05/01/2026
Dear Cal Poly Community,
May is Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month—a time to honor the depth, diversity, and interconnected histories of communities whose roots span East, Southeast, and South Asia, as well as the Pacific Islands. APIDA is not a single story, but a tapestry of cultures, languages, diasporas, and lived experiences that continue to shape our collective understanding of identity, belonging, and community.
As author and activist Grace Lee Boggs reminds us, “We are the leaders we’ve been looking for.” Her words reflect a legacy of resilience, community-building, and collective responsibility that has long defined APIDA movements, from grassroots organizing to cultural preservation and innovation. This history invites us to see APIDA identity not only as a reflection of heritage, but as an ongoing practice of connection, care, and shared purpose.
At Cal Poly, APIDA students make up approximately 14% of our student population, and our designation as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) affirms both this presence and our institutional responsibility to support their success. Across our campuses, APIDA faculty, staff, and students are cultivating spaces of belonging, advancing scholarship, and strengthening community through both academic and co-curricular efforts. At the Cal Poly Maritime campus in Solano, this commitment is especially visible through initiatives that center Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander wayfinding traditions. Student organizations such as the Maritime Canoe Club create meaningful opportunities for cultural expression, community connection, and leadership development.
This work is further advanced through Cal Poly’s broader Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) initiatives. Through the California state-funded AANHPI Student Achievement Program (CSU ASAP), Cal Poly is investing in the academic achievement, wellbeing, and sense of belonging of APIDA students. This year, we have launched an AANHPI Advisory Committee and partnered with APIDA faculty fellows to expand programming and create spaces for dialogue, storytelling, and community connection.
As we recognize APIDA Heritage Month, we celebrate the richness and diversity of these communities while also acknowledging the complexities and challenges many continue to navigate—including anti-Asian hate, the perpetual foreigner stereotype, and the model minority myth. This month calls us to move beyond celebration alone and toward deeper understanding, solidarity, and action.
We invite you to engage in this month’s events and take part in the stories, traditions, and conversations that continue to shape our university.
Event highlights this month on the SLO campus will include:
Cal Poly AANHPI Initiatives Launch
• May 11 | 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
• Chumash Auditorium
State of APIDA
• May 18 | 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
• Chumash Auditorium
Thi Bui Speaker Event
• May 27 | 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
• Chumash Auditorium
In community,
Dr. Beya Makekau (she/her/ella)
Associate Vice President, Culture and Institutional Excellence
Senior Diversity Officer, Cal Poly
