Celebrating, SM North’s Asian Student Union hosted the second annual Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Program on April 28 in the Auditorium. Ceramics teacher Chandra Beadleston sponsored the program. Senior Bella Sisombath, junior Stella Mages and freshman Navya Hedge helped host and organize the program.

“It’s really bittersweet, I’m excited for the future,” Sisombath said. “I can’t wait to see what everyone else does to continue the program.”

This was Beadleston’s second year involved in AANHPI pride at North.

“It’s nice to be able to celebrate a culture that I wasn’t ever able to celebrate and be accepted into a group I was never a part of as a kid,” Beadleston said. “The feeling of community when we work together is my favorite part of sponsoring Asian Student Union.”

The Chamber Choir performed a traditional Samoan piece titled ‘Minoi Minoi’ and the Chamber Orchestra performed a Chinese folk tune titled ‘Ai Hai Yo’.

Guest speaker Jackie Nguyen, the founder of Café Cà Phê Kansas City’s very first Vietnamese coffee shop, told her story and spoke about the importance of uplifting marginalized voices. Local dancers, the Kansas Sunlights, performed a modern Thai dance.

Members of the Asian Student Union walked in a Fashion Show showcasing traditional Laotian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian clothing.

Volunteers participated in the Spicy Buldak Noodle Challenge, competing for a labubu figurine.

“Labubu’s have been really popular lately so they’ve been sold out everywhere,” Sisombath said. “I eventually found them at a boba shop on Shawnee Mission Parkway called GOCHA Shawnee.”

Beadleston expands on the weight of celebrating her identity.

“It’s confusing when you have to meld and become a greater part of society, but you want to branch off and celebrate a smaller part of your identity,” Beadleston said. “It can be confusing and difficult to manage.”