The Asian and Pacific American (AAPI) community has played a vital role in the cultural and historical development of the United States with their impactful contributions. What started out as a week-long celebration of the AAPI community led to May being designated as Asian/Pacific American Heritage month by Congress in 1992.
As an international university, Northeastern is home to students from diverse cultures, races, genders, and ethnicities. Asian American students make up over 17% and 5.8% of those enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs respectively. In honor of Asian/Pacific American Heritage month, we are celebrating some of our notable alumni whose accomplishments at Northeastern and beyond are truly commendable.
Anisa Anuar
Anisa served as a leader for the Asian American Students in Action community and is a recent Northeastern graduate. She not only contributed significantly to amplifying the voices and achievements of her Asian peers, but also excelled in her domain of Computer Science. Anisa now works as a full-stack software engineer at PayJoy – a tech startup enabling people to purchase smartphones in a financially affordable manner.
Lydia X. Z. Brown
Lydia is a law professionalwith many incredible achievements. During their time at Northeastern they received multiple honors including, Public Interest Law Scholar and the Denise Carty-Bennia Memorial Bar Award. As an advocate and activist for American autistic rights, Lydia’s work on identifying algorithmic biases in technology towards people with disabilities is exemplary. Currently, Lydia is a Policy Counsel for Disability Rights and Algorithmic Fairness for the Privacy and Data Project, at the Center for Democracy and Technology. They also serve as the Director of Policy, Advocacy, and External Affairs for the Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network.
Nikesh Arora
Did you know that Nikesh is a double Northeastern alumnus? Originally from India, Nikesh earned his MBA and PhD at Northeastern University. He has been a pioneer in business and is currently the Chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks, a multinational cybersecurity company
Vanessa Manzano
Whilst pursuing her undergraduate degree in Rehabilitation Sciences at Northeastern, Venessa actively contributed to the Filipino Student Association and the Asian Student Union. Today, Venessa is the Director of Development, Corporate and Foundation Relations at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S). With international leadership, the College educates physicians and researchers to best provide for patients from all backgrounds.
Get involved in the Asian American Center!
A special shout out to the Asian American Center at Northeastern for empowering and increasing the visibility of the Asian American student community.
Interested in contributing to the diversity dialogue? Want to join events organized by the Asian American Center? Check out their website at https://asianamericancenter.northeastern.edu to learn more and how you can get involved!
Congratulations to our Asian and Pacific American huskies! We are so proud of you.