Angela Yan
Co-Founder, Co-Director, Senior Advisor, and Initiative Lead
Angela Yan (she/her) is a senior from Wellington, Florida studying Asian American & Asian Diaspora Studies and Public Policy Studies with a minor in Economics. She is most excited about celebrating Asian Americans’ experiences and continuing to advocate for more Asian American representation.
Rohit Kataria
Co-Founder, Co-Director and Senior Advisor
Rohit Kataria (he/him) is a senior from Wheelersburg, Ohio studying Public Policy Studies with a concentration in Advanced Quantitative Methods and minors in Data Science and South Asian Language & Culture. He is most excited about ensuring that Asian and Asian American students feel valued on Vanderbilt's campus.
Iris Kim
An Alum Who Inspired the Cause
Iris Kim (she/her) is an alum of Vanderbilt University, class of 2021, with a B.A. in Neuroscience and Medicine, Health, and Society (Critical Health Studies). Currently, Iris is a Fulbright research grantee examining Asian American immigration, mental health, and belonging in South Korea.
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In her time at Vanderbilt, she helped promote Asian American advocacy by
Founding Vanderbilt Asian American Studies Initiative, which gathered nearly 1,300 signatures in support of an Asian American studies program at Vanderbilt (2020-2021)
Serving as President of the Asian American Student Association, overseeing annual programming by the executive board (2019-2020)
Founding the Asian American Book Club, formed in response to the lack of Asian American courses at Vanderbilt (2019-2021)
Jack Mok
An Alum Who Inspired the Cause
Jack Mok (he/him) is an alum of Vanderbilt University, class of 2022, with a B.A. in Political Science and Economics with a minor in History. During his time at Vanderbilt, Jack served as the President of the Asian American Student Association (AASA) and was a passionate volunteer within local Nashville politics. Jack is currently serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA at the Center for Appellate Litigation, helping indigent New Yorkers access quality appellate defense.
In his time at Vanderbilt, he helped promote Asian American advocacy by
Connecting AASA with other Asian American student groups across the country to host a panel and fundraiser against acts of anti-Asian violence
Rallying support from student organizations to advance the movement for an Asian American Studies program at Vanderbilt following the Atlanta shootings
Lobbying Vanderbilt administrators, such as Chancellor Diermeier and Vice Chancellor Churchwell, for a more robust AAPI alumni network and increased storage space for cultural organizations
Organizing cultural education and celebration events for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month for two years
Coordinating voter and census registration drives targeting Asian American populations throughout the 2020 election season
Varsha Nair
An Alum Who Inspired the Cause
Varsha Nair (she/her) is an alum of Vanderbilt University, class of 2022, with a B.A. in African American and Diaspora Studies and Neuroscience. Besides making quality Spotify playlists, volunteering, and reading questionable YA fiction, she is personally invested in mental health advocacy and working to collaboratively create equitable, diverse, and inclusive spaces. Varsha is currently pursuing a Master's in Public Health at UCLA with a concentration in Health Policy and Management.
In her time at Vanderbilt, she helped promote Asian American advocacy by
Being part of initial talks with Chancellor Diermeier along with other multicultural student organization leaders following the Atlanta shootings
Serving on a panel with Asian American and LGBTQ+ advocate, Helen Zia, focused on Asian American advocacy and collaborative work
Being part of the student committee that helped hire an Asian American professor in the English department
Serving as a Cultural Initiatives Chair and as Co-Vice President for the South Asian Cultural Exchange (SACE)
Organizing and executing the first-ever South Asia Week, a week-long collaboration with the Vanderbilt South Asian Studies department and various campus bodies to celebrate and raise awareness about South Asian culture and history
Organizing and overseeing the largest cultural showcase at Vanderbilt during the COVID-19 pandemic
TAAAP Alumni
Some of the amazing people who bettered TAAAP!
Yuna Jeon ('23), Teresa Xu ('23), Sanjana Padala ('23)