June Yom Award

The June Yom Student Award

The June Yom Student Award, gift of Eugene Y. Lao ‘91, supports a current UNC Chapel Hill student with a grant of $2500. We are delighted to be able to offer this award this year to support students during the summer of 2024. These funds can support an individual student to conduct research on an academic/professional project, work on an artistic project, or take an unpaid internship; the focus of any proposed work must be Asian American communities/studies. 

Recipients are expected to engage in the project’s work for at least 8 weeks, with an average of 20 hours/week during the summer. Recipients will be asked to meet with AAC staff to check in before the start of work and monthly during the summer, and to provide a brief written summary of the grant’s impact in the last week. 

To apply, please fill out the online form (deadline: Friday, April 5th, 11:59 p.m. ET). You will be asked to provide the following information: 

1. Basic identifying information (name, contact information, major)
2. Minimum 500-word description of project. Please describe the research/artistic/community work to be performed and the expected summer output or result; if a part of a larger project, a brief description of that and its expected trajectory/output/timeline; relevant experience or previous work.
3. Up-to-date transcript (can be downloaded from Connect Carolina) 
4. For a research/artistic project: 
   1. Name and contact information for a faculty advisor/supervisor
   2. If an independent/external project, a faculty member who has agreed to serve as a reference.
   3. A formal reference letter will not be required but references will be contacted for finalists.
5. For a community project/internship:  
   1. Name(s) of community partner/internship hosting organization
   2. Name, title, and contact information of a supervisor/partner (the AAC may contact them occasionally to verify involvement/progress)
   3. Before your award can be confirmed, we will email you and ask you to ensure that a responsible party at the community partner/internship host emails aac@unc.edu directly to verify 1) your summer work with them (type and extent) 2) that they will provide support/partnership/supervision and 3) that this work is unpaid.
   4. If there is no community partner at all, you must attach a brief explanation of why this is and how you are accomplishing your project.
6. Optional: You may attach links or samples of previous work (e.g. previous artistic work, a seminar paper on a related topic, early draft, etc.).

APPLICATION LINK

Deadline: Friday, April 5th, 11:59 p.m. ET

About: June Yom graduated from UNC in 2020 majoring in global Studies and Public Policy. During her time at Carolina, she was actively involved with the Asian American Students Association (AASA). June served as the Cultural Chair leading the annual showcase Journey Into Asia (JIA), creating the 2019 theme “DISorient” inspired by Edward Said’s Orientalism. She later became President of AASA while also working as a founding member of the Asian American Center Campaign student team. June is now currently a Master of Public Policy candidate at the University of Chicago studying Economic Policy. Upon graduation 2022, she will join the Public Finance Investment Banking team at UBS in New York City.

This gift honors June’s commitment to the Asian American student community and her role in envisioning and advocating for an Asian American Center.