The Drexel, Temple and Villanova University chapters of Ascend Greater Philadelphia hosted their 2025 Student Symposium at the LeBow College of Business on April 27.
From 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., the symposium featured four seminars designed to educate Asian American students on how to make informed career decisions using their university’s resources and professional networks.
At the beginning of the symposium, a fireside chat was held featuring members of each university’s executive faculty. During the chat, Dr. Youngmoo Kim, Vice Provost for University and Community Partnerships at Drexel University; Dr. Steven Balsam, Accounting Department Chair at Temple University and Dr. Rishtee Batra, Marketing Associate Chair at Villanova University, discussed the advantages of their universities’ individualized approaches in preparing students for the job market.
Dr. Kim, in particular, highlighted how Drexel is revising its curriculum to provide students with a smoother transition into new majors and concentrations while exposing them to various course subjects beyond those with which they are familiar.
According to Kim, “What we’re trying to create is a set of core competencies that are interdisciplinary [and] that are somewhat interchangeable as well. So, you don’t have to take the one that’s in your department or your college. If you’re in business, there will be some great intro courses there, but you can also experience one from our design school or rotate one in our engineering school.”
After the panel, several breakout sessions led by professionals of diverse career backgrounds encouraged students to leverage their specialized strengths to obtain career opportunities. A session led by Danny Park, a former Philadelphia police officer, discussed embracing one’s individuality as an Asian American when seeking a new opportunity.
“You get taught at a young age, especially if you’re a first generation, or 1.5 generation, even on the second generation, that you have to have this mentality or mindset of respecting your elders, something as simple as that. You have to graduate college. You have to take this certain career path,” Park said. “When I was a police officer, I think there was only three of us that was Korean American [and] spoke Korean out of 6,500 cops in Philadelphia, but there’s definitely more than three people that’s Korean American in Philadelphia who need services, who doesn’t speak English. So, our asset was actually being who we were. The knowledge that I had of understanding my own culture actually benefited me as much as it can, depending on how much knowledge I had culturally. But it doesn’t mean just because I was Korean American, it made [it] more beneficial to me, but it’s still a knowledge you still have to work on continuously to truly understand.”
All the session’s panelists expressed immense pride in being able to provide the next generation of Asian American students with the advice needed to prepare for such highly demanding roles in the future.
Joanna Kan ’00, a panelist and Ascend Chapter Advisor, affirmed, “Guiding students and ensuring innovation’s relevance and responsibility for future generations is a distinct pleasure and privilege. Direct, in-person engagement builds trust, empowering students to confidently leverage school and Ascend network resources for their growth and life journey, fostering self-initiative.”
Ascend has leveraged this symposium to provide its student members with unique approaches, offering hands-on and in-depth career guidance to help them adopt a new perspective on finding their place in the professional world.
“This vital reciprocal exchange and intentional feedback establish a secure support system that enriches our purpose-driven ecosystem at Ascend, Drexel, and beyond, ultimately empowering students to drive meaningful societal impact and create lasting values,” said Kan.