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Student Scholarships

Awarded annually since 1992, CAPAL's scholarships have enabled promising students with leadership potential to pursue public service internships in Washington, DC, while learning how to influence policy decisions that affects their communities. CAPAL Scholars are awarded $2,000 each for the successful completion of a summer internship of their choice, as well as the development of a Community Action Plan.

  Click [here] for the 2009 CAPAL Scholarship Application in PDF form

  Click [here] for the 2009 CAPAL Scholarship Application in Word form

  Email your questions to scholarships@capal.org

What makes CAPAL's scholarship program unique?

Each CAPAL Scholar is required to research, propose, present, and implement a Community Action Plan (CAP) to benefit her/his local community upon return from the summer internship. Each CAPAL Scholar must choose a topic relating to an important APA issue of her/his choice and develop a project that will assist, educate, or inspire others on this topic. By the end of the summer program, each CAPAL Scholar must present her/his CAP to CAPAL members and other interested parties in the DC area. Mentoring will be provided to CAPAL Scholars for support and guidance in the development of their CAPs. Following the internship, CAPAL Scholars must provide a written update and a short assessment report on the implementation of their CAPs. Some recent examples of CAPs created by CAPAL scholars include:

  Launch of the mentorship program for incoming APA students at Cornell University.

  Launch of a student-run academic journal dedicated to issues facing Asian Americans at Harvard University.

  Launch of a student-run non-profit organization at the University of California, Berkeley, with the mission of educating the public about human trafficking.

Linh Ho, Candidate for Garden Grove City Council
"Candidates' forum covers Asian American and city issues," OC Register, Oct. 7, 2008.

Linh Ho, who received a scholarship from CAPAL in the summer of 2006 and interned at the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, was featured in the OC Register, October 7, 2008. Linh Ho is currently an Associate in the Public Law and Trial and Advocacy Practice Groups, advising public agencies on municipal and public law issues, and a candidate for the Garden Grove City Council. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Linh received a scholarship to practice public interest law in New Orleans. She also dedicated her time at Public Counsel, the world's largest pro bono public interest law firm. Linh gained political experience working for Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez and Assemblyman Lou Correa. She grew up in Garden Grove and has graduate degrees from UCLA and Harvard. You can contact Linh at linhho@VoteLinhHo.com.

If you are a former CAPAL scholar, and you would like to send us an update on your career, please send us an email at scholarships@capal.org. Thank you.

2008 Scholars

Kyle Huynh is a summer intern with the United States Forest Service. Prior to accepting the position, he was a graduate from the University of Southern California, where he majored in Biological Sciences. He has conducted extensive independent research within the fast growing biomedical field and has co-authored a paper focusing on the molecular effects of nicotine on fetal lung development, which appeared in the 2007 issue of Lung. Kyle also has a strong passion for the environmental and is working to promote a greater sense of environmental sustainability and responsibility among civic leaders and citizens. In the past, he has worked on an ecological research project, concerning nutrient chemistry in and around Santa Catalina Island, California. His ultimate goal is to complement his passion for the environment with his desire to become a physician. He believes a better understanding of the environment can pave way for the practice and application of preventative medicine.

Albert Lee is a junior at the University of Notre Dame. He is currently pursuing a double major in Science-Business and Peace Studies. Albert is also an undergraduate research assistant at the Indiana University School of Medicine where he researches systemic hypertension and pulmonary hypertension. In addition to researching, Albert helped found FREENK, a human rights group on campus that focuses on the humanitarian crisis in North Korea. Since its beginning, FREENK has raised thousands of dollars for starving children in North Korea and has presented at the annual Joan B. Kroc Peace Conference. Albert also enjoys playing the clarinet and is a member of the Notre Dame Symphony Orchestra.

Virginia Lee, is a graduating senior at the University of California, Berkeley with the major of Social Welfare. Virginia has previous field experience working with runaway and homeless youth and victims of domestic violence in Portand, Oregon, Michoacan, Mexico, and Monterey, California. This summer, Virginia is interning at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Romana Lee-Akiyama is a candidate for the Master of Social Services and the Master of Law and Social Policy at the Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research. Romana received her undergraduate degree from Tufts University in International Relations. Her professional experiences include over nine years of work in the community development field, particularly serving low-income AAPI communities in Boston and Philadelphia. Romana will serve as the Interim Deputy Director at the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (CAPACD) for the summer of 2008.

Erin Pangilinan will be a super senior completing an Ethnic Studies and Asian American Studies double major at the University of California, (UC) Berkeley. Erin helped to revive the Asian Pacific Council and was External Affairs Coordinator in co-founding the Asian Pacific American Coalition (APAC), a group of 20 different Asian Pacific American student organizations at Cal. There she worked with UCLA Asian Pacific Coalition, administrators, and other students on the Count-Me-In Campaign to disaggregate the Asian Pacific Islander (API) label, resulting in breaking down the "Other Asian" category adding 10 ethnicities under Asian American to the UC application and separating Pacific Islanders into its own racial category with respective ethnic subcategories totaling 23 new categories that will make it more inclusive of underrepresented communities and properly collect data of admissions to UC.
She has also been a news correspondent for Philippine News for four years and is a co-founder of the Anti-Deportation Coalition at Cal. Erin will be working at the Asian American Justice Center as a summer clerk in the Immigration and Immigrant Rights Program.

2007 Scholars

Mark Beyersdorf (Yale '08), Asha Jaini Emerging Leader Scholarship, is an undergraduate at Yale University majoring in History. Mark is interning at Polaris Project, an international organization focused on combating human trafficking and modern-day slavery. Mark has previous field experience in South Korea assisting survivors of human trafficking and has worked on other anti-trafficking initiatives at Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition. Mark is a member of STOP The Traffic of Human Lives and the co-coordinator for Yale's chapter of STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition.

Dana Nakano (Penn '04, SF State '07), United States Senator Paul Simon Scholarship, is a candidate for a Master of Arts in Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University. He received his B.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. Dana is currently serving as the Japanese American Citizens League Mike M. Masaoka Fellow in the Office of Congressman Mike Honda. Dana's previous experiences include internships at the Organization of Chinese Americans and the United States Commission on Civil Rights. In addition, Dana has published several articles relating to Asian American identity and social politics.

2006 Scholars

Tonia Bui, Asha Jaini Emerging Leader Scholar, is a sophomore at the University of California at Berkeley, pursuing dual degrees in Gender & Women's Studies and Mass Communications. This summer, Bui is interning at the Department of Veteran Affairs in the Office of the Executive Secretary.

Julie Huh, Senator Paul Simon Scholar, is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania with a major in Diplomatic History and minors in Asian American Studies and English. Huh is interning at the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Rukku Singla, Midwest Asian American Students Union (MAASU) / Attapong P. Mellenthin Scholar, is a junior at the Ohio State University with a major in Asian American Studies. Singla is interning with the Asian American Justice Center this summer.

T. Linh Ho, FAPAC Fellow, is a third year law student at the University of California-Los Angeles School of Law. Linh also received her undergraduate degree at UCLA, and a Master's in Public Policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Linh was born in a refugee camp in Malaysia after the war in Vietnam, was raised in Orange County, California, and found her way to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as a volunteer in a class action lawsuit and an organizer for the Young Vietnamese American Conference and Training ("Y Viets ACT").

2005 Scholars

Enoch Chu, State Farm Scholar, is a junior at Cornell University and interned with the White House Initiative on AAPIs in the summer of 2003. Last year, he served as president of APAs for Action at Cornell and will be president of the Asian American Student Union next year. He's interning with the House Policy Committee during the summer.

Trevor Nguyen, FAPAC Scholar, is currently a junior at the University of California, Berkeley, and is working at the DOJ Civil Rights division this summer. Trevor transferred to Berkeley after two years at Ohlone Community College, where he was the student body president. Trevor is interested in exploring the human factors and interactions in group protests, lobbying efforts, and campaigns, with a special interest in immigrant rights and gay rights.

Norman Ho, Asha Jaini Emerging Leader Scholarship, is a sophomore at Harvard University, and at the age of 20, has already published 11 journal articles. At Harvard, he served as Under-Secretary General for Administration for the Harvard National Model United Nations, where he helped organize a conference with over 2,000 participants. Norman's ambition is to be a lawyer working for the White House. This summer, he is interning with Congressman Jim Saxton and the Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation.

Mark Villegas, Senator Paul Simon Scholar, is graduating from the University of Florida this spring and will be starting graduate school at UCLA this fall to get his master's in Asian Studies. While at the University of Florida, he took on many leadership positions including President of the Asian Student Union in 2004-2005 and helped to establish an Asian Studies program at the University. He believes that immigration and working class issues are very important but are not studied by college students. He is interning this summer with the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance to learn more about these issues.