Simsbury HS To Host sian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Event This Week

SIMSBURY, CT — Simsbury High School students will spotlight identity, representation and civic engagement during a public Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month program later this week.

The program, available for the public to see via live stream, is expected to feature recent taped interviews with Connecticut Attorney General William Tong.

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The initiative, titled "Make Us Count: Stories of Representation & Belonging," is part of a student-led project connected to a dual-enrollment Asian American Studies course offered through the University of Connecticut Early College Experience program.

Highlights from the interview will appear in a student-produced documentary scheduled to premiere during the featured program on Thursday, May 22, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Simsbury High School.

The full interview is also be available through Simsbury Community Media.

The May 22 event will include student performances, a panel discussion with students and scholars, and a live conversation with author Celeste Ng, whose novel Everything I Never Told You serves as a central text for the course.

Organizers said the program explores themes of invisibility, belonging, and identity through literature and oral storytelling.

Following the morning program, educators from across the region are invited to attend a professional learning session focused on integrating Asian American Studies into classrooms through UConn’s Early College Experience program.

Students participating in the course have spent the year conducting oral history interviews with community members, alumni, and public officials to document stories they say are often underrepresented in traditional school curricula.

Among the project’s featured interviews is a recent conversation with Attorney General William Tong conducted at Simsbury Community Media.

Students discussed identity, representation and public service with Tong, Connecticut’s first Asian American statewide elected official.

“This project empowers students to see themselves as historians, storytellers, and changemakers,” said Michelle Henry, Simsbury High School English teacher and project lead. “Interviewing Attorney General Tong helped students connect personal identity to larger civic and historical narratives.”

The broader initiative reflects Connecticut’s ongoing efforts to expand Asian American Studies offerings in schools following new statewide curriculum requirements.

The project was developed by Henry in partnership with University of Connecticut professor Jason Chang and has previously been highlighted by Education Week as a model for expanding access to Asian American Studies courses.

The Make Us Count initiative is supported in part by Connecticut Humanities and community partners, including the Asian Pacific American Coalition of Connecticut, Simsbury Community Media, the Simsbury Public Library, and UConn Early College Experience.

Public access to the May 22 program will be available through a livestream and a watch party hosted by the Simsbury Public Library.

To receive a livestream link for the May 22 event, click on this link.