Westminster nursing student Estelle Meneses (’25) has spent the past two years working as a student coordinator for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Life, one of the six student identity groups on campus. AAPI Life strives to provide a space for Asian American and Pacific Islander students to celebrate a variety of cultures and individuals through events by creating a welcoming space for all who take part. The goal of holding multiple events and programming in partnership with Student Engagement and Belonging (SEB) per semester is to build community with other AAPI students while connecting through similar roots and experiences.
When asked about the importance of AAPI Life, Estelle highlighted the significance of a space dedicated to community, providing all Westminster students with a safe environment to learn and interact with cultures and traditions that differ from what they know.
“I think that having identity groups like AAPI Life for student expression is essential for fostering the development of a student community, but to also enable students to explore the differences and similarities that we share with one another. To be proud of the unique background that all students possess that allows us to create a personalized character.”
Estelle was inspired to take part in AAPI because of the changes she could make. Seeing the lack of interest in the club in her first 2 years pushed Estelle to apply herself and establish a baseline for success within AAPI Life, leaving the program better than when she found it with help from both the SEB staff and other student coordinators.
“When I started my journey on Westminster’s campus, I realized that AAPI Life and other identity groups were not advertising much to campus and its student population. I thought to myself that I could make a difference by getting AAPI Life's reputation out there, so I decided to apply for the coordinator position. Being a coordinator for the last 2 years has taught me a lot, not just professionally, but also has personally taught me some life skills like networking and critical thinking that have contributed to AAPI Life's success.”
This academic year has been very successful for AAPI Life, with multiple well-attended events ranging from cultural showcases to karaoke parties, continuing on a rising trend from the Spring 2025 semester. Events like Christmas across Asia provided Westminster students with a chance to learn about a variety of winter cultural activities and foods prepared by the SEB student coordinators. While this may be Estelle’s last year in the coordinator position, she wants identity groups at Westminster to continuously thrive, perpetuating the community that has been established.
“AAPI Life has hosted many events in the past. Back in Spring of 2025, we hosted our annual big event of the year, the Japanese Cherry Blossom event, where students got to experience celebrating the new season with activities like BYO Zen garden, Space Tea Boba, and Mochinut donuts. I hope that in the future, identity groups can have the reputation that Westminster is a place of community where individuality is accepted and fostered. Despite the simplicity of these events, they still serve the purpose of exposing the various cultures and traditions to the students and staff.”
Students at AAPI event with Salt Lake Japanese American Citizens League
