Fordham Law’s Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA) fosters a supportive community for Asian Americans at the Law School. Throughout the year, APALSA hosts events that promote mentorship and academic support as well as opportunities for socializing and fun. In the Q&A below, Lyvia Yan ’26, APALSA president, spoke about how the group is celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this May.
Why is it important to have APALSA at Fordham Law School?
A lot of Asian Americans are first generation law students, and having a place where we can meet, socialize, and have a network of people who look like us and have similar experiences is very special. I found it especially helpful during my 1L year, which can be very stressful. I’ve really just loved my experience at APALSA, being able to look up to 2Ls and 3Ls, and having built-in mentors and friendships.
It’s really important to have a strong APALSA presence for other Asian American students and for anybody who’s curious about Asian American culture or what it’s like to be an Asian American lawyer. It’s just a very special group, and I’m fortunate that it’s at Fordham Law School.
Can you share a memorable APALSA event or initiative from past years?
This year, we organized a law school APALSA mixer between different schools in New York and New Jersey, including St John’s, Cardozo, NYU, and Brooklyn Law. We booked a bar near Chinatown and we had maybe 90 to 100 students come out. It was such a great way for people to expand their network beyond Fordham.
We also hosted a trial reenactment in the spring with Judge Denny Chin ’78 of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, that was massively attended. It’s an event where students, alumni, and community members come to learn about a trial that was important in Asian American history. This past year, the trial reenactment was 12 Lewd Women, which was about these women who were on trial because they were suspected to be prostitutes. It’s very cool to be able to highlight an important case through a reenactment.
Why is it important to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month?
Throughout the year, we have Chinese New Year, Korean New Year, and other holidays, but having an entire month that’s devoted to the Asian American community is really special. It’s an opportunity to really reflect on the trailblazers within the Asian American legal profession, and also personally reflect on what it’s like having an Asian American identity. Having a whole month dedicated to Asian Americans and the culture, the heritage, and the people, helps me to reflect on the people in the past—especially my parents—who have paved the way to get me to where I am today.
What do you enjoy most about being a part of APALSA and why?
My favorite part of APALSA is the people. My joke answer is also the food, because I’m a big foodie, so I find that being able to bond over conversation and a meal is really nice. We have lots of events throughout the year—meetings or outline sessions or academic prep—but our fall dinner and our spring dinner are our most well attended events because it’s just piles and piles of delicious food, some drinks, and great conversation.
How can students get involved with APALSA?
There are so many ways to get involved. You can come to one meeting, or you can come to every meeting! Our programming ranges from informal happy hours to outlining events. We also collaborate a lot with the other affinity groups, such as Fordham Business and Law Association and Fordham Law Women to create programming geared towards 1Ls to help them adjust to the law school life and set them up for success.
Coming to law school can be intimidating and making friends can be a nerve-wracking experience. I would encourage everyone—even if you’re just curious, or hungry and you want a little snack!—to come out to our events. You can come and stay for five minutes if you want! There’s just such good conversation, and it’s a great community. Lots of alumni attend our events who are so willing to mentor students, or even just chat about their experiences and learn about what law school is like these days. Everyone is very warm and welcoming.
What’s the best way for students to stay connected with APALSA and stay in touch?
We have an Instagram account (@fordham_apalsa) and an email blast — reach out to us at apalsa@fordham.edu to get added to the newsletter list!