2016 Scholars and Interns
CAPAL Federal Interns
CAPAL Federal Interns are typically placed in internships within the federal government in Washington, DC. Interns may also be placed in regional offices throughout the country. These internship positions provide students with real-world federal government experience in a range of topics and areas. CAPAL has partnerships with Federal Agencies including Forest Service, Rural Housing Service, and the National Credit Union Administration.
CAPAL Public Service Scholars
CAPAL Public Service Scholars are undergraduate and graduate students who serve in unpaid public service internships (non-profit or government) in the Washington DC area for the summer. The scholarships are intended to enable outstanding Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) students with leadership potential to work full-time and learn about ways to influence public policy in their local communities.
CAPAL Federal Interns




Bichnga ‘Nga’ Do
Bichnga or Nga is a recent graduate of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She received a Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in Law and Society. Nga is originally from Orange County, California and has lived in Southern California for a majority of her life. Prior to her internship with the National Credit Union Administration, she worked on California Attorney General Kamala Harris’s campaign for U.S. Senate, with Senator Barbara Boxer’s LA Office, and with the Los Angeles Superior Court. She is interested in judicial policymaking and administration, Asian American issues, and mental health law. In particular, she is interested in the intersection between race and mental health, and the mental health dimensions of discrimination and social violence. She is passionate about protecting and advancing the rights of people living with mental disabilities and illnesses, and hopes to work as an advocate for the mentally ill in the future. When Nga is not busy with school or work, she enjoys ballroom dancing, hiking, and creative writing.


Sophia Fang

Olivia Flechsig
Olivia Flechsig is a rising senior at UC Berkeley majoring in Sociology and minoring in Education. Outside of school, she is a study group leader for her school’s Student Learning Center, offering free academic support for social science students. She also sits on the editorial board of UCB’s Undergraduate Journal of Sociology, and volunteers to advocate on behalf of students having academic problems with the university. This summer, she will be working for the USDA Forest Service, for whom she will be traveling around Northern California to research the contributions of Chinese Americans to the American West between 1850 and 1890. She hopes to go to law school after graduation to pursue a career as a civil rights attorney, promoting social justice for communities of color and women.

Sylvia Guan
Sylvia Guan, hailing from Southern California, is a rising junior at the University of Pennsylvania. This summer, she is excited to be working with CAPAL and the USDA Forest Service in Mi-Wuk Village, California. At Penn, she co-founded the school’s chapter of Women SPEAK, which hosts discussions and dialogues around women’s rights and gender equity issues. Her most defining experience in college, thus far, has been the Asian Pacific American Leadership Initiative, in which she explored her identity as an Asian American and began to understand the issues prevalent in the APIA community. Sylvia is passionate about APIA and minority issues, gender equity, social justice, and helping others. Her interests include photography, writing, music/concerts, and food.

Rosa Keller
Hi there! My name is Rosa Keller and I study Nutrition Health Sciences and Biocultural Anthropology at Oregon State University. I am also a group fitness instructor at the campus gym where I teach Body Pump and cycling. I am passionate about food, and I enjoy nothing more than to cook with friends and family. I believe this ties closely with my Taiwanese background, where food is central to the home and holds a high degree of sentiment. This next year I plan to move to Taiwan and study Mandarin so that I may build a closer relationship and sense of understanding with my mother’s family through language. In my free time you can find me at a concert, near the ocean, or eating anything spicy.

Grace Kim
Grace Kim is a second year at the University of Virginia majoring in History and Political Philosophy & Law. At UVA, she expresses her passion for public service through her involvement in different clubs and organizations. Grace volunteers in Live Love, an organization that serves the homeless of Charlottesville, and works as the secretary of the UNICEF club to advocate for global issues. Grace also has a passion for advancing minority rights, and she is excited for this opportunity to work with CAPAL. She will be interning this summer in the USDA’s Office of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Data & Records Management Division. In her spare time, she can be found reading novels, singing in her a capella group, and meeting new people.

Divina Li

Peter Liu
Originally from Springfield, MO, Peter Liu graduated from Vanderbilt University magna cum laude with a BA in Political Science and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. On campus, Peter served as the Bank Co-Chair for Alternative Spring Break, the Vice President of Conferences for the Model UN team, and wrote for the Vanderbilt Political Review. Peter interned in the Asian Studies department at the American Enterprise Institute last summer and is excited to be back in DC. In the fall, Peter will be attending the University of Michigan Law School.















CAPAL Public Service Scholars


