The Thomas Tam Scholarship is funded by an endowment established by the City University of New York in recognition of Dr. Thomas Tam’s contributions as a former member of the CUNY Board of Trustees, founding Executive Director of the Asian American / Asian Research Institute, and leadership in the Asian American community. The Scholarship awards $1,000 to an individual qualified undergraduate student that is currently enrolled at any of the twenty-one colleges within CUNY, Asian or non-Asian, who has demonstrated creativity in the communication of the concerns of the Asian American community in areas such as health, education, culture, media or advocacy/activism.
2021 Recipient
Vikii Wong (CUNY School of Professional Studies)
Project: Stop Asian Hate
Ms. Vikii Wong, a Communications and Media major, is in the early stages of researching on the Stop Asian Hate movement, based on a class paper that examined social movements through social media. Vikii will gather qualitative and quantitative data on the status of Asian hate crimes, including the March 2021 spa shootings in Atlanta, Georgia. She plans to raise awareness by learning about the current state of Asian hate in the United States, and perhaps Canada—as Vancouver has a large Asian population. Knowing the status of Asian hate will help inform people about ways that they can stop/deter hate crimes through forming strategies on what to do next (of which she currently does not have an answer). After her report is completed, Vikii would like to contribute her findings to the online reporting website/organization, Stop AAPI Hate, and assist them in their advocacy efforts.
Vikii is a first-generation American born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Her late immigrant parents are Toisan-Chinese from Myanmar (formerly Burma). Growing up, she spoke English with her three sisters, and broken Toisanese with her parents and grandparents. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her partner in life.
Application Guidelines
2021 Scholarship Application Form (Download)
All currently enrolled CUNY undergraduate students are eligible to apply for the Thomas Tam Scholarship.
Display of communication of the concerns of the Asian American community can be in the form of written reports, film, video, new media techniques, and the development of performances or materials in the arts and sciences.
The following are the issues to be addressed in your application for the Tam Scholarship. Please be sure to cover all of the points in your application.
- Please describe your project in detail, be sure to tell us about the issue of concern to the Asian American community that the project is designed to address.
- Please explain how your project demonstrates creativity in communicating the concerns of Asian Americans in areas such as health, education, culture, media and advocacy.
- What are the objectives or goals of the project, i.e. what do you want to accomplish, or what impact or effect will it have? How will you know that it has been successful?
- How was the project implemented, or if in progress or a future project, please describe how it will be implemented?
- Is the project completed, is it in progress or is it a future project? (Note: Uncompleted/future projects will only receive partial scholarship award until they are completed.)
Scholarship Committee: Russell Leong, Joyce Moy & Pearl Tam
Coordinator: William Tam
