At the Asian American alumni summit—the group’s first-ever University-wide gathering—even the menu seemed symbolic. Attendees at the opening reception on October 15 mingled over drinks and Korean barbecue beef—fitting considering the audience, but also one of the most popular dishes in the College dining halls today, and thus perhaps a subtle sign of the Asian-American community’s growing influence within Harvard. The summit celebrated progress made since the 1970s, when an Asian-American presence was virtually nonexistent on campus, and examined remaining challenges faced by Asian Americans today.

Organized by the Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance (HAAAA, one of the more than 40 Shared Interest Groups approved by the Harvard Alumni Association), the three-day event drew more than 400 alumni from six decades and all of Harvard’s schools. “We are immeasurably diverse as a group, yet we share many of the same goals,” said Jeannie Park ’83, who co-chaired the summit with Jeff Yang ’89. President Drew Faust echoed that sense of solidarity in her remarks at the opening ceremony: “I hope that this is the first of many such gatherings…because your input and your presence mean an enormous amount to us.” Read more

David Eun ’89 JD ’93, president of AOL Media and Studios and Hollywood Reporter‘s “Digital Power Player of 2010,” was interviewed by Sewell Chan ’98, New York Times economics reporter in the final panel of the conference.

Eun noted that when he got to Harvard in 1985, almost no one had PCs. But guy across hall had portable computer that weighed 45 pounds. He recalled thinking that there was a lot that was going to change when things got computerized.

Eun said there are many traditional content companies who are more conservative, slow and focus on quality. At the same time there are many technology companies who are about being platforms, with a focus on scale, speed and efficiency. (These, this blogger assumes, includes the Twitter, Facebook and YouTubes of the world.) He sees Aol’s opportunity as being equal parts content and tech — curated content but at scale and speed.

He added that Aol has 3 content audience priorities — women, tech and young influencers (reflected by the purchase of TechCrunch last month), and multicultural.

Regarding the power of social media publishing tools, Eun noted he wrote his senior thesis on the reparation bill for Japanese Americans. He said he is convinced, that if social tools been around then, the Japanese Americans would have countered the hysteria. There was not a single documented case of sabotage or espionage by a Japanese-American, whereas there were numerous cases of such activity by German- and Italian-Americans (who were not interned).

With regard to the new world, Chan asked at a certain point, “What happens to people like me?” Eun responded, “Reminds me of joke, Enough about me, what about you. What do you think of me?”

He said there was an opportunity for experienced content creators to add value, whether though reporting, analysis, or hitting people’s passions.

Sanghav said he is mistaken for Atul Gulwande, the surgeon and author.

The AOL Award for Creativity: The Secret Court of 1920

The Perkins Coie Award for Innovation: Diagnostics One (which also won the crowd-selected DFS Audience Award)

The Dr. James and Mrs. Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Award for Change: Fenugreen

Each award included $2,500 in cash, as well as thousands of dollars of in-kind prizes and one-of-a-kind mentorship luncheons with Harvard alumni who are top venture capitalists, industry leaders, and influential creative executives. And all eight finalist teams received packages of the full edition of  Creative Suite 5, donated by Adobe Software.

Yet in a sense, everyone who participated in the event won.

Social change is hard, agreed the four panelists at the Saturday afternoon panel on social entrepreneurship moderated by Wendy Hanamura ’83. But with passion for a cause, problem-solving skills, and dedication, there are few limits on what individuals can achieve.

Hanamura defined social entrepreneurship as using market-based strategies to effect social change. Whether for-profit or non-profit, a social enterprise is focused on responding to needs in the most effective way possible. As Hanamura emphasized, “It’s about the ends, not the means.”

Hanamura opened by asking the panelists, many of whom started out in more conventional careers, about defining moments that turned them onto their current paths.

Richard Chin ’88 MD ’94 left his a high-powered position at Genetech to run the Institute for OneWorld Health, the first U.S. nonprofit pharmaceutical company that develops affordable drugs for use in the developing world. He spoke of the expanding worldwide gap between the rich and the poor, saying that when the opportunity came up to do something about it, he could not refuse.

For Roshan Paul MPP ’08, founder of the Ashoka Peace Initiative, the coincidence of 9/11 and violence in his native India convinced the then college senior that, “There are far greater challenges in the world that can be solved at an investment bank.

Panelists Michael Chu MBA ’76 and Sue Yun Chi ’01 both came from backgrounds in finance and investment banking, and explained how the skills they learned helped them become effective in the world of social enterprise.

Chu said that he was proud to have helped founding dozens of banks in Latin America that cater exclusively to low-income individuals, but through good management, do better than average financially than conventional banks. “The big story,” said Chu, “is that there is economic rationale that says it is better to bank on the dreams of the poor than the dreams of the wealthy.”

Chi became interested early on in emerging markets and the challenges that many small organizations face when trying to raise capital. She likens her work at SeaChange Capital Partners to investment banking. “A smart way of doing philanthropy,” according to Chi, “is creating a portfolio of nonprofits,” organizations with a plan and a sense of how much money they will need.

As the hour came to a close, Hanamura asked the panelists if they had any words of advice for aspiring social changemakers in the audience, which consisted of mainly of non-profit sector and student attendees and a smattering of for-profit ones.

Chu urged audience members to “pick something [they] feel great passion for” and pursue it, Chi emphasized finding other passionate people to work with, and Chin stressed the importance of putting traditional management skills and understanding of capital markets to good use. All agreed that social change involves identifying a problem and finding innovative ways to solve it.

Chu did caution against doing good for personal improvement or escape from professional drudgery. “Make sure you’re not running from something,” he said, “but running to something, something you can’t say no to.”

- Adrienne Y. Lee ’12

Following a passion while paying the rent was the theme of Saturday’s panel featuring Asian American alumni in atypical careers. Led by moderator Jennifer 8. Lee ’98-99, the panel included an acclaimed author, a renowned pastry chef, an award-winning filmmaker, and world- ranked poker player.

During an hour-long Q and A session, the four panelists talked about their unconventional career trajectories and the struggles several of them underwent to get to where they are today.

V.V. Ganesthanathan ’02, author of Love Marriage, and Joanne Chang ’91, owner of the Flour Bakery Chain, gave credit to their parents for letting them choose their own paths and encouraging them to do what they loved. Ganesthanathan said she knew from an early age that she wanted to become a literary writer, while Chang recounted how she, an applied math an  economics concentrator, did consulting for a few years before giving professional cooking a shot.

Other panelists said they endured more of struggle between traditional familial expectations and their own desires. For Georgia Lee ’98, whose film Red Doors was released in 2006, and Bernard Lee ’92 ALM ’94, a professional poker player with over $1.35 million in earnings, their career moves often ran into staunch parental opposition.

Sporting a Foxwoods Casino on his shirt, Lee called his transition from work at Boston Scientific to 13th place finisher at the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event to hosting a poker show at ESPN.com “the most bizarre ride I’ve ever had in my life.” Chang also acknowledged a streak of serendipity in her life as she entertained the audience with the story of how she was tricked into participating in the Food Network’s show Bobby Flay Throwdown, which raised Flour’s profile nationally.

Lee made sure to point out that luck was not everything though. Sometimes, he said, “You have to make your own luck, by finding every opportunity out there.” He, along with the other panelists stressed the importance of hard work and perseverance. Finding success is tough, Lee reminded the audience, “We don’t just wake up and it just happens.”

When asked how their undergraduate life at Harvard has influenced them later on, Ganesthanathan answered that she was inspired by students’ dedication to activities outside of school. “Harvard students pursue extracurriculars like it’s war,” she quipped. She said of her experience, “The way the campus respects that kind of passion taught me to value it in myself and respect it in others.”

At the same time, Georgia acknowledged that making the career moves she did involved moments of self-doubt. She said that pursuing a dream requires being comfortable with uncertainty and having a life partner who offers support. “You have to take your own pulse along the way,” she said, in order “to know how passionate you really are.”

Both Bernard and Georgia kept their day jobs until they knew they would be successful in their current pursuits, a fact that resonated with recent graduates of the College Yuting Chang ’10 and Jun Li ’10, who were present in the audience.

“You need to have something that will pay the bills and teach you the skills you need before you can find something you’re really passionate about,” said Li, echoing Bernard’s chief piece of advice to undergraduates—get a job first. Chang, a first-year medical student, said he spends his days very focused on school but that at the same time he found it refreshing to see big picture things being discussed.

“I feel inspired, generally,” he said.

- Adrienne Y. Lee ’12