The Department of Criminology at California State University, Fresno has launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions Initiative. The program, established in 2021, is aimed at improving student outcomes through career development, mentoring, and community outreach. It is open to students from all majors and focuses on enhancing graduation and job placement rates by providing research and work-based experiences.
Ginger Hang, a junior majoring in public health whose family has strong ties to Fresno State, is among the students involved in the initiative. Hang’s parents are alumni who became teachers after immigrating from Laos during the Vietnam War era. Both her siblings also graduated from Fresno State.
Hang has worked with other students to create a website that connects peers with support resources, particularly addressing mental health topics within the Asian American community. “This program has given me a whole new perspective on my culture and community,” Hang said. “Talking about mental health and stress management can be taboo, so this project has the potential to make a big impact. Having these personal conversations has helped me develop new skills and become more outgoing. It’s even given me the confidence to think about graduate school and other ways I can make a positive impact on others.”
Her involvement in the project also led her to deeper conversations with her grandmother about their family’s refugee experience.
Peer mentoring is another central component of the initiative. Abbie Formoso, a senior from Stockton who is also a first-generation college student, serves as a peer mentor through the program. “I love my mentees and learning about their lives,” Formoso said. “I’m open to whatever they feel they need to talk about, because everything can affect them as a student. We create short- and long-term goals, and seeing their progress helps motivate me.”
Students participating in the initiative have access to events such as ED Talks that cover professional, academic, and social issues; career fairs; field trips; conferences; and meetings with industry professionals. These opportunities have influenced participants like Formoso to pursue careers in law enforcement—she is currently training with the Fresno Police Department’s crime scene investigations unit.
The annual career fair will return on March 26, bringing together representatives from around 50 organizations statewide for networking opportunities related to internships and jobs.
Lisa Xiong, alumna and Student Success Project coordinator for the program, noted that early exposure helps students explore diverse career paths: “A lot of students don’t get into internships until their junior and senior year, so this is a great way for them to explore potential opportunities a year or two earlier than they might normally… They may think they want to go into a traditional law enforcement organization, but when they visit probation offices or other support services organizations, they see a whole new world of careers that they never knew about.”
The crowdfunding campaign runs through November 30 as grant funding for the initiative will expire in 2026. More information about supporting the program can be found at https://crowdfunding.fresnostate.edu/project/48375.
