PanAPIDA Circle

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Celebrating and elevating APIDA voices in Centre County. Advocating inclusion, creating belonging.

PanAPIDA Circle is a local community group formed in April 2021. Our key goal is to elevate the voices, needs and concerns of the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) community of Centre County. We unite in response to rising anti-Asian hate and bias nationwide. We advocate for greater visibility, representation, and inclusion of APIDA experiences in education, government, and social and cultural realms. We celebrate APIDA joy and our diverse ways of knowing and living.

10/15/2026

Spotlight on BODHANA SIVANANDAN, the 11-year-old chess prodigy who is the youngest woman grandmaster of all time. Becoming a woman grandmaster means she has attained the highest female-only title in chess.

From northwest London, Bodhana Sivanandan represented England at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan at the end of September.

Sivanandan said she picked up the sport during the Covid pandemic when she was five, after one of her dad's friends gave the family some toys and books.

"In one of the bags, I saw a chessboard, and I was interested in the pieces,”" she told the BBC. "I wanted to use the pieces as toys. Instead, my dad said that I could play the game, and then I started from there."

Photo: Jaimi Joy/Reuters

https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/28/sport/chess-youngest-woman-grandmaster-scli-intl

10/13/2026

Congratulations to Professor EHSAN HOQUE and Dr. ANJU JAIN who have received 2026 Penn State Alumni Fellow Awards! Professor Hoque and Dr. Jain were among the 15 exceptional Penn Staters honored at the 2026 Alumni Fellow Awards ceremony on Wednesday, September 23rd.

EHSAN HOQUE, class of 2004, Behrend
* Professor of computer science at the University of Rochester and co-leader of the Rochester Human-Computer Interaction Lab. His research in artificial intelligence has advanced healthcare, education and communication. In 2025, he received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the U.S.'s highest honor for early-career scientists and engineers.
https://alumni.psu.edu/award-recipients/hoque-ehsan/

ANJU JAIN, class of 1996 (doctorate), College of Health and Human Development, * A global human resources executive, executive coach, entrepreneur and author with more than 30 years of experience helping organizations and senior executives build high-performing cultures. She has held leadership roles with Fermilab and Caterpillar and is also the founder of Embelliv, a luxury women's footwear brand.
https://alumni.psu.edu/award-recipients/jain-anju/

The 2026 Alumni Fellows represent the Penn State community's incredible breadth of talent, experience and impact. Read more about the other Alumni Fellow Award recipients at the link below.
https://www.psu.edu/news/alumni-association/story/fifteen-penn-staters-honored-2026-alumni-fellows

10/11/2026

Enjoy this interview with GORJA YADAV, Penn State's Blue & White Society president as she discusses the impact of Penn State awarding its one millionth degree last August as well as the importance of its alumni connections.

Yadav reflects on what the milestone means to current students and future alumni. Through her leadership in the Blue & White Society, the student arm of the Penn State Alumni Association, she hopes to help students find community, develop professionally and establish lifelong connections with fellow Penn Staters.

Photo: Jaydyn Isiminger / Penn State. Creative Commons

Read the full interview at the link below.
https://www.psu.edu/news/students/story/blue-white-society-president-penn-states-millionth-degree-alumni-connections

10/08/2026

Mark your calendar for next Tuesday, October 13th -- "WŎN BUDDHIST MEDITATION: A GUIDED MINDFULNESS PRACTICE" with Professor Sung Ha Yun, St. Olaf College. This is part of the Penn State Institute for Korean Studies Speaker Series.

Event Details
Date/Time: Tuesday, October 13th from 1:30pm to 3pm
Location: 124 Pasquerilla Spiritual Center (Pod #2), State College, PA
Register at the link below:
https://psu.zoom.us/meeting/register/MvFv8ZymRQSATgj3M_AWRg #/registration

This session offers an experiential introduction to meditation in the Wŏn Buddhist tradition. Through guided meditation and mindfulness practice, participants will explore what meditation is, what we seek to cultivate through it, and how it can deepen awareness, calmness, and clarity in everyday life.

Questions may be directed to Jooyeon Rhee at [email protected].

https://events.la.psu.edu/event/sung-ha-yun-on-won-buddhist-meditation-a-guided-mindfulness-practice/

10/06/2026

Join us on Thursday, October 8th for a JAPANESE TEA CEREMONY COLLABORATION sponsored by the Teaparker Tea House and the Special Collections Library. Take advantage of an opportunity to delve into Japanese culture and history presented by Penn State University!

Event Details
Date/Time: Thursday, October 8th from 2pm to 8pm
Locations: See individual agenda items.

Agenda
* Enjoy an amazing Gallery of Pop-up Paper Japanese Tea House Models from 2pm to 6pm at 103 Paterno Library (Mann Assemby Room), Curtain Road, University Park, PA.
* Drink matcha and enjoy tea snacks from 6 pm to 8 pm, while watching a traditional Japanese tea ceremony presented by Cha No Yu, the Japanese Tea Club at 034 Ritenour Bldg., Po***ck Road, University Park, PA.

See you on Thursday!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd4BRNZkQHE/

10/04/2026

Grab a cup of coffee and read about PSU professors YING-LING JAO and JULIAN WANG's revolutionary approach to help nursing home residents living with dementia!

Ying-Ling Jao, associate professor in the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, and Julian Wang, professor of architectural engineering in the College of Engineering have been awarded a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to test how smart lighting systems can improve sleep and behavioral and psychological symptoms among nursing home residents living with dementia.

Using research from an earlier grant, they developed and piloted an ambient lighting intervention (SmartEnLite) designed to support the circadian rhythms of people with dementia. This new grant will fund more controlled trials using SmartEnLite to help residents with dementia across multiple nursing homes in Pennsylvania.

"The pilot study gave us promising early results, and we are excited to now evaluate SmartEnLite with a much larger group of nursing home residents," Jao said. "Ultimately, we hope this research can help identify a practical, nonpharmacological way to improve sleep and dementia-related symptoms."

Photo: Penn State. Creative Commons

Learn more about the ground breaking research of professors Ying-Ling Jao and Julian Wang.
https://www.psu.edu/news/nese-college-nursing/story/36m-nih-grant-funds-study-smart-lighting-dementia-symptoms-and-sleep

09/30/2026

Join us this Saturday, October 3rd for the annual CONSTITUTION DAY: MAKING OUR VOICES HEARD ROUNDTABLES! Invite your friends and family to participate in civic conversations, celebrate Constitution Day and enjoy a free lunch!

Event Details
Date/Time: Saturday, October 3rd from 10am to 2:30pm
Location: Delta High School, 653 Westerly Parkway, State College, PA

Event Agenda
Saturday's theme is "Let's Put US Back into U.S.A.!"

Attendees will be randomly assigned to one of five moderated groups to discuss and share views on the following questions:
* Is Basic Health Care a Right?
* What are 2nd Amendment Rights for 21st century?
* Are there Privacy Rights in Digital World?

Please click on the link below to register for Saturday. Your registration helps the organizers get an accurate headcount for lunch.
https://www.jotform.com/form/261944795802064

Hope to see you all on Saturday!

*************************
Constitution Day Centre Inc.
An educational nonprofit that promotes the U.S. Constitution and democracy for people of ALL perspectives since 2017.

Email: [email protected]
Website https://www.constitutiondaycentre.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Constitutiondaycentre
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/constitutiondaycentre/
YouTube: https://www.constitutiondaycentre.org/youtube-channel.html

09/27/2026

THE BUDDHIST TEMPLE OF SAN DIEGO, a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist community with roots in the city’s Japanese-American population, marked its 100th anniversary over the weekend of September 19th and 20th with ceremonies, prayers, a procession, and gatherings bringing together several generations of temple members.

The temple traces its formal establishment to May 1926, when it opened at a temporary location near downtown San Diego. It moved to its present home at 2929 Market Street in 1930. The community belongs to the Jodo Shinshu tradition of Pure Land Buddhism and is a member of the Buddhist Churches of America, which is affiliated with the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha in Kyoto.

Today, the temple serves a diverse congregation while retaining close ties to its Japanese American heritage. LuAnn Lee, who led planning for the centennial, said the community had worked to preserve its traditions while also adapting to changing circumstances. Members now include people outside the Japanese-American community, including Spanish-speaking practitioners.

"Our hundredth anniversary isn’t just the recognition of a really old building," the temple's resident minister Rev. Sterling Davenport said. "One thing we really strive for is to dedicate ourselves to recognizing compassion, embodying compassion, and putting it into practice." (NBC 7 San Diego)

Photo: San Diego Union Tribune

Learn more about the church's history of serving the Japanese American community during the Great Depression and the upheaval of the Second World War.
https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/buddhist-temple-of-san-diego-celebrates-100th-anniversary/

09/24/2026

Save The Date! On Wednesday, October 14th, join us at "WOMEN'S LIBERATION IN MODERN KOREAN RELIGION" with Professor Sung Ha Yun, St. Olaf College. This is part of the Penn State Institute for Korean Studies Speaker Series.

Event Details
Date/Time: Wednesday, October 14th from 2:30pm to 4pm
Location: Memorial Lounge, 107 Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, State College, PA
Register at the link below:
https://psu.zoom.us/meeting/register/hJXMljbWT42PDdHm8NdwsA #/registration

This lecture will focus on Cho Chŏn’gwŏn (1910–1976), the first female Wŏn Buddhist cleric, examining how Wŏn Buddhism reconfigured female religious authority during the Japanese colonial period (1910–1945).

It explores both the movement's doctrinal commitment to "equal rights for men and women" and the institutional practices that enabled women to assume religious leadership traditionally reserved for men.

Questions may be directed to Jooyeon Rhee at [email protected].

https://events.la.psu.edu/event/penn-state-iks-speaker-series-sung-ha-yun-womens-liberation-in-modern-korean-religion/

09/22/2026

Check out the exciting new art exhibit "NOGUCHI TO ASAWA: DESIGNING POSTWAR AMERICA" at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. The show highlights Japanese American artists held in WWII internment camps whose works helped shape American culture.

Exhibit Details
Dates: Current exhibition until Sunday, January 10th
Location: The Barnes Foundation, 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA

"Noguchi to Asawa" traces the impact that internment camps had on six Japanese American artists:
* Sadamitsu Fujita, graphic artist
* Kay Sekimachi, fiber artist
* Ruth Asawa, sculptor
* Isamu Noguchi, sculptor
* George Nakashima, furniture maker
* Leo Amino, sculptor

The six did not work together, nor did they form any kind of collective. Some knew others in this group, some did not. Curator Cindy Kang said all shaped American culture and fine art, and their wartime confinement had a lasting impact on their work.

"In many histories of these artists, this period of their life is treated as an isolated, terrible, traumatic, unfortunate incident that then they moved on from," she said. "What I was trying to trace is the vestige of that experience, to see how grief and damage and injury are still part of these works, with the beauty, with the exquisite aesthetics. You cannot disentangle them."

Learn more details about these artists and the impact of the WWII internment camps on their creative work.
https://whyy.org/articles/barnes-foundation-japanese-american-wwii-noguchi-asawa-exhibition-philadelphia/

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State College, PA
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Website

https://www.panapidacircle.org/

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