Students from five private schools in the Boston area gathered at the Upper School (US) on Thursday, Feb. 27 to celebrate their Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) heritage. The Noble & Greenough School hosted the inaugural event last year for two other Independent School League (ISL) institutions: the US and The Rivers School. This year, over 60 AANHPI-identifying students from The Noble & Greenough School, The Rivers School, The Winsor School, and The Roxbury Latin School attended the US’s conference, which was primarily facilitated and planned by each of the school’s AANHPI affinity group leaders.
Over dinner, students at designated tables discussed prepared prompts, ranging from if pineapple should be on pizza to their experience identifying as AANHPI at a private school. A few heated rounds of Pictionary and Wavelength ended the night.
Asian American Student Association (AASA) Faculty Advisor Scott Tang said the conference was valuable as an opportunity to enjoy time with other students.
“The purpose was to get students to connect and to see some commonalities in their experience as young students of color in an
independent school,” he said. “Not only comparing experiences but at the same time just getting to know one another and have fun together.”
Designating a space for AANHPI-identifying students is especially important as these types of conversations rarely include them, Mr. Tang said.
“Many of our conversations concerning racial identity and race relations focus on the experiences of black and brown students, and it can be hard to see how you fit into these conversations. It certainly feels safe and reaffirming to be visible in a space with people like you.”
South Asian Student Alliance (SASA) Co-President Nikhil Babbar ’25 said one of the most insightful parts of the conference was familiarizing himself with AANHPI cultures apart from his own, he said.
“It was really good to learn about how they celebrate their different cultures and talk about it.” Leah Jin ’25, who is a member of The Rivers School’s AAPI group, also thought it was beneficial to see how affinity spaces function at other schools.
“I think besides creating solidarity among Asian students at these schools, it was valuable to compare what our DEI programming was like,” she said. “Some had interesting programming that I think would be worth implementing at my school!”
Despite a lack of diversity at Rivers, Leah said she found community with other ISL students at the conference.
“It was nice to be in a community with people alike me because the racial diversity at my school, and probably at any ISL school in general, is not amazing,” she said. “I noticed that while our numbers aren’t great, we have a lot of cultural competency programming in comparison, but there’s still always a sense of loneliness in being the very few that actually take anything away from that work. Being with a big group of people who have experienced similar struggles and celebrations was comforting!”
AASA member You-Yan Wang ’26 said he enjoyed seeing how students at different schools express their AANHPI identity.
“I think that it’s really valuable being able to expand to different schools and learn about how they experience things differently. At Winsor, for example, their Asian- American Student Association worked a little bit different from ours in how they dealt with various problems at their school, and I think hearing about that was really insightful.”
The event fostered belonging and understanding through talking about similarities, You-Yan said.
“I think it’s just being surrounded by people who have the same experiences, I think it creates a deeper level of understanding between kids,” he said. “You come from a similar family, similar background, your parents expect the same things out of you. That can strengthen bonds between people.”
SASA member Viena Desai ’26 said while the event allowed students to talk about their shared challenges, it also helped her realize that her experience as a South- Asian US student has been positive.
“I’ve had a good chance and opportunity to find time where I can meet and be with other AAPI identifying students,” she said. “Not only can we talk about parental pressure or things that we identify with, we can also just have a good time, come together, and play a game. It’s a part of my week that I really enjoy.”
