Theresa Cha Prize

At the end of Spring Semester 2009, Dionne Jirachaikitti, an Asian American Studies minor, received the 2008 Theresa Hak Kyung Cha Fellowship of $1,000. While maintaining a 3.5 grade point average, Dionne proved to be a committed student activist. She served the Early Academic Outreach Program through AmeriCorps as an elective instructor, college adviser, and event coordinator for low-income high school students. She was also an intern for REACH! API Recruitment and Retention Center and participated in the campaign to repeal Proposition 209. During her last two years at UC, she worked as Southeast Asian Student Coalition (SASC) Operations Chair, Mentor, and Volunteer Coordinator. She helped organize rallies and lobby visits in Sacramento and Washington D.C. on behalf of student welfare issues, such as affordability of education and campus safety. She was elected ASUC External Affairs Vice President as well as Chair of the National Asian Pacific American Student Coalition.