Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Woodbury is proud to celebrate and acknowledge the accomplishments and contributions by the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.
Why May?
In 1990, May was selected as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month to acknowledge the first Japanese immigrant to arrive in America (May 7, 1843), as well as, is the anniversary of the First Transcontinental Railroad (May 10, 1869) which was completed using Chinese labor.
To learn more about our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion efforts, visit the below page.
Resources & Spotlights
View the resources below to learn more about Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month:
- 31 Ways to Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2021
- United States Presidential Proclamation
- The Library of Congress: Asian Pacific Heritage
- The Smithsonian | AAPI
- History.com | AAPI
Faculty Spotlight | Dr. Satinder Dhiman
Satinder Dhiman, Ph.D., EdD, serves as Associate Dean, Chair, and Director of the MBA Program and Professor of Management at Woodbury University’s School of Business. He holds a Ph.D. in Social Sciences from Tilburg University, Netherlands; a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Pepperdine University, Los Angeles; an MBA from West Coast University, Los Angeles; and an MCOM (with the gold medal) from the Panjab University, India. He has also completed advanced Executive Leadership programs at Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton.
Faculty Spotlight | Dr. Thuc-Doan T. Nguyen
Thuc-Doan T. Nguyen is an Associate Professor of Marketing and Marketing Coordinator at Woodbury University. She has taught courses in marketing research, international marketing, consumer behavior, and strategic marketing, Her research interests include but are not confined to online consumer behavior, public health, and the globalization of consumer culture in transitional economies, and marketing and public policy. Her research has been presented at academic conferences such as the Association for Consumer Research Conference, Marketing and Public Policy Conference, Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Macromarketing Conference, Summer AMA Conference. Dr. Nguyen has published her work in journals such as Journal of Consumer Research, Consumption, Market, and Culture, Journal of Macromarketing.
Alumni Spotlight | Naveen Gowda
Naveen Gowda is a 2012 graduate from the graphic design program who then went on to work at BabyFirst TV in 2014. In 2016, he launched a digital video content project within the company, leading to a branching out of the company’s brands: The parent company would become First Media, and BabyFirst would sit alongside digital verticals Blossom, So Yummy and Blusher which focus on food, crafts, life hacks, decor, fashion and comedy. The goal? To inspire women, everyday! Acting now as VP Content, Naveen leads creative for the First Media digital verticals in averaging over a billion views a month and growing to over 60 Million followers since launch. First Media is also responsible for creating over 40 videos with 100+ Million views, including the most viewed and shared video in social media history, and several viral brand integration videos with brands such as WalMart, Tinder, LetGo, 4Ocean, Bed Bath & Beyond, and more.
Alumni Spotlight | Prabhu Rajaganapathy
Prabhu Rajaganapathy is a 2019 Woodbury Animation graduate who came to Woodbury University from a small town in southern India in pursuit of his creative goals. Right upon completing his first year, Prabhu did an internship at El Grupo Animation, which made him significantly more prepared for the rest of his Woodbury classes. His senior thesis project, “Space Epic,” a short, 2D sci-fi animation film, went on to win Woodbury’s MVP award for outstanding performance, and to date, it has been selected into 15 different film festivals, including the KCET 2019 Fine Cut Competition. He intends to pitch “Space Epic” to a studio or network someday.
After graduating in 2019, Prabhu began working as a production assistant at Gaumont Animation and parlayed that experience into a job as a production assistant at Netflix Animation, where he recently started working on an animated series called “Ghee Happy,” created by Pixar alum, Sanjay Patel.
Alumni Spotlight | Chris Sasaki
Chris Sasaki is a character designer and illustrator living in Oakland, California. He works at Pixar Animation Studios and has designed characters for Monsters University (2013) and Inside Out (2015). Additionally, he production designed the original short film, Sanjay’s Super Team (2015) and Weekends (2017). Currently, Chris is art directing on an unannounced Pixar feature. His past clients include LAIKA Entertainment, Blue Sky Studios, Disney Television Animation, DreamWorks, Red Cap Greeting Cards, and Jim Henson Studios. His work has been featured at Gallery Nucleus, on Cartoon Brew, New York Times, and in the Society of Illustrators yearly annual. Chris made his first venture into illustrated books with a short story collection for young adults entitled GHOST.
Alumni Spotlight | Diana Tran
Diana Tran graduated with a Bachelors of Architecture and a Minor in Graphic Design from Woodbury University. As a Senior Store Design Manager at Guess? Inc., Diana has been responsible for more than 1,000 retail remodel projects and store designs. Diana currently leads a team of planners who are responsible for more than 300 new stores in the Americas, Europe and Asia. We caught up with Diana and asked her about her career as a designer and how her studies at Woodbury prepared her for the profession. Read her interview by clicking the button below.