• AASA will host “Perspectives in Asian Leadership” from 6–8 p.m. Thursday in Room 314 of the Nigh University Center
• Democratic gubernatorial candidate and UCO alum Cyndi Munson will speak
• AASA president hopes the event connects students with off-campus opportunities and civic engagement
The Asian American Student Association will host an event called “Perspectives in Asian Leadership” from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, March 5, in Room 314 of the Nigh University Center.
Multiple members of Oklahoma City’s Asian community will speak, including state Rep. and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cyndi Munson.
“I’m a graduate of UCO, so I’m always happy to come back and speak to student leaders about public service, leadership and the things I’ve been up to since graduating,” Munson said.
Other speakers include Steve Le, executive director of the Asian District Cultural Association, and several AASA founders.
Kalvin Gutierrez, president of AASA, said the event marks a shift from the organization’s usual “celebratory” events. Gutierrez said events like Perspectives in Asian Leadership give UCO students the opportunity to connect with resources outside the university and engage with politics that affect them directly.
“I think it’s more important than doing a good treasure hunt,” Gutierrez
Gutierrez met Munson while participating in Advocacy Day at the Oklahoma State Capitol.
“I just thought it’d be a perfect fit,” Gutierrez said.
AASA is a politically neutral organization, but Gutierrez said he wants UCO students to understand their options in Oklahoma’s upcoming 2026 gubernatorial race.
Munson was the first Asian American woman elected to the Oklahoma Legislature in 2015. She is one of three Asian American Oklahomans currently serving in the Legislature.
Munson, a Lawton native who grew up in a military family, said the lack of Asian American representation in Oklahoma government once made her believe she could not be elected to public office.
“When you hear the biographies or the backgrounds of a majority of elected people in Oklahoma, they always talk about being third, fourth, fifth generation Oklahomans,” Munson said. “They are predominantly white, they are predominantly male, predominantly Republican, conservative. I just thought there’s no way that I could run for office ever, even though I’m an American citizen.”
Munson said that she hopes to touch on her experiences in the Oklahoma Legislature and the current state of Oklahoma politics during the event, and that it can encourage college students to take a more active role in politics.
“I absolutely hope that I am able to inspire young people, not just Asian Americans, but of all backgrounds, to look at a life in public service and know that they are absolutely capable of doing it, regardless of what they look like, who they are, what their background is. That is very important to me, and I think that’s what’s going to bring more progress to our state and to our country,” Munson said.
Perspectives in Asian Leadership will take place from 6-8 p.m. March 5 in the Henry Bellmon Room, 314, on the third floor of the Nigh University Center.
