By Nina Huang
Northwest Asian Weekly
I started writing for the Northwest Asian Weekly while studying journalism in my junior year of college at the University of Washington.
Having grown up in Honolulu and Taipei, being connected to the Asian community was extremely important to me. The Northwest Asian Weekly was a way for me to feel comfortable and at home in a new city.
Interviewing people has been one of the most rewarding experiences because of the people that I get to meet and their beautiful stories that I get to share.
Some of my favorite stories over the years include some about people’s tattoos and the meaning behind them, commemorating the 40th year of the Khmer Rouge takeover, people who gave up their full-time jobs to pursue their passions, and Asian delicacies.
A lot of the inspiration for my stories come from the people in my own network.
The profile story I wrote about my friend, Yola Lu, was also a fun one because the media attention introduced her to fellow Asian American comediennes on the West Coast. Their common interests allowed them to start the first-ever female Asian American stand-up comedy tour, Disoriented Comedy.
Rebecca Chung Filice, who I met through a mutual friend, went on tour around the world with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. How cool is that!? It was fascinating to hear about her friendship with the musicians and how music has positively impacted her life.
In addition, another friend, Doris Jeong, bravely shared with me her struggles and challenges growing up with dwarfism in today’s society. Her connection to the little people community even allowed her to travel to Paris recently for a fashion show!
As a fan of cooking shows, it was also a treat to interview Seattle chef Taichi Kitamura on what it was like to beat Bobby Flay on national television. His signature gyoza beat out Flay’s dish.
Another fun memory was when I wrote a short piece about SPAM (the food, not the unwanted emails), and received a Spam cookbook in the mail afterwards! That was a nice surprise.
Over the years, not only have I been able to write about inspirational Asian Americans and their achievements, but I’ve written about the importance of composting, public displays of affection, and even marijuana!
I’ve really learned a lot through every interview and every person I’ve met.
So thank you to all the strong and inspirational people who took the time to share their beautiful stories with me.
And a huge thank you to Assunta and the Northwest Asian Weekly, for the financial support through college and the countless opportunities to write award-winning stories and to meet rad Asians, but most of all, reminding me how proud I am to be an Asian American.
Cheers to the next 35 years!
Nina can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.