Tsuo Yuan, or Wayne, graduated from UCLA in 2010 with a degree in Asian American Studies. At school, he was active in community organizing and social justice activism in students-of-color spaces. He served as LGBT Programmer in the Asian Pacific Coalition, advocating for critical issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender/transsexual communities, and he was on planning board for the Asian Pacific Islander Graduation, Vietnamese Student Union's High School Conference, and the Southeast Asian Admit Weekend. He was also active in other groups including Samahang Pilipino, Pan-Asian Queers, and the Southeast Asian Campus Learning, Education and Retention. Deeply committed to progressive social justice and self-determination, he hopes to become a critical and effective community organizer one day, weaved together by the guiding principles of love, peace, and equality. Outside of school or work, his array of haphazardly disjointed hobbies include reading in bed under the blankets, eating mouth-melting spicy foods, watching the entire 20 seasons of The Simpsons on DVDs he bought for $25 in Vietnam, playing Pokémon, and learning traditional Philippine dances.
Internship Reflection:
"Not only did I become familiar with the operation of local governmental offices and how constituent cases are recorded and filed, I also learned how to handle tough people under restrictive circumstances. These technical and interpersonal skills are essential for anyone in any occupation, and are most important for those fancying a career in politics.
I would love to remain involved by acting as mentor for future internship classes, if I were to be needed. I believe that my experiences, both positive and negative, while out-of-the-ordinary but still very possibly relatable, can be of use to future interns. I hope that future classes will have a holistically gratifying experience with the program and that Taiwanese America will continue to grow with force, consciousness, and humility."