Asian American Partners for Tomorrow

Asian American Studies students at a conference, seated around a table.

The Asian American Studies community outreach program fosters long-lasting partnerships between local communities, University of Minnesota (U of M) students, staff, and faculty.

With the involvement of our students, faculty, and staff the outreach program facilitates the academic success of our students, mentors the next generation of Asian American scholars and leaders, and builds strong and lasting campus-community partnerships.

Asian American Partners for Tomorrow (AAPT)

The Asian American Studies Program (AASP) at the University of Minnesota seeks to support and facilitate the academic and admission readiness of Asian Pacific American (APA) high-school students by:

  • Addressing their personal and social readiness for higher education.
  • Providing mentorship and academic support.
  • Fostering their understanding of an ethnic and APA identity.
  • Creating long-lasting relationships between undergraduate students, local high school students, and AASP faculty and staff.

AAPT draws from existing rich resources at the University of Minnesota to promote academic, admissions, career, financial, and personal and social readiness of local Southeast Asian American (SEAA) high school students. With the partnership of faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate students, AAPT assists in recruitment efforts to bring local SEAA students to the University of Minnesota; expand their access to academic programs and services; mentor the next generation of SEAA scholars and leaders; and develop meaningful relationships and partnerships between local communities, high schools, and University of Minnesota students, staff, and faculty.

The goals of AAPT will be achieved through a mentorship pipeline program and a service learning-based undergraduate course that will connect undergraduate mentors with high school participants.

If you are interested in volunteering as a mentor, please connect with our community outreach coordinator at aast@umn.edu

AAPT has collaborated with Boys Leadership Empowerment Network (BLEN), a community volunteer group that focuses on providing leadership development and academic support to immigrant and refugee high school boys; Mualaynu, a nonprofit that aims to provide students who identify as former refugees resources and opportunities to succeed in their communities and in school; Hmong College Prep Academy; and Sejong Korean Immersion School.