{"id":165559,"date":"2024-05-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=165559"},"modified":"2024-05-02T16:38:33","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T16:38:33","slug":"building-community-asian-american-pacific-islanders-group-provides-support-mentorship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=165559","title":{"rendered":"Building community: Asian American, Pacific Islanders group provides support, mentorship"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Members of the Fort Liberty Asian and Pacific Islander Army Officers group pose for a photo with Brig. Gen. Michael B. Siegl, center left, following a mentorship session in September 2023. The group has grown to nearly 2,000 members stationed around the globe.
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WASHINGTON \u2014 Several years ago, Maj. Kate Alegado, a first-generation Filipino American, was searching for a group that understood her and could advocate for her during her Army career.<\/p>\n

After initially having little success, she found exactly what she was looking for when she came across the Asian and Pacific Islander Army Officers Facebook group two years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m beyond grateful just to know there are others similar to me,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are people who truly care, there are people who truly understand the path that I went through and the path that my family went through, and there is a path to opportunities and possibilities that I didn\u2019t think was achievable seven years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group was created in 2020 by Maj. Seth Varayon and Lt. Col. Neil Alcaria. It started as a Facebook group to bring Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Army officers together for professional development, mentoring and community building.<\/p>\n

“I think those three pillars occur naturally in the Army and when we are doing well, we experience those things regardless of what race you are,” Varayon said. \u201cI think it’s easy for some people to feel they aren’t getting [those things], especially junior and mid-career AANHPI Soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n

While on a rotation to South Korea, Varayon and then Maj. Gen. Mark Toy, who was the deputy chief of staff at the United Nations Command, realized there were a lot of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Soldiers stationed in the country. The group worked with Toy to hold\u00a0a series of leadership and professional development engagements.<\/p>\n

These initial events showed them there was a real need for the group and that it could be successful when they brought people together.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are trying to show people we can be united, be overtly supportive, sponsor each other\u00a0and\u00a0improve each other,\u201d Varayon said. \u201cThis group allows Soldiers to connect and feel comfortable asking questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group grew, mostly by word of mouth and with support from senior leaders like Brig. Gen. Michael B. Siegl, and now has nearly 2,000 members. They have a Facebook group, a LinkedIn group\u00a0and\u00a0a Microsoft Teams page. They hold online leadership panels, in person events and have a mentorship program that has matched dozens of Soldiers.<\/p>\n

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\n Then Maj. Gen. Mark Toy, deputy chief of staff at the United Nations Command, engages with Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Soldiers during a leadership development panel in South Korea, Nov. 19, 2020. These were the initial events set up by the Asian and Pacific Islander Army Officers group to help Soldiers with professional development, mentoring and community building.
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Alegado signed up for the mentorship program, and within two days she received a call, email and text from her new mentor. She said what sets this organization apart is the cultural relationships, the informal feel and the ability to keep each other honest.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u00a0definitely\u00a0takes a village to help an individual develop and grow, especially in an organization like a military service,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve enjoyed being a part of this community. It\u2019s just too beautiful to not be involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being a part of the group has also increased her desire to stay in the Army.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you asked me two years ago, I was close to transitioning out of the military,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing a part of this group gives you this sense of inspiration and possibilities. It\u2019s that constant reminder of what else you haven\u2019t experienced in uniform.\u201d<\/p>\n

Capt. Ben White, a civil affairs officer, is a member of the group\u2019s leadership team and has been around since its inception. He was stationed in South Korea when he met Varayon and participated in the first few leadership panel discussions.<\/p>\n

He said it was difficult for him before to find Asian American leaders and mentors in the civil affairs community. This group helped him find the mentorship he was looking for to further his career. It also created a community of Soldiers that he can reach out to wherever he goes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been\u00a0really\u00a0fulfilling seeing the beginnings, as it started as just a few dedicated and passionate leaders for AANHPI Soldiers, develop into this group where we have around 2,000 strong, really well-connected [Soldiers],\u201d he said. \u201cWe are all\u00a0really\u00a0motivated and excited to see how we can further champion the AANHPI community in the Army.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the group gaining traction, Varayon said the hope is to expand the community across the total Army force to include enlisted, National Guard, Army Reserve, spouses, retirees and Army civilians.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want this group to be inclusive,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the end of the day, we are all still connected through our general interest of AANHPI and the advocation and advancement of the community as a whole.”<\/p>\n

RELATED LINKS:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders in the Army<\/a><\/p>\n

Celebrating Asian American Pacific Islanders Month: Honoring Diversity and Service in the U.S. Army<\/a><\/p>\n

ARNEWS archives<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Members of the Fort Liberty Asian and Pacific Islander Army Officers group pose for a photo with Brig. Gen. Michael B. Siegl, center left, following a mentorship session in September 2023. The group has grown to nearly 2,000 members stationed around the globe. (Photo Credit: Photo courtesy Capt. Ben White) VIEW ORIGINAL WASHINGTON \u2014 Several […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":165561,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-165559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=165559"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":165564,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165559\/revisions\/165564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/165561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=165559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=165559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=165559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}