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Name: Celeste Aguirre

Month and Year of Graduation: May 2018 (Bachelors), May 2022 (Masters)

Degree(s)/Major(s): Bachelors in Biological Sciences, Joint Masters in Social Work and Public Health

Brief bi0: Hello! My name is Celeste Aguirre, and I’m an Academic Advisor and Program Specialist for the Asian American Student Academic Program (AASAP). I have been at UIC for a while, starting out as a student and later working with the Asian American Mentor Program at the Asian American Resource and Cultural Center (AARCC). I have been in a variety of spaces, including student services at TRIO and providing mental health and resource support for Heart Failure patients at Rush Hospital. These days I have the honor of advising students and developing academic support initiatives for the Asian American community!

Suggestions/Advice to current UIC students: Pace yourself- regardless of where you are in your career journey, I have learned that it is important to acknowledge all the work you have been doing, while also thinking through what next steps you can take. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, feedback, and support from spaces like Career Services or AASAP. We’re all here to support you!

Name: Mark R. Martell

Month and Year of Graduation: May, 2016

Degree(s)/Major(s): PhD in Policy Studies in Urban Education

Brief bi0: Mark R. Martell obtained a PhD in Educational Policy Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he has worked since 2000 in various student affairs departments. Since 2015, Mark has been the executive director of the UIC Asian American Resource and Cultural Center, where he and his staff offer academic and cultural programs, using an Asian American lens. Mark is also co-principal investigator of the UIC Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) Initiative, which, since 2010, has offered $7.1 million worth of programs, scholarships, and curriculum to contribute to the retention, engagement, and graduation of AAPI students. At UIC, he has faculty appointments at Global Asian Studies, the Honors College, and the College of Education.

In addition to presenting at higher ed conferences such as ACPA, NASPA, APAHE, and NCORE, Mark has spoken at the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo in panels focusing on LGBTQ representation in comics and on Asian American geek culture. Similarly, he has presented at San Diego Comic Con on using comics in the classroom for academic success.

Mark has a chapter “Narrative Approaches to Exposing the Racialized Experiences of Asian American Male Students” in the book Teaching to Close the Achievement Gap for Students of Color (Routledge, 2020) and a chapter “From Invisible to Invincible: Asian American Superheroes In Comics” in the Journal of Comics and Culture (Pace University Press, 2022). His research interests include race, gender, sexuality, pop culture, comics, and Asian American issues. A comic book collector since the mid-1980s, Dr. Martell combines his academic knowledge and his love for comics to combat ignorance, inequity, and injustice— for a better tomorrow!

Suggestions/Advice to current UIC students: Get involved, create change, and learn outside of your major. Time will fly, and before you know it, you will be walking across that stage with diploma in hand!

Name: Abby Mohann

Month and Year of Graduation: Dec, 2019

Degree(s)/Major(s): Information and Decision Sciences,

Brief bi0: The UIC Asian American community gave me so many opportunities to grow my knowledge, expand my leadership and recognize who I am and how I want to take control of my life. At UIC, I was involved in Asian American Students in Alliance, Asian American Mentor Program, Asian American Resource and Cultural Center, alpha Kappa Delta Phi and Asian American Awareness Month. Upon graduation, I started working at an Insurance company and quickly joined the Asian American Roundtable and Asian American Mentor program within the company. The community within the corporate world felt so welcoming and comforting and I was able to surround myself with newfound community and people who supported me. I then proceeded to graduate with my MBA and slowly started climbing the ladder. I am still heavily involved in the Asian American roundtable in my office and continue to educate myself on Asian American topics.

Suggestions/Advice to current UIC students: Get involved, try everything! You never know who you’ll meet or what you’ll learn!

Name: Michael Oliveros

Month and Year of Graduation: May, 2023

Degree(s)/Major(s): Bachelor of Arts in Gender/Women’s Studies and Global Asian Studies

Brief bi0: Michael Oliveros (they/them/theirs) moonlights as a night-shift patient care technician (PCT). While their job as a tech is to mainly support the care team, they are honored to be in a position where they can connect with their patients during times of pain and grief. When off-shift, Michael dedicates their time to the community. As a storyteller, their work is rooted in the rich legacies of queer refusal and Philippine liberation movements, inspired by the ingenuity and compassion that their kasamas exemplify. Their craft is interdisciplinary and ever-changing based on the needs that arise: whether they’re performing poetry at an open-mic, facilitating workshops surrounding Asian American resilience, or storyboarding a cartoon for chAAMP the blobfish, they hope that their work reflects the love they have for their people. When not running around the city, you can find them staring across the horizon line of Ininwewi-gichigami, dreaming about the day that they can go home

Suggestions/Advice to current UIC students: Sometimes, I find myself doubting my work because my academic career has – and continues to be – nonlinear and nontraditional. But my lived experiences add depth to my work. As much as academia has given me the frameworks necessary to critically think, my first teacher is my community. The lessons I needed to learn weren’t taught in the classroom: they occurred in the challenges I overcame, and in the relationships that I built with those around me. So find your people. Listen to your community. Let them guide you.

Name: Rohan Patel

Month and Year of Graduation: May, 2016

Degree(s)/Major(s): BS in Biochemistry with a Minor in Psychology, Honors College, Doctor of Medicine (MD)-American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (2020). Enrolled in a Master’s of Public Health (MPH) in Global Health & Policy, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Class of 2025

Brief bi0: Dr. Rohan Patel is a dedicated Radiation Oncology resident at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, affiliated with Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. His work has been pivotal in addressing health disparities, particularly within the Asian and Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI) communities, throughout his medical training. Recognized for his community service, he received the Outstanding Excellence in Community & University Service Award in medical school for his Hepatitis B/C screening campaign in New York City’s Chinatown and breast cancer education initiatives in St. Maarten.  Dr. Patel’s scholarly contributions include research on the significance of data disaggregation in understanding breast cancer survival disparities among Asians and Pacific Islanders, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology – Oncology Practice. His active participation on national and international committees, including those within ASTRO & IASLC, highlights his advocacy for enhancing access, quality, and education of radiation therapy in resource-limited settings. Currently, he is concentrating his MPH thesis on addressing patient education models for radiation therapy in low- and middle-income countries. Dr. Patel’s unwavering commitment to integrating high-quality cancer care with community engagement springs from a deep-seated desire to serve marginalized communities – particularly the Asian and NHOPI communities that have played a significant role in shaping him into the compassionate physician he is today.

Suggestions/Advice to current UIC students: The extent of your journey is often defined by your willingness to advocate for yourself. This self-advocacy can manifest in many ways, such as seeking support during challenging times (because we ALL face them), pushing for transformative changes within your surroundings, or ensuring your voice is heard in spaces where decision are made. Be persistent in your endeavors: ask for what you need and desire, because the courage to ask if the first step towards advancement. Embrace every “yes” as a chance to contribute, and every “no” as a new beginning. And above all, as you progress, remember to pave the way for others following right behind you. Representation matters. The more our tables reflect diverse backgrounds and perspectives, the richer the discourse, the stronger the community, and the greater the innovation. Our collective success is the ultimate triumph.