Leo Wong graduated from Syracuse University nearly five years ago, but for him, it feels like he never left. He frequently visits as an industry professional to discuss his career path with students, holding workshops as an opportunity to share the relationship-building skills he’s acquired over the years.

Wong will speak about his personal experiences as an Asian American as part of the “Paving the Way Alumni Speaker Series,” held as part of SU’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The event is co-hosted by Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Multicultural Advancement and will take place Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Bird Library Room 114.

“It’ll essentially be my story,” Wong said. “I’ll be very open and vulnerable and share my story of where I grew up, my experiences at Syracuse, kind of my journey into the industry and how I leaned into my cultural identity.”

Wong will also talk about embracing both his Asian American identity and community. He hopes by sharing his own experiences, it will encourage others to do the same.

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Growing up in San Gabriel, California — a “mecca” for Asian immigrants, he said — he was surrounded by people who looked like him. Coming to Syracuse made Wong realize how much he took for granted, as well as pushed him to rethink how his ethnic identity has played a role in his life.

During his time as an advertising student at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Wong immersed himself in opportunities that recognized multicultural talents. These included being selected for 4A’s Multicultural Advertising Intern Program and being named a 2018 Most Promising Multicultural Student Program Rising Star.

He was a student tour guide as part of University 100, a Remembrance Scholar, a University Marshal, a founding member of the all-male a cappella group Otto Tunes and a performer in the student-run theater group First Year Players.

After graduation, Wong Pursued an account management role at Digitas, a marketing and technology agency. He said this experience in a more client-facing, people-managing leadership role offered him a unique perspective.

“There aren’t inherently a lot of Asian American leaders in the industry, let alone Asian American people,” Wong said. He added that some Asian Americans are placed into more “stereotypical” roles, like finance and design, as they relate back to the cultural background and upbringing that focuses on owning a specific skill and excelling at it.

Those skills, Wong said, often land Asian Americans in more behind-the-scenes roles, but he said he has a very open, type A personality.

His mother was a creative in the fashion industry and naturally worked with many different types of people. “She raised me to take people for who they are rather than at face value of what they look like,” said Wong, and he himself is an embodiment of that.

Bryan Dosono, a PhD candidate in the School of Information Studies and an involved member of AAPI Heritage Month’s planning committee, said the month-long celebration has changed its trajectory in recent years. He said it speaks to the changing identity of Asian Americans at-large, and has led him to rethink how he perceives his own Filipino American identity and the position of his community in the fabric of America.

“It’s really just getting to see everyone make their big dent in the world, and they all started because they had one way of perceiving their identity and [they share] their transformation with us,” said Dosono, who took a co-chair position within the committee.

While the national AAPI Heritage Month takes place every May, it’s celebrated with students on campus in April. It’s a bittersweet time, Dosono said, as he will graduate from SU in a few weeks.

“April’s always hectic, [but] the graduates always walk away with a more assured sense of themselves,” said Dosono.

 

He also pointed out the intersectionality of AAPI Heritage Month’s programming as a mashing of many things, from examining queer and transgender identities, Asian masculinity and Asian activism and archival work, to showcasing Asian talent and comedy.

Wong currently serves as the vice president of Generation Orange Leadership Council, helping young alumni stay engaged with SU. He also works as an adjunct professor at the University of Oklahoma, preparing students on how to navigate the communications field after graduation, and serves as a director of the A100 List at Gold House, a collective of Asian voices and leaders in the creative spaces dedicated to cross-cultural collaboration.

“I do this because I feel like I have the opportunity to be a part of someone’s journey and impact it hopefully for the better,” said Wong.

Mitchell Liang, a junior systems information science major and president of the student organization Asian Students in America, had a similar experience with Wong. Growing up surrounded by the Asian community in New York City, he said he didn’t feel the need to actively process that aspect of his identity and being a minority.

For Liang, seeing Arden Cho as the Commemorative Speaker for AAPI Heritage Month his freshman year and witnessing the student organizations and initiatives on campus inspired him to learn more about Asian identity.

He said that bringing back alumni to share their stories is important since there aren’t many role models to look for in the media industry, Liang said. He added Asian Americans have struggled to break the “bamboo ceiling” to assume more leadership roles and many remain in the working class.

“I think we’re kind of in that transitional period where change is happening,” said Wong. “So it’s going to be bumpy, there’s going to be hiccups along the way, but I think it’s all for the better.”

Published on April 7, 2019 at 10:15 pm

Contact Jiaman: jpeng04@syr.edu