April 10, 2024
Longy Asian Student Alliance (ASA) President and violinist, Elvina Liu’s (MM ‘25) hidden talent? Building community.
Elvina came to Longy from Stony Brook University, and though she “didn’t really feel comfortable standing up to do the leadership thing,” she seized the opportunity to join the Asian Student Alliance on her first day of orientation.
“It was really exciting to be here, have a change of environment, and meet a lot of new people,” Elvina says. Her on-campus involvement quickly expanded her sense of community and gave her additional chances to develop as a musician.
Soon, there was an opening for a new ASA president. Though she still had her doubts about leading, she decided this was the perfect opportunity to try something outside her comfort zone.
Elvina Liu
“I like doing good things for my future and collaborating with other people who are equally as committed and passionate.”
Quickly, she saw opportunities to enhance the organization and a sense of belonging for students at Longy. So, she leaned into creating a space where all students could feel valued.
While Elvina had ambitious hopes for the organization—to strengthen the sense of connection among members and explore the nuances of different cultures, for example—she needed to find a team to help make those goals a reality. Soon, Sarah Curtis (MM ’25) and Nick Hill (MM ’25) joined her as vice president and treasurer.
Elvina described how the collaboration shaped the ASA, “The goals that all of us set were to enhance the whole community and at the same time highlight the different cultures and backgrounds that we have at Longy.”
After research and brainstorming sessions, the new team put together a robust schedule of interactive activities that encouraged student involvement.
One of those early experiential events was a Mid-Autumn Festival pop-up, where students sampled mooncakes and created paper crafts alongside their peers. Some even wrote Lunar New Year wishes on scrolls to take home as inspiration. Elvina recalls feeling that students were energized by this opportunity to engage with the ASA.
After seeing such a great response to interactive events, the ASA team forged ahead and hosted an open mic series. Armed with snacks from H Mart to share, they were determined to expose students to more music by Asian artists while creating a performance space where students could socialize and have a bite to eat and feel welcome in their identities. “We want Asian students to have a platform where they know they can be spotlighted.”
At the first open mic night, the student sign-up sheet was full, and even faculty members dropped by to show their support.
“I felt like students were really excited about the opportunity. We had a lot of solo performers, performers who wrote their own works, and groups of students you don’t usually expect to see together. People would pop by and go, ‘What’s going on here?’ and come in.”
Elvina and her team were happy to give peers an outlet to connect casually, outside of class time interactions. There, they could cut through the hustle and bustle of musicians’ schedules and take time to get to know each other not just as classmates, but as friends.
“It’s already hard enough for a lot of students, not even just international students, to find a little place where they’re loved and welcomed and appreciated.” As president of the Asian Student Alliance, Elvina has helped create just that—and discovered a talent for community building she can use wherever her career takes her.