Kai-Lin Wei

(un)Jaded was inspired by the countless conversations between Abby, J, and myself surrounding belonging, wellness, and connection among AAPI students at UT. We were proud of our heritages but bonded over the way certain traditional values or generational gaps in cultural understanding could chafe up against our American upbringing. As freshmen in 2019, we were all actively searching for AAPI communities on campus but couldn't find one that specifically focused on building the skills to navigate these tensions. The vision was to not only bring AAPI students together, but create a highly intentional space where vulnerabilities could be shared and true community built.

A beautiful community, incredible learning experiences, and lifelong relationships have come out of this project. Abby and J are, to this day, the best friends I continuously look to for advice and inspiration. We're pursuing different careers, living in different cities, and chasing different dreams — on my end, I'm wrapping up a cross-country move from San Francisco to start a new role at Google New York this summer — but I think we still all fundamentally care about the same things. We're inspired by our people. We're committed to carrying our histories with pride while still feeling empowered to explore new paths to prosperity. And we're thrilled to see what the next generation of AAPI Americans will bring to our ever-evolving culture. At this point, we're ready to learn from you!