----------- Programs -----------

  Overview

  Washington Leadership
Program

  Student Scholarships

  ARS Internship

  Forest Service Internship

  Mentorship Program

  Young Professionals Program

  2007 Annual Benefit Event

Website Terms of Use

  Website Terms and Conditions

  Privacy Policy

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.

  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.

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.