APIDA Heritage Month
2026 APIDA Heritage Month: From Traditions to Trends
This APIDA Heritage Month, we celebrate creativity and expression across our diverse communities, from traditions that ground us to trends shaping our world today. Through art, food, music, and storytelling, APIDA communities continue to inspire, create, and connect across generations. Going on from April 20 to May 13.
The APIDA Story Shelf
Monday 4/20/2026 - Friday 5/15/2026 | Nealley Library: L Building
A curated selection of works by APIDA authors, featuring fiction, memoir, poetry, history, and stories that illuminate the diversity of APIDA experiences.
The Needle & The Narrative: Storytelling of APIDA Tattoos
Tuesday 4/21/2026 | 10:30am-11:30am | Building A-130
Tattooing has long been a powerful form of storytelling across APIDA cultures, carrying identity, lineage, and belonging. This talk explores how ancestral tattoo traditions are being reclaimed and reimagined in contemporary tattoo culture.
Unity: Echoes of Identity
Thursday 4/30/2026 | 12:30 pm-2:00 pm | Undoc/ U2 (VL- 108 & 109)
Where photography and poetry echo identity, capture memory, and tell our stories. Join us for a creative, community-centered event exploring how visual art and poetry reflect lived experience and belonging. Hosted by SAC Affinity Centers and Libro Mobile.
What We Keep: Preserving APIDA Culture & Memory
Friday 5/8/2026 | 11am-12pm | VL-109
Explore how everyday objects carry memory, culture, and identity in APIDA communities. Through blind boxes, card making, and conversation, students will reflect on collecting as a creative and caring practice across generations. Come create, unbox, and share. Blind-boxes for participants while supplies last!
Redefining Success: Rooted & Rising in APIDA Mental Wellness
Wednesday 5/13/2026 | 12pm-1pm | JSC-209
This interactive workshop explores how APIDA students define success, manage expectations, and balance cultural values with personal well-being. We’ll reflect on how family, culture, and community shape motivation—and how self-compassion can help us move from constant pressure to sustainable purposes.
Soundwaves of Heritage: Exploring Sound, Culture, and Self with Jay Taj
Thursday, 5/28/2026 | 11am-1pm | District Office: Board Room & Back Patio
Artist and former Santa Ana College student, Jay Taj, explores his journey from community college student to performing artist. He will
share how his Chamorro and African American identities have influenced his music,
storytelling, and creative expression. Through dialogue and personal reflection, attendees
will gain insight into the connections between culture, identity, and artistry, and
how lived experiences shape creative work. Led by Rancho Santiago Community College District, Office of Diversity & Equity & Asian Pacific
Student Program.