By Zach Wargo, media relations intern
TEMPE – May is the celebration of Asian and Pacific Islanders Month in the United States and Sun Devil Athletics and Arizona State University are proud to celebrate the stories of various Asian and Pacific Islander cultures from student-athletes and members of the faculty this month.
According to the NCAA Demographic database in the 2021-22 athletic year, the NCAA reported about 12,582 athletes of Asian or Pacific Islander descent, which is about 2.5 percent of all student-athletes across all divisions in college athletics. Even further, only 230 AAPI athletes compete in women’s Lacrosse which is out of 12,565 athletes in all divisions.
Sun Devil Lacrosse has two athletes that represent their heritage proudly throughout their time in Tempe. Sophomore Helen Park and Freshman Teagan Ng have appeared in every game this season for the Sun Devils, with Park primarily playing defender with 24 groundballs and 13 caused turnovers. Alongside her is Ng as a prominent goal scorer in her first season at ASU, tallying 28 goals, starting in every game this year and most notably being named the 2023 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
Both athletes are able to talk about their heritages to their teammates and speak out on the upbringing that make them the people who they are today, including the differences between being Korean and Chinese. They feel connected with food, including Chinese jellies which are used in many recipes.
“I feel like I’m sharing my culture with my friends that have never actually even been around anything like that.” said Park. “I shared with them my favorite Chinese jellies from home and they really like those. It’s interesting to see everyone's perspectives.”
Ng is from Canada and grew up in British Columbia to add to her diverse background, and before she arrived at ASU, she looked up to Park as another Asian lacrosse athlete in the college ranks. Inspiring the next generation to play lacrosse is just as important for the both of them.
“Before I came here, my dad was like, ‘Oh my god, this Helen Park is on ASU and she plays for team Korea,’ and then I looked up to Helen because it’s just that thing where you go, she looks like me, she’s really good at lacrosse and I can be like her one day and I hope to be like that for younger girls.” said Ng. “There’s one girl who’s also half Asian and she comes and watches us and it makes me feel really good that we’re inspiring her to keep playing.”
“I feel like I wanted to be that same character for younger kids.” said Park, “Growing up, if me and my family saw another Asian playing another sport, we’re like ‘Oh my gosh look they have an Asian on their team!’”
Park and Ng both come of Asian descent with Park being Korean and Ng being Chinese. They have become best friends and have shared the field together on many occasions and express connections through their heritage through food and speaking out on their culture.
“I feel more like me. I’m very culturally connected through the food. Whenever I’m home, I’ll go to my Korean grandma’s house and make Korean food. That is very authentic, and I feel like that is a way that we celebrate it the most.” said Park.
“I used to make dumplings with my grandma when I was young, and also Chinese New Year at home is a way that I really connect,” said Ng.
Sasha Bills is a graduate assistant in the Office of Student-Athlete Development at Sun Devil Athletics and she wants to pursue a career of being an academic coach and helps mentor student-athletes who need help organizing their time and assignments while playing a sport. She’s African-American and Filipino and celebrates her Asian heritage by talking about her culture and her mom’s small business, My Titas Cusina, which makes authentic Filipino food and sells her food at farmers markets every weekend.
Prior to Bills coming to ASU to pursue a graduate degree, she was playing volleyball at Kentucky State University, which is a division II HBCU school. She’s expressed plenty of gratitude for working in athletics and making her own path in the sports world. Talking about her heritage and culture helps Bills appreciate her family and her heritage even more.
“I think it’s cool to be able to answer questions and throw people off guard when I say that I’m Filipino because a lot of people think that I’m Samoan or Hawaiian or something like that,” said Bills. “I would say I’m really proud to represent it, ??even looking different than a regular Filipino because I’m mixed. I really appreciate it.”
She wanted to get into sports since she’s always felt like an athlete and grew up playing volleyball, including coaching a club team for 14-year-olds. That was when she realized she enjoyed getting to know athletes for who they are and wanted to enter the sports business. She hopes to visit the Philippines once she graduates next May and is paving the way for more minorities to enter the sports business for the future.
“I really enjoy getting to know athletes for who they are rather than being just an athlete and that made me want to become an academic counselor,” said Bills. “I think it’s important to recognize the minorities who are paving the way for the future.”
Kevin Chan has been with Sun Devil Athletics for about four years and works with all technology surrounding the athletic department. He helps students and staff members with any technical issues that may persist during an event or throughout the day and earned his degree from Ohio State University. His dad is Chinese and his mom is Taiwanese.
After the pandemic and once society re-opened, it inspired him to grow closer to his mom, and he wanted to spend more time with his family, which has made a positive impact in many ways.
“It’s been huge because family is all we have. For the longest time since college, I was distracted with things that are normal to young adults, like establishing young careers,” said Chan. “I think it’s probably cultural since with my family we weren’t very close traditionally. But as time went on, I think it’s a value that we wanted to nurture. We’ve been spending more time with each other and keeping in contact better.”
In his time at ASU and Sun Devil Athletics, he’s loved being involved with a community that makes him look forward to working with athletics and in sports. He runs triathlons and plays a variety of sports, including hockey. While supporting student-athletes and helping them achieve success in athletics and their academics, he admires the hard work of everyone involved in technology and at SDA.
Learning about his upbringing has helped give Chan a new appreciation for his heritage and makes this month important to help celebrate AAPI month in Arizona and around the country.
“It’s been very important, it has a direct effect on my personality, how I see people, how I view the world, how I treat others. If I didn’t have that same history and lineage, I don’t think I would have a lot of values that my parents have gotten from that same heritage.”