Southern
Celebrates

From 1984 to 1993, Ben Bandiola worked as an education professor at Southern, serving as dean of the department for part of that time. Bandiola had earned his master’s degree at Philippine Union College and his doctorate at University of Iowa. He passed away in 2010 at the age of 84.

Born in South Korea, Joseph Eunkwan Choi moved to the United States and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music from Southern in 1995. He further developed his musical skills at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music in Connecticut, receiving a master’s degree. He went on to earn his Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Maryland. Choi’s career has included being a church music director, youth orchestra conductor, band director, and brass instructor. He now holds at least 18 different maestro and guest conducting positions in symphony, chamber, and youth orchestras.

Dayton Chong’s desire to serve in the Seventh-day Adventist Church began early, preaching his first sermon at age 11 in the Southeast Asia Union College Church. Born in Malaysia, he earned master’s degrees in religion and counseling psychology in the United States before returning to his home country to serve. Later, he attended Southern, earning a degree in nursing. He spent the next 25 years serving in church leadership in Michigan and California before retiring in 2003. In 2008, he was honored with the Alumnus of the Year Award at Southern Adventist University.

Best known for his research at Bell Labs and Stanford University involving the cooling and trapping of atoms with laser lights, American physicist and government official, Steven Chu, has dedicated himself to advocate for renewable energy and nuclear power research. Chu’s accomplishments include co-winning the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997, serving as the secretary of energy from 2009-2013, and teaching at the University of California as a professor of physics and professor of molecular and cell biology. The holder of 10 patents, Chu has published nearly 250 scientific and technical papers and continues to research and publish his work.

Southern’s first Asian-American Student Association president, Rhidge Garcia, junior theology major, has been involved in many aspect of student life at Southern, holding numerous leadership positions. During his three years at Southern, the Southern California native has served in dorm chaplaincy, the Asian club, and song service leadership, as well as doing literature evangelism.

Young Huh, mathematical engineer and professor, received Southern’s Young Alumnus of the Year award in 1989. One of Huh’s accomplishments during his time at Southern was completing a 10-week research project in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Student Research Participation Program.

Jennie Dee Janssen works as an assistant curator in the Animal Care and Welfare department at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland. Janssen received her biology degree from Southern and has dedicated her work to providing for the daily care of aquarium life in places like Ripley’s Aquarium in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, the Georgia Aquarium, and now the National Aquarium.

Regarded as one of the world’s greatest watermen, a true Hawaiian hero, and the father of modern surfing, Duke Kahanomoku’s legacy began when he broke the world record in the 100-yard freestyle during his very first year of competition. Kahanamoku went on to win Olympic gold in the 100-meter freestyle and silver in the relay in 1912, followed by two more gold medals in 1920.

American Samoan screenwriter John Kneubuhl has used his accomplished playwriting skills to produce series like The Fugitive, The Wild Wild West, and Star Trek. Kneubuhl used his multicultural heritage as the basis for his dramatic work and as a medium to explore identity and loneliness that could be brought to the big screen.

Michelle Kwan became one of the most decorated U.S. figure skaters in history after becoming a two-time Olympic medalist, five-time world champion, and nine-time U.S. champion. In 2012, Kwan was the sole inductee for the U.S. and World Figure Skating Halls of Fame.

In 2014, author and professor Nilanjana Sudeshna “Jhumpa” Lahiri was presented the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama. Among her many accomplishments, Lahiri was the winner of the 29^th PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the short story category and her first novel, The Namesake, was also adapted into a popular film.

Anandibai “Anandi” Gopal Joshi was a trailblazer for Indian woman who desired to study medicine, becoming the first female graduate to earn a two-year degree in western medicine in the United States. Although she died young, Joshi’s legacy led the Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences to begin awarding the Anandibai Joshi Award for Medicine in honor of her contributions to medicine.

In the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, Samuel “Sammy” Lee became the first and oldest male diver ever to win back-to-back gold medals for platform diving. Lee was born in Fresno, California, to Korean immigrants and went on to become a physician and diver. Though his days of competing came to an end shortly after, Lee continued in the sport as the coach of the 1960 U.S. Olympic diving team. In 1986, Lee helped establish the Korean Heritage Library in one of University of Southern California’s Libraries.

Jeremy Lin is one of the few Asian-Americans in National Basketball Association (NBA) history and the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the league. The 29-year old currently plays for the Brooklyn Nets after bouncing around several teams, including the Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Lakers. After become a starter for the Knicks, Lin had a winning streak that gained him national attention and the term “Linsanity” was born.

Sculptor, artist, educator, and architect, Maya Lin is best known for her design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Lin was born to two Chinese intellectuals who fled during the Communist takeover. She made her own legacy by studying architecture and sculpture at Yale University and, at the age of 21, became a winning contestant at her alma mater for her designs of a monument.

Born to Chinese parents in France, child prodigy Yo-Yo Ma graduated from the Juilliard School and Harvard University, leading to a prolific career as a cello soloist. Ma has recorded more than 90 albums and received 18 Grammy Awards throughout his career.

Serving two presidents, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Norman Mineta was the longest-serving transportation secretary in the department’s history and the first Asian-American to hold a post in the presidential cabinet. Previously in his long political career, he also served as mayor of San Jose, California—the first Japanese-American to hold the position—and in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he was reelected 10 times.

Afong Moy was the first female Chinese immigrant to the United States. Upon her arrival in 1834, she established a life as a human exhibit. Moy’s short and enigmatic appearance fascinated Americans, leading to a celebrity-like status that helped spread an appreciation of Asian culture across the country.

Indra Nooyi was ranked as the second most powerful woman in the world in 2015 by Fortune. Beginning her career in India, Nooyi earned master’s degrees in business and in management. In 1994 she joined PepsiCo (the second largest food and beverage business in the world), rising through the ranks to chief financial officer. She now serves as the chair and chief executive officer of the company.

Ellison Onizuka was the first Asian-American and first Hawaiian astronaut to reach space. His first mission was on the space shuttle Discovery. Unfortunately, Onizuka’s second mission was on the space shuttle Challenger in January 1986, which broke apart at takeoff, killing all on board. Onizuka’s legacy lives on including an annual Astronaut Ellison Onizuka Science Day at the University of Hawai’i-Hilo, multiple streets named after him, and the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy.

American politician, Dalip Singh Saund, broke many barriers when he became a member of the United States House of Representatives in 1957. Saund was the first Sikh American, the first Asian-American, the first Indian-American, and the first member of a non-Abrahamic faith to be elected to Congress. Besides politics, Saund’s career included mathematician, farmer, author, activist, and judge.

Best-selling author Amy Tan became well-known for her first novel The Joy Luck Club , which explored the relationship between Chinese women and their Chinese-American daughters. The book received the Los Angeles Times Book Award and was translated into 25 languages. Tan has also written several other novels, including Saving Fish from Drowning, The Hundred Secret Senses , and The Bonesetter’s Daughter.

Alice Loh Wong and her late husband, John, established the nonprofit organization U.S. China Christian Institute (USCCI) in 1999. Through USCCI, the John B. and Alice L. Wong Endowment Fund created a scholarship for students attending Southern Adventist University. Wong was honored with the 2017 Distinguished Service Alumna of the Year Award for her dedication to Christian education and philanthropic service.

Anna May Wong was the first Chinese-American movie star to appear in silent film, sound film, television, stage, and radio. Wong was also one of the first Chinese-American movie stars to gain international recognition.

Taiwanese-born entrepreneur Jerry Yang co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in 1994, later serving as chief financial officer. In 1999, Yang was named one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35. Rob Solomon of Accel Partners said Yang “created the blueprint for what is possible on the Internet.”