The Lunar New Year is not celebrated solely by the Chinese; different Asian communities each have their own traditions for celebrating this festival. It comes from the lunar calendar and falls on a different day each year. Additionally, each year represents an animal in the Chinese zodiac cycle of 12 years.

The co-chairs of Augsburg Asian Student Association (AASA), Issei Kashima and Nikki Yang, hope the celebration will expose Augsburg students to the diversity of Asian cultures as each culture brings its own unique beauty to enriching this College’s community.

“I find it beautiful that though some students have lived in America a long time they still keep their traditions alive,” Yang said. The Lunar New Year event is a time of renewal and of family and friends, and AASA welcomes their Augsburg family to participate in this meaningful celebration.

Penh Lo, the advisor of AASA and director of Pan-Asian student affairs, relates this to Augsburg’s mission statement, which involves educating students to become “informed citizens.” He hopes this event will lift up the presence of the Asian communities here and better inform the student body that there is a significant number of students who do not come from a Lutheran and/or Scandinavian background. Currently Asian students make up the second largest population of students of color at Augsburg.

The event is free and will include food, Chinese calligraphy, a traditional Vietnamese dance, and a great opportunity to enjoy time together. There will be Lion Dances, which represent a god coming down to earth to chase away bad omens; this is a way to bring in the blessing of a new year. A fashion show will also be held, showcasing the traditional outfits of various Asian cultures. Events will be held in the commons of Christensen on Friday, Feb. 4 from 5-8 p.m.

Article by Katelyn Danelski

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In her four years at Augsburg, Chang has participated in the TRiO program and was involved in Scholastic Connections. She’s done research as a McNair Scholar and through the URGO summer program. She’s been a member of the Augsburg Asian Student Association and Link. She also studied abroad, spending a semester in South Korea and teaching English in Thailand with Prof. Kathy Swanson.

For the last two years, Chang was involved in the Phillips Scholar program where she created the “C Project – Cultivating a Caring Community” and provided activities and programming for homeless Hmong refugee children in partnership with Southeast Asian Community Council.

Chang, a biology and English major with a minor in writing, learned about Augsburg through the Upward Bound program in her high school. She has enjoyed the small campus community and the fact that professors and staff take opportunities to get to know students personally. “I feel very alive on campus. There’s always someone you know, someone you pass by who says hello and stops to talk to you.”

In her speech at the May commencement ceremony, Chang will talk about how civic engagement, “…how it’s integrated into our everyday lives and how we live that through our education at Augsburg.”

Chang says that for her, civic engagement means being an active student but also getting involved outside of Augsburg—locally and globally. “It means going out into the community and taking the opportunity to have dialogue with people and to build relationships.”

In her time at Augsburg, Nou Chang has definitely learned a lot about civic engagement. And her commitment is likely to continue after she leaves Augsburg. She is waiting to hear about a Fulbright Scholarship and hopes to teach English in Thailand for a year before applying to medical school.

Wherever she goes, you can bet she’ll be right in the center of the action. Congratulations Nou, and good luck!

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