Hmong Students as Creative Agents of Change Through an Annual Youth Conference

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 4:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Youth (Un)Conference and Testimonio as Educational Research (Table 2)

Abstract

Guided by AsianCrit (Museus & Iftikar, 2013), creative praxis (Vue, 2021), and sib hlub sib pab as capital (Yang, 2023), this critical ethnography explores how HMong college students challenge institutional invisibility through an annual youth conference, which strives to give back to the HMong community. This study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of how significant these conferences are for HMong students in not only creating visibility on college campuses, but also highlighting their ingenuity and commitment to their communities. Through participant observations and semi-structured interviews, the findings reveal the importance of HMong students giving back to their communities, expanding academic and career pathways for HMong students, and underscoring the collective efforts and labor of HMong students.

Author

• Chamee Moua, University of California - Davis