FAQ

What is APASA?

APASA stands for the Asian Pacific American Student Assembly.  We are the umbrella organization for 31 Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) member organizations at USC, each playing an important role in event planning and sharing information at assembly meetings.  We also serve as a source of funding and advisement for our member organizations.

APASA is also one of 8 assemblies under USC Program Board, the student-run organization that plans and executes all large-scale events at USC. We are an independent event-planning assembly that puts on a variety of events that reflect APIDA heritage.

What kind of events has APASA put on?

Our events vary from year to year, but some traditional APASA events include:

  • Cultural Art Expo, a collaboration between USC’s cultural assemblies including performers, visual artists and other activity booths

  • Night Market, a traditional night market festival, featuring game booths, prizes, and food

  • Speaker Event, annual speaker event in celebration of APASA’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival

  • APASA’s Got Talent, performances from the talented APIDA community with guest judges

What’s the difference between APASS, APASA, APAA?

In brief, APASS is run by university staff, APASA is run by (undergraduate) students, and APAA is run by alumni.

APASS stands for Asian Pacific American Student Services. USC APASS is a division of USC Student Affairs aimed at providing resources to students, such as peer and career mentoring, and APA educational programming. APASS is focused on facilitating participation, dialogue, community-building, and empowerment among the APA student population. For more information on APASS, please visit their website.

APAA stands for Asian Pacific Alumni Association. USC APAA connects USC Alumni of Asian Pacific origin/descent with the university and one another lifelong and worldwide. For more information on APAA, please visit their website.

What are the benefits of being on APASA?

APASA member organizations have the opportunity to meet and network with many of the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American organizations on campus. APASA also serves as a source of funding for member organizations in planning large-scale events on campus.

If you’re considering becoming an APASA intern, it’s a great opportunity to get more involved with the APIDA community at USC as a whole.

How do I join APASA?

There are many ways to get involved with APASA! You can indirectly join APASA by joining any or several of our 31+ member organizations. To get directly involved with APASA, we have a year-long Internship program for all Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Transfers.

The APASA Internship Program is a chance for students to learn more about APASA and be involved in APASA’s behind-the-scenes work! While the Intern Program is constantly changing based on the experience in previous years, the following is an overview of what one can expect:

The Fall Semester is an opportunity for Interns to learn about and become involved in the APASA structure, family, and Executive Board through weekly meetings, socials, big-little mentorship, and much more! During this time, Interns will also have the opportunity to “shadow” and collaborate with APASA Executive Board members, directly contributing to the assembly’s event and program planning. Our Interns play a valuable role in planning and executing our signature events, such as Night Market. The Spring semester provides a more in-depth experience for APASA interns, with more opportunities for involvement in event planning and assisting the Executive Board. In addition, APASA provides its Interns with the resources to plan their own passion projects and collaborate in programming a collective Intern Project. Through these experiences, successful interns have gone on to serve as APASA Executive Board members.

When and where are APASA meetings? Can I attend?

Unless otherwise specified, APASA assembly meetings take place every Monday evening at 6:00 PM PST. If you would like to make an announcement, please contact us at apasa@usc.edu at least 48 hours prior.

All of our general member meetings are open to the public! If you’d like to sit in, please join us in TCC 350.

Who do I contact if I have more questions about APASA?

Please direct questions to apasa@usc.edu.