URI honors 2026 Asian Cultural Ambassadors

May 27, 2026
One of this year’s URI Asian Cultural Ambassadors, Alyssa Tsukada (center), shown with Qing (Ken) Yang and Vice President Markeisha Miner
One of this year’s URI Asian Cultural Ambassadors, Alyssa Tsukada (center), shown with Qing (Ken) Yang and Vice President Markeisha Miner. (URI Photo / MSSC)

University’s Asian and Pacific Islander communities join for annual celebration to build understanding and interest and celebrate Asian/Pacific cultures at URI

May 27, 2026

The University of Rhode Island’s fourth annual Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month luncheon celebrated diverse communities found at URI and their partnerships.

The annual program brings speakers to URI each spring to talk about their own educational journeys and how those intersect with heritage. Sociologist Vivian Shaw from Loyola University delivered this year’s keynote address on April 30 in the Memorial Union.

The event also honored student leaders in URI’s Pacific and Asian American communities. From URIGSO, Ph.D. student Alyssa Tsukada was named as a 2025 Asian Cultural Ambassador Award winner.

A first-year Ph.D. student in biological oceanography at URI’s Narragansett Bay Campus, Tsukada said collaboration between people of different backgrounds is foundational in problem-solving. Tsukada grew up in a small town in Alaska. When she headed to Washington state for her undergraduate degree, she met others from different backgrounds and learned new ways to view and approach things: “While some fear that diversity leads to division, it more often introduces possibility,” she said. “When approached with openness, differences become strengths. Collaboration across cultures fosters innovation, empathy, and adaptability. When individuals with varied experiences work together, they arrive at more innovative solutions.” One of the best ways Tsukada has found to connect with her culture and share it with others at URI is through food and art. She has shared her creativity at the Graduate School of Oceanography winter artisans’ market and developed workshops for URI students to try Japanese crafting techniques. She said these events help open important conversations around Asian-American identity. She also has a Studio Blue exhibit now open at the Bay Campus.

Read about the other Asian Cultural Ambassador Award winners in Rhody Today.