the work that’s being done on them, is perpetuating a certain narrative of damage and injustice. And while that is totally valid, and it’s real, I think we are doing more harm than good. And we can do so much more when we share the complexities, and again, the resiliency of these communities. And that’s something I’m definitely taking away as I’m endeavoring to become an educator.
DIVINE: I feel like for me, my biggest takeaway would be like my self-reflexivity, especially where I’m positioned as. I know, I’m taught to do that. Starting, like, in first year, like from my GRSJ classes, but I feel like, I got to explore more of what that means, especially as a settler, and like, being settled on Indigenous lands and sort of exploring the topic of Asian complicity in that and I don’t know, I just, I really got a lot out of that from ACAM classes. Yeah.
AN: I think echoing all of your points, I think it’s hard to describe or pinpoint, like a specific takeaway, because I think I just see work going forward and even just like you said, living on this land and being a settler, and also being like a racialized person and all of those complexities I think, ACAM just kind of gave me a framework to work through that and try to like, come to I wouldn’t say come to a conclusion because I don’t think that I’ll ever get to one, but it’s like a way of like coping with like traumas. And having learned the histories and kind of the more bigger picture of things, it’s easier to see a path of like, where others have gone before me and like where I can go in the future. Yeah.
ISA: You just heard an interview with 2023 ACAM grads:Moira Henry, Lindsay Mak, Divine Reyes, and An Xu.
Thank you for listening to this episode which was made possible by the Chan Family Foundation’s generous support. If you have an idea for an episode of the ACAM podcast, we’d love to hear from you. Send us your ideas by emailing us at acam.program@ubc.ca. To be notified when the next podcast episode is released and to stay up to date on all things ACAM, please follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @UBCACAM and like us on Facebook at Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies UBC.