Finding belonging with some of NIRSA’s Asian Caucus community

As May and Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month come to a close, I want to thank all of you NIRSA members who took some time these past few weeks to get to know and to celebrate our community.

As a Filipina American, born and raised in the south side of Stockton, California, finding and building community has always been a core part of who I am. As a young professional in recreation, it can be challenging to find belongingness, especially as an Asian-identifying member of NIRSA.

At Princeton University, I am currently the Coordinator of Campus Recreation, Marketing/Staff Development within the Athletics department. In my role, I supervise a group of student workers on the marketing team, assist with daily business operations, oversee all marketing efforts of the department, and plan and implement staff development sessions, trainings, events, and engagement initiatives for our student and full-time staff. My identity as a woman and Filipina American informs my role as a professional working in higher education by shaping how I approach my work on a daily basis. It’s important for me to use a social justice lens to make considerations of other historically marginalized groups who may be impacted by my marketing and staff development efforts whether it’s race, ethnicity, ability, class, gender, sexuality, etc.

How did I get here? My own campus recreation journey started in 2013, when I became a participant during my freshman year at the University of the Pacific. I didn’t realize my engagement in activities like intramural flag football, 5v5 basketball, or club basketball were related to campus recreation until I applied for the Graduate Assistant of Marketing position at my alma mater. With a bachelor’s in sport management, I didn’t know that a career as a recreational professional was an option until I landed the GA opportunity in 2017. As a GA, I fell in love with working with my students and other students across the department, realizing the impact I could have on the next generation of individuals who would soon be going out into the world (like I was doing).

I had always lived close to my home town, and I didn’t really want to move across the country. But my director at the time Marc Falkenstein, currently Territory Manager, CFE Services, and my coworker and friend Laura Whiteley, currently Assistant Director of Pacific Recreation at the University of the Pacific, encouraged me at the time to take the leap and apply at Princeton University. Spoiler alert, I got the job I’m currently in!

Fun fact: I met my current director, Jessica Ward, at the 2019 NIRSA Annual Conference in Boston. Laura used to intern for Jessica, and while she didn’t have any job openings at that initial meeting between us, five months later she did.

I vividly remember attending my first NIRSA Annual Conference in 2018. It was quite intimidating, and I kept looking to connect with individuals who looked like me. But, it wasn’t until Earl Cabellon of the University of Maryland hosted the inaugural NIRSA Asian Community Caucus meeting via Zoom in September 2020 that I was finally really able to find that community. I was thrilled at that meeting to see Asian-identifying individuals from all across North America who were a part of NIRSA to be in a space altogether, despite it being online.

The feeling of belonging didn’t automatically just happen because there was now a dedicated time and space for us to come together, however. It was through intentional community care and the leadership of Earl that allowed me to feel like I belonged in that space. When I found out Earl was Filipino and he allowed me to call him “Kuya,” a term of respect and endearment that means “elder brother” in Tagalog, I knew that I was going to invest in the group. Since then, he has championed me to be a leader within the caucus.

Over the last three years, it’s been very rewarding for me to connect with and learn from some of the finest members currently working in our storied organization.

To close out AANHPI Heritage Month in 2023, I asked a few NIRSA Asian Community Caucus members to share with you all a little bit about their own Asian identities, where they find belonging on campus, and to share a bit about their pathways into campus recreation and their current roles on campus. I’d like to name a few who aren’t featured in this article but who have been a driving force in making our community caucus what it is today: Kevin George of Rowan University, Nathan Ha of the University of Texas at Arlington, and Adam Pruett, who are serving or have served on the leadership team along side me.

I hope you enjoy getting to know more about these stellar members from across the profession:

Earl Cabellon

Earl Cabellon is a Filipino-American who was born and raised in Rhode Island. He currently serves as the Director for Staff Experiences & Culture at the University of Maryland, College Park. In his role, he provides vision, strategy, and direction for 1,500 full-time and part-time employees in the Division of Students Affairs which is focused on attracting, developing, and retaining talent.

Earl founded the NIRSA Asian Community Caucus in September 2020; he built the community virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What does it mean to be Asian Identifying on campus and where do you go to find belonging? Where do you find that on campus and where do you find that in campus rec?

“There is pride in being Asian identifying, and I do my part to connect with others who value their salient identity of being Asian. I have started the APIDA affinity space in the Division of Student Affairs and created spaces for Asian Men/men of color at my university.”

How did your journey into the campus recreation profession happen?

“My journey started in 2000 at the University of Rhode Island as a front desk staff member at the recreation center. From there, I fell in love with the profession and went to Bowling Green State University for my master’s degree and graduate assistantship. My professional career started at the University of Maryland, College Park where I spent 18 years at University Recreation & Wellness. The last year and a half has been spent in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs where my work is centered on the wellbeing and development of our 1500 full-time staff in the division.”

Silvia Chan

Silvia Chan is a Chinese-American who was born in Brazil and came to New York as a teenager. She currently serves as the Senior Associate Director at the University of Connecticut. Silvia is a member of the leadership team at the University of Connecticut and oversees the student human resources area of her department. In her role, she plans and manages the recruitment process and both online and in-person onboarding. She also handles disciplinary issues, campus-wide trainings, social events, and other human resources challenges.

What does it mean to be Asian Identifying on campus and where do you go to find belonging? Where do you find that on campus and where do you find that in campus rec?

“I do believe that I have a place on campus as an Asian-Identifying individual. I see the representation in other areas on campus, and that gives me a sense of belonging. The Asian American Cultural Center is very active on my campus. I also work in a diverse department, and I do feel that my department values our diversity and everyone’s unique perspective.”

How did your journey into the campus recreation profession happen?

“I started my journey in campus recreation as an official in the Intramural Department at Stony Brook University. My director at that time, Sue Dimonda, gave our officials the opportunity to attend a NIRSA regional conference. At that conference I saw that there were opportunities for me to get a graduate degree and work in campus recreation as a career. After receiving my undergraduate degree, I got a graduate assistantship to attend Adelphi University and work with Linda Gundrum in the recreation department. I followed that with an internship at Princeton University with Eric and Robin Stein. My first professional job was as an assistant intramurals director at Old Dominion University. After two years, I had the opportunity to move back to the Northeast and work with Patti Bostic and UConn. That is where I have been for the last 26 years. I have changed my job responsibilities a couple of times while here at UConn Rec and I also have been here long enough for Patti to retire and for Cyndi Costanzo to come back to UConn as our Executive Director.”

Anything else you’d like to share about yourself to the NIRSA community?

“From the first NIRSA conference that I attended as a sophomore to the latest one in Pittsburgh, I have always felt welcomed by NIRSA members and NIRSA Headquarters Staff. So many NIRSA professionals helped me improve as a person when I was a student and in the early years of my career. I now try to offer the students and young professionals that I meet the same opportunities for growth. I also value the lifelong friendships that I have developed with my colleagues in recreation. I want to show up-and-coming professionals and students that we can find value, friendship, and fulfillment in the recreation field.”

Ben Dao

Ben Dao is a Vietnamese-American who was born in Hong Kong; raised in Stockton, CA; and now considers Manteca, CA home. He currently serves as the Assistant Director of Competitive Sports and All-Access Recreation at the University of California, Davis. In his role, he directly manages six full-time employees, four coordinators, and two athletic trainers. Ben oversees the management of his department’s intramural sports, sport clubs, and the athletics training and adaptive recreation program which offers 40+ activities and serves about 9,000 participants and 2,700 athletes throughout 41 competitive clubs.

What does it mean to be Asian Identifying on campus and where do you go to find belonging? Where do you find that on campus and where do you find that in campus rec?

“I am proud to be Asian identifying here at UC Davis as a staff member, especially on a campus that has a student population that is majority Asian (27% of the student body). To find belonging on campus, students can go to our Student Community Center (SCC). For those that identify as AAPI, there is The Strategic Asian and Pacific Islander Retention Initiative (SAandPIRI) located within the SCC. Within Campus Recreation, our motto is “Come as You Are.”

We foster an inclusive environment and welcome all to be a part of our programs and services. We are more than sports and fitness and our ARC recreation center. We also have an amazing Craft Center, Equestrian Center, and even house the school’s marching band as part of our scope which highlights the breadth of our programming. No matter your interest, campus recreation can offer you a place to belong.”

How did your journey into the campus recreation profession happen?

“My campus recreation journey started as soon as I started school in the fall quarter of my freshman year at UC Davis. I saw a poster on our recreation center wall advertising for a soccer official. I’m sure many of us can relate to starting out as some kind of official on campus to eventually going into recreation as a career. From my humble beginnings as an official, I eventually worked my way up the ladder to become a supervisor and, eventually, a student manager. As we don’t have graduate assistantships here at UC Davis, the student manager position is essentially a GA position; we were responsible for conducting official’s clinics and hiring our own staff. Fast forward nearly six years later and I find myself not knowing what to do after graduating. I received my Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with a minor in Psychology and was most likely going to take a gap year and apply for physical therapy school. Laura Hall, who was the Intramural Director at the time, approached me and asked me if I wanted to stay on after graduation and work for her as the Assistant Intramural Director. I said yes. Eighteen years later, I find myself in a new expansive role doing what I absolutely love and living my passion every day. I am extremely grateful to Laura for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, an opportunity I didn’t even know existed at the time. I’m sure many of us who “fell” into campus recreation can tell a very familiar story.”

Anything else you’d like to share about yourself to the NIRSA community?

“It’s been amazing to be part of NIRSA and our NIRSA Asian Community Caucus.”

Diane Yee

Diane Yee is a Chinese-American born and raised at the Jersey Shore, but relates more with New York City where her extended family resides. She currently calls Denver, CO home. She currently serves as the Director of Campus Recreation at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, an urban campus of 16,000 commuter students. In her role, Diane leads a team of 4-professional and 30-student staff to engage their student body and create positive collegiate experiences on a path to graduation. She is also an advocate for Campus Recreation through Students Affairs and for connections with Academic Affairs to provide applied learning opportunities.

What does it mean to be Asian Identifying on campus and where do you go to find belonging? Where do you find that on campus and where do you find that in campus rec?

“I’m proud to be a Chinese-American on our diverse campus; our campus fosters a sense of belonging in students of color. My campus supports affinity groups and I’m a member of our Asian Pacific-Islander Desi-American (APIDA) Alliance and Womyn of Color groups.

I’m especially proud to be a leader in collegiate recreation as I was not encouraged to participate in sports during my youth. Turns out that’s not uncommon among Asian immigrant families; there is a systemic issue of only a limited number of Asian Americans working in athletics and in the recreation/sports industry at large. I’m honored to pave the way for others.”

How did your journey into the campus recreation profession happen?

“I entered high school with no prior athletic experience and so defaulted to being the team manager for football, soccer, basketball, and baseball. This paired with being a basketball official and summer camp counselor through municipal recreation naturally led me to working at the rec center as a college student. My four years as an intramural supervisor, official, and club sport bench warmer proved that I could make a career out of providing a similar experience to the students who followed in my wake. With my Master of Science in Sports Management I climbed the ranks of collegiate recreation pretty quickly and am grateful for my 20+ year career across seven very different campuses.”

Anything else you’d like to share about yourself to the NIRSA community?

“I’ve been a NIRSA member since 2006 and recently started to get more involved (beyond conference attendance and forum contributions). I adore being a mentor to two up-and-coming women in the field. Troubleshooting with them brings me joy, which makes sense as a strategic, achieving activator (according to my Clifton Strengths Finder assessment). Being helpful is my life’s mission. After the Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, I noticed that regular communication across universities would be beneficial as fellow marketers could exchange ideas and learn from each other’s experiences. Thus, the NIRSA Marketing Collective was born. The group will connect quarterly via virtual roundtables and asynchronously through a shared drive. The collective has already reached over 100 members and we met for the first time on May 3. I encourage folks to join or to start collectives in their respective areas within collegiate recreation. I’d be happy to help.”

Reginald Ungos

Reginald (Reggie) Ungos is a Filipino-American who was born in Pearl City, HI. He currently serves as the Business and Administration Coordinator at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). In his role, Reggie provides leadership for the recreational operating software, accounting, finance, HR and business functions. His responsibilities also include policy and procedure development, data analysis, record keeping, and preparation and maintenance of supporting schedules for budgets and reporting. He also directly recruits, hires, trains and supervises student employees and the Administrative Assistance III.

What does it mean to be Asian Identifying on campus and where do you go to find belonging? Where do you find that on campus and where do you find that in campus rec?

“Working at UNLV, which holds the classification of being a Title III Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI), means pride in being my authentic self on campus and helping students on campus who may look like me so they see themselves in the university’s faculty and staff. I find belonging through my campus rec team, the friends I’ve made on campus, being a member of the Asian Pacific Islander and Middle Eastern Faculty Staff Alliance (APIME-FSA), and by serving on the NIRSA Asian Caucus Leadership Team. Campus rec is a safe place where anyone can get involved and be engaged no matter what their background or identity. I’m proud to identify as Asian and aspire to be a role model or mentor to those wanting to enter campus rec and higher education.”

How did your journey into the campus recreation profession happen?

“It all started when I was a student employee with UNLV Student Union & Event Services as an undergraduate. I graduated and became an administrative assistant with Campus Recreational Services for four and a half years. I went on to receive a master’s degree in higher education administration at Georgia Southern University – Statesboro and served as one of two facility management graduate assistants with Campus Recreation & Intramurals (CRI). Then the pandemic happened and I eventually found my way back to UNLV as the current Business and Administration Coordinator (for the last year and a half) with Campus Recreational Services (Rebel Rec). I owe a debt of gratitude to former colleagues and now friends (Stephanie W. and Risha G.) who helped me see my own potential while I was working in student affairs and campus life as both a student and now as a young professional.”

Anything else you’d like to share about yourself to the NIRSA community?

“I consider myself a foodie and love all kinds of cuisine, especially Asian food and boba! Outside of work, I enjoy working out, hanging out with family and friends, playing board games, watching competition shows, thrift and garage sale shopping, and going out to eat and drink.”

Domonique Sak

Domonique (Dom) Sak is a Cambodian and Chinese American from Rochester, NY. She currently serves as the Assistant Director of Campus Life, Student Clubs and Organizations at the Rochester Institute of Technology. In her role, she oversees all 300 student clubs and organizations with an emphasis on student development.

What does it mean to be Asian Identifying on campus and where do you go to find belonging? Where do you find that on campus and where do you find that in campus rec?

“To be Asian identifying on campus means that you are proud to represent your identity, your culture, and the values that make you who you are. I find belonging anywhere I can find peace within me and around me—it makes me feel like I can unapologetically be myself. At RIT, there is a Slack channel for APIDA faculty and staff. I was invited to join this channel during my first week here. Knowing there was a group of people I could relate to on campus made me feel good. Within collegiate recreation, NIRSA has done a great job of providing niche spaces for the wide spectrum of identities within the campus recreation profession. The people in those spaces help maintain the need and/or desire to keep diverse identities a given in the field!”

How did your journey into the campus recreation profession happen?

“I played club rugby as an undergraduate student at SUNY Brockport. During that time, I learned more about campus rec and eventually started working at Brockport’s recreation department. That experience gave me the ‘bug’ and convinced me to transition my career aspirations from high school athletic director to recreational competitive sports professional. I was introduced to the world of NIRSA towards the end of my senior year and wanted to pursue a graduate assistantship within collegiate recreation. Although I ended up finding a GA position outside of recreation at Brockport, I knew I had an opportunity to gain the experience I was looking for by searching for internships on Bluefishjobs. I didn’t want most of my experience to be at one institution, and I needed to complete an internship as part of my degree requirements. The first internship posting that came up on Bluefishjobs was for sport clubs and youth activities at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. It was far from home and outside of my comfort zone, but I knew I needed this experience to gain the momentum necessary to become a more marketable candidate for competitive sports. I spent seven months in Nebraska and gained ample experience during my internship before returning to New York. My job hunt lasted longer than I expected, but after nine months I landed my ‘dream job.’ I worked at Youngstown State University as the Coordinator of Competitive Sports and Summer Camps for three and a half years before leaving to be closer to family. With my appointment as the Assistant Director of Campus Life – Sport Clubs and Organizations, I have officially transitioned out of recreation. However, I know the skills I gained in collegiate recreation will help me succeed moving forward.”

Anything else you’d like to share about yourself to the NIRSA community?

“Y’all are amazing. I love seeing your institutions and saying, ‘Hey! My friend works there! Keep up the good work!’”

Learn more

Want to know more about what it is like to navigate working in higher education as someone who identifies as Asian? Listen to the stories of various leaders in athletics, academics, and student affairs professionals, who share their career journey details in “Asian Professionals in Higher Ed Panel, presented by the NIRSA Asian Community Caucus.” As part of our AANHPI Heritage Month celebrations, on May 16, panelists shared their successes and some of the challenges they’ve faced in their personal and professional lives through the intersectionality of their various identities.

The online event was facilitated by NIRSA Asian Caucus Leaders: Kevin George of Rowan University and me and featured the following panelists:

• Vicky Chun, Thomas A. Beckett Director of Yale Athletics – Yale University
• Nicholas Hartlep, Robert Charles Billings Endowed Chair & Education Studies Department Chair: Berea College
• Smita Ruzicka,Vice President of Student Affairs – Middlebury College
• Connie Tingston Gatuz, Associate Vice President for Student Development, Learning, and Social Change Education – University of Michigan

About NIRSA’s Asian Caucus

Built on three principal values: 1) Community Building, 2) Outreach & Activism, and 3) Professional Development, the Asian Community Caucus is a part of NIRSA’s commitment to engage in conversations related to social and political justice, to embrace all levels of experiences, and to unite NIRSA members who identify as Asian. This caucus is intended as a space for the Asian community to come together for discussion, recreation, and representation.
https://learning.nirsa.org/products/asian-professionals-in-higher-ed-panel-presented-by-the-nirsa-asian-community-caucus