A Big Milestone for WAVES: Moving Into Our First Office! | | |
We’ll never forget April 2026, because it marks the month we moved into our very first office! Located at 800 Park Offices Drive in Research Triangle Park, this space allows us a central, professional place to convene, collaborate, and continue our mission of promoting wellbeing, providing invaluable education, conducting groundbreaking research, and elevating voices in the AAPI community. To say we’re excited is an understatement.
You can catch us in room 3701. We already know this new place is going to serve as a huge asset in connecting with the community. Here’s to another chapter of making WAVES!
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Mark Your Calendars for WAVES' Open House!
In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re bringing our community together to celebrate culture, promote wellness through engaging activities, and connect with one another. Better yet? Refreshments will be provided! Here's everything you need to know.
When: Thursday, May 28 | 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Where: Room 3701, 800 Park Offices Dr, RTP, NC
We hope to see you there!
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Mark Your Calendars for the UCA WAVES Mental Health Summit at UCA’s 2026 Chinese American Convention! |
Join us in Las Vegas at UCA’s 2026 Chinese American Convention for a once-in-a-decade event that will bring together 1,000 community activists, elected officials, youth leaders, and business pioneers in the country’s biggest celebration city.
There, we’ll be holding the UCA WAVES Mental Health Summit. Participants will be invited to share their passion projects, listen to speakers who inspire, witness learning that changes lives, and make memories to last a lifetime. Here’s what you need to know:
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When: June 28th - July 1st
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Where: Caesars Palace, 3570 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Paradise, NV 89109
If you’re ready to register or looking to learn more, click on the button below!
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Call for Poster Presentations!
The 2026 UCA Youth Convention is now accepting abstract submissions for poster presentations. We invite projects that explore and promote well-being among AAPI youth, families, and communities.
Merit Awards will be available for youth presenters (ages 15-24 years).
If you’re ready to submit or looking to learn more, click on the button below! Questions? Email info@ucawaves.org.
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Spreading Kindness for Raj Mehta Day of Good
This year, we were honored to participate in Raj Mehta Day of Good. What started as a simple Facebook post six years ago to honor the legacy left by 19-year-old Raj Samir Mehta has now blossomed into a movement with supporters around the globe.
Held annually on April 15th, Raj’s birthday, Day of Good encourages others to spread positivity and carry out acts of kindness to emulate the light he brought to the world. UCA WAVES and the Hmong Student Association of Carolina (UNC HSAC) came together to celebrate and create a space for compassion, connection, and community. The event was led by WAVES administrative assistant and UNC HSAC co-founding chair, Naialie Lor. We created postcards and a gratitude wall filled with meaningful messages. It was a beautiful gathering marked by making memories and cultivating compassion—nobody wanted to leave!
Raj Mehta Day of Good is about being there for one another in big ways and small—let’s keep that energy going. If you’d like to learn more about this initiative, you can click on the button below!
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Come See Alan Z at the UCA WAVES Mental Health Summit!
If you weren’t yet convinced to join us in Las Vegas this summer, you might be now! We’re elated to share that the UCA WAVES Mental Health Summit will feature second-generation Chinese American rapper, singer, and actor, Alan Z. With over 100,000 followers, collaborations with hip-hop legends, Asian American icons, and K-pop idols, and an album centered on AAPI identity, Alan is a powerful voice for this generation.
In an illuminating session, he'll speak candidly about AAPI mental health and his experience working in the entertainment industry as an Asian American. Coming off the May 2026 release of I Love Boosters, in which he appears alongside Keke Palmer and Demi Moore, this discussion will be ripe with insight and authenticity. Trust us, you don't want to miss it!
This session will be held on Monday, June 29th at Caesars Palace, 3570 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Paradise, NV 89109. Ready to register? Or maybe you just want to hear more about what’s in store for the conference? Click on the button below!
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Volunteers Gather for Team Building Event
We kicked off April with a deep sense of warmth and connection. Fifteen of our volunteers and advocates—including board member Representative Maria Cervania—came together for a family-style dinner filled with love, levity, and plenty of laughter.
Moments like these are at the heart of our organization. They remind us why we do this work and how meaningful it is to build community with one another. Thank you to everyone who joined us. Your presence is what makes WAVES so special!
Interested in getting involved with WAVES? We’d love to have you. Click the button below to learn more!
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Attention Parents: Don’t Miss this Amazing Session with Dr. Panda!
We’ve got another exciting session to share! Join Dr. Yi Jia, “Doctor Panda”（美国熊猫医生）for a parent-focused session at the Mental Health Summit on family well-being, balance, and resilience. This session will be held in Chinese. As a physician who has cared for over 35,000 patients and a dedicated community advocate, he brings practical, culturally grounded insights to help families navigate everyday challenges with clarity and confidence.
This session will be held on Monday, June 29th at Caesars Palace, 3570 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Paradise, NV 89109. Ready to register? Or maybe you just want to hear more about what’s in store for the conference? Click on the button below!
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WAVES Corner: Alli Premieres Groundbreaking Documentary!
This was a very special month for one of our members! WAVES Creative Director, Alli (known professionally as “A.C. Brooke”), premiered her film Paper Birds on Saturday, April 14th in observation of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The screening took place at her alma mater, Millersville University, where she first began working on the project under Dr. Changfu Chang, the director of Silent War.
The 30-minute piece explores fragmented and recovered memories—a common phenomenon for survivors of childhood trauma. Alli notes that her inspiration behind the film came from noticing a gap in media representation, stating in the film, “I remember finding a subreddit for adult survivors of CSA and going through the posts being like, ‘I could’ve written this.’ From there I was able to figure out what I was experiencing and piece things together. But what I couldn’t figure out was, ‘Why is no one talking about it?’”
Following the screening, a panel was held featuring several professionals from relevant organizations coming together to hold an illuminating discussion on trauma and healing. The panelists explored common misconceptions, challenges survivors often face, and what it means when we say ‘the body keeps the score.’ But most importantly, they offered hope in the form of new ideas, sharing available resources, and weaving in their own lived experiences to emphasize that healing really is possible. It was a beautiful event, and we’re lucky that a few additional WAVES members were even able to attend in-person and virtually!
When we think of what WAVES stands for, so much of it is this: breaking silence and finding strength through storytelling and community. Congratulations, Alli! We are so proud of you.
Want to learn more about #ProjectPaperBirds? Click on the button below!
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FREE Webinar on AAPI Youth Mental Health!
May marks Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, and we’ve got an illuminating event to share that you won’t want to miss.
Brought to you by the APIC (Asian & Pacific Islander Caucus for Public Health) and in partnership with UCA WAVES, our very own executive director, Lily, will take the virtual stage in this upcoming webinar to talk about the mental health crisis in our community and the cultural, emotional, and systemic barriers contributing to it. But just as importantly, she’ll be exploring how storytelling and education can work together to empower individuals and communities to find healing. Here’s everything you need to know:
When: May 13th | 4:00 PM EST
Where: Zoom
Register: At the button below!
Best of all? It’s absolutely FREE! Sign up, spread the word, and join us for a timely discussion about AAPI youth mental health.
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Reflecting on April: Awareness, Healing, and Making Connections
April invited us into deeper awareness, especially of the ways mental health is shaped by experience, identity, and environment. Through Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we centered the realities of trauma and the importance of compassionate, accessible support for survivors. For Autism Awareness Month, we explored the intersection of autism and mental health, uplifting both the challenges individuals may face and the importance of embracing neurodiversity with understanding and respect.
We also explored the grounding power of nature in our most recent Wellness Wednesday edition, sharing simple ways to reset and reconnect in everyday life this spring. Together, these conversations reflect a core belief at WAVES: that meaningful change starts with awareness, but grows through empathy, intention, and consistent care, both for ourselves and for one another.
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View more of our events and programs,
please visit UCA WAVES Calendar↓
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This newsletter is bilingual. Please scroll down for the Chinese version.
本通讯为双语版本。请向下滚动查看中文版。
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