2024 APIQWTC Scholarship Awardees!

Brittany Ladion-Lucero (she/her) is a queer, second-generation Filipino-American born and raised in Stockton, CA. Starting in the summer of 2023, she returned to school to pursue an A.S. in Automotive Technology at Skyline College. She also interns at a Hybrid and EV specialist shop located in San Francisco, CA. Besides her internship and studies, she helps the on-campus lab technician with the school’s fleet vehicles and is working towards becoming an ASE (the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence) Master Certified Technician. In the future, she hopes to either work in public transportation or open up an auto repair and coffee shop. She is extremely grateful and honored to be the first recipient of the Terri Higa Memorial Scholarship.

Michelle Vong (she/her) is an incoming freshman at Yale University majoring in Ethics, Politics, and Economics, with a potential minor in English. Being raised in the Bay Area, Michelle has immersed herself in diverse communities and narratives that have profoundly influenced her work as the writer and artist she is today. As the 2023 Vice Oakland Youth Poet Laureate, Michelle has actively engaged in writing workshops, book giveaways, and open mic events tailored for Bay Area youth, channeling her queer and Asian-American voice through her poetry. Off-stage, she serves as the prop master and theater technician for her school’s theater program that primarily serves queer youth. In the future, Michelle aims to integrate her interests in storytelling and economics to explore the legal and technical aspects of entertainment and media. Michelle plans to attend law school after her undergraduate studies, leveraging her advocacy skills to effect systemic change, particularly in immigrant communities. Whether as a lawyer, professor, journalist, novelist, or legal advocate, she remains committed to amplifying underrepresented voices and advocating for equity, rooted in her dedication to community engagement and social justice.

Veronica Takenaka (she/her) is a transgender, fourth generation Japanese American woman from Salt Lake City, Utah. She is excited to be going to the University of Utah this fall, going in Undeclared. Some of her favorite highlights have been her work for the community as drag persona “Aiko Thee Empress”, as well as being the President of the Women’s Alliance Club and Queer History Club at her school. She is also the Head Manager of West Winds, the literary arts club at her school. This goes alongside her work as an activist, inspiring countless walkouts and protests in her local community. Some of her proudest achievements of her career have been as the main cohost of Youth Utah Pride in 2023, as well as being featured in the Teen Vogue article, “This Teen Activist Is Taking on Anti-Trans Laws in Utah.” She is hoping to work towards becoming a Clinical Therapist and help queer youth find community and comfort, and to work towards better mental health for all. She also hopes to continue her work as an activist, and continue to spread her message to the world.

Zibanur Turfan (she/her) is a queer, first-generation Uyghur-American student attending the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), College of Arts and Sciences in August as a first-year student. During her senior year of high school, Zibanur dedicated her capstone project to spreading awareness of the Uyghur genocide. Uyghurs are the ingenious people of Xinjiang, China, which was forcibly annexed in 1955. Things grew worse in 2013 as they began sending Uyghurs to concentration camps, put them through forced labor, and even massacred them in organ farms. She wrote a paper on her research and spoke to full-time activists such as Jewher Ilham and Rushan Abbas and received advice. She then reached out to her school to ensure they weren’t using any products linked to Uyghur forced labor. She was also invited to present her research at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). Although she is new to the world of activism, this entire experience has opened a door for Zibanur; it proved that anyone could initiate action and make concrete change. With this hope, she looks forward to doing more activism work from college and onward.