HCC welcomes leader of White House Initiative for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

May 22, 2018

Houston Community College students and administrators met Monday with Holly L. Ham, executive director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific islanders. The meeting at the HCC Administration Building in Midtown was the latest stop in a national tour Ham is taking to promote the initiative’s desire to help improve the lives of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

“We are looking for ways to collaborate on solutions to issues that AAPIs face today,” said Ham, an ethnic Chinese immigrant from Vietnam who moved to the Houston area with her family in 1980. “Education is the number one priority to ensuring better lives for the 22 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders living here.”

HCC Trustee Neeta Sane said the event marked the first time a White House representative has attended a meeting at the college. “We are looking forward to working with the White House to help students at HCC and to make sure they have the resources to succeed,” Sane said.

HCC is the number one community college in the nation in enrolling international students. About 15 percent of the student population is Asian. The largest contingent of international students comes from Vietnam.

Chancellor Cesar Maldonado said, “We are an international college. The Asian American community is such a vibrant part of Houston.”

Maldonado thanked Ham for attending the event. “We thank you for your leadership and we are going to be leaning on you for your help,” he added.

Students who attended the meeting praised Ham for taking the time to answer their questions. “It was inspirational and informational,” said HCC and TSU graduate Ann Nguyen.  “I thought it was awesome to see an Asian representative in the White House. My takeaway from Ms. Ham’s message was, if you put your mind to it, what others may think is impossible, is possible.”

Ham complimented HCC for its commitment to students and for its community leadership. “HCC has the pulse of Houston,” Ham said.