Philadelphia chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals
NAAAP Philadelphia Scholarship Recipient Spotlight
2019 Scholarship Recipients
Julci Areza
Julci is a junior at the University of ennsylvania who is majoring in the Biological Basis of Behavior and minoring in Medical Sociology. In college, she takes particular interest in the sociological and historical perspectives of health and medicine. She is the Co-Coordinator of Service Link at Penn Family Care, an organization that supports patients of Penn Presbyterian Hospital with non-medical, health-related issues (i.e. food stamps, medical transportation, bill subsidies). She also organizes free kidney screenings with PennKDSAP and volunteers at various events with Phi Delta Epsilon, her pre-medical fraternity. In addition to her interest in public health, Julci conducts neuroscience research in the Kayser Lab, using Drosophila larvae as a model to understand sleep. This summer, Julci worked in the Zlatic Lab at Janelia Research Campus, where she studied the mechanisms of learning and memory in the same animal model. Outside of science, Julci is extremely passionate about community building and Asian American activism. She is a Co-Organizer of Spice Collective, a discussion and organizing space for Asian American non-cis-men, and Seven|Eight, a community of first-generation, low-income Asian American students. She also sits on the Asian American Studies Undergraduate Advisory Board.
In her free time, Julci loves running around Philadelphia, attending speaker events, searching for the best oat milk latte, and discovering vegan ethnic foods. Ultimately, she would like to pursue an MD/PhD and work with medically underserved communities.
Connie Liu
Connie Liu is a graduate of Upper Dublin High School and will be attending Cornell University in the fall planning to either major in Computer Science or Information Science (with a major in Interactive Technologies or User Experience) and hopes to work in the tech industry by utilizing her creative energy as a designer. In high school she was Editor-in-Chief of the literary arts magazine, Captain of the Science Olympiad team, Vice President of the Mock Trial team, Communications Coordinator for the NHS, and a varsity tennis player. She has also conducted numerous environmental science related research projects over the years. She is deeply passionate about sustainability and founded an annual art show in the community to spread awareness about environmental problems. She also started several art education initiatives with organizations like her local Boys and Girls Club and senior home. In her free time she loves to draw and has won a National Scholastic Art and Writing Silver Medal for her experimental comic as well as numerous other art awards. She is extremely honored to receive the NAAAP Future Leaders Scholarship and feels empowered to continue creating ways to impart positive change on the world.
Sophia Ung
Sophia Ung recently graduated from Lower Moreland High School and attends Georgia Institute of Technology to study chemical engineering. At her high school, Sophia founded and led Asian Culture Club, designed to unite the Asian community and promote cultural diversity. She also contributed her time to Mini-THON as a captain, to raise money for the fight against pediatric cancer. At the district level, Sophia served as a student representative of Embracing the Conversation committee that worked to combat issues within the community, such as substance abuse and the drug epidemic. In her free time, she enjoys playing the piano, reading, and volunteering at local events. Sophia thanks the NAAAP for their support in her endeavors and looks forward to growing as a leader.
Tiffany Wang
Tiffany is a junior at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania majoring in History and Sociopolitical Data Science. At Swarthmore, she serves as the president of Organizing to Redefine Asian Activism (ORAA); editor-in-chief of Voices, a campus publication dedicated to uplifting marginalized stories; and member of the Swarthmore Chinese Music Ensemble. She is currently one of the East Coast Asian American Student Union’s (ECAASU) Advocacy and Policy Coordinators as well as one of the founders of the Tri-College Asian Student Conference (Tri-CASC). In the future, she hopes to use data to analyze how public policy affects the lives of marginalized people, specifically in the areas of voting rights and immigration. You can most likely find her tweeting furiously about disability rights and abolishing borders, trying to find good scary movies, or telling stories about running in the 2018 Boston Marathon.
