Pan-Asia Alumni Scholarship marks 10 years of impact

By Eric Gallippo | Art by Graciela Demerath

Before ever setting foot on campus in Ann Arbor, Priscilla Mukudan (BSEMech ’19) already felt a strong connection to the University of Michigan, thanks, in part, to a scholarship she received for students from the Asia-Pacific region.

Now, as an alumna working in data science in her home country of Malaysia, Mukudan gives back to the Pan-Asia Alumni Scholarship fund in hopes of empowering a new generation of students to come to Michigan and “be part of our exceptional community.”

“As the inaugural recipient, I was honored with an invitation to the Pan-Asia Alumni Reunion, affording me the unique opportunity to engage with alumni,” she said. “I distinctly recall being in awe of the enduring bond all the alumni maintained. Now, almost 10 years since receiving the scholarship, I still feel very much a part of the U‑M community.”

Established in 2014 by a group of Hong Kong alumni to honor the Pan-Asia Alumni Reunion, the Pan-Asia Alumni Scholarship fund has since attracted generous donors around the world who attend the annual gathering—the largest of its kind outside of the U.S.—or who learn about it otherwise and want to support students from the region. Since the first award was given to Mukudan, the scholarship has supported 17 students from seven countries with $160,000 in total funding. With $400,000 raised to date, the endowed fund is set up to continue supporting students from Asia in perpetuity.

Among those who helped get the fund off the ground was alumnus Jonathan Wu (BBA ’04). The Hong Kong native was inspired to give by his own time on campus, where he appreciated meeting students with different backgrounds and interests, and by the U‑M alumni who helped him launch his finance career in New York City and Hong Kong after graduation.

“Because of my wonderful experience with many alumni around the world, especially in Asia, I always wanted to give back to this community," Wu said. “The opportunity to study at U‑M is indeed very precious and not available to many outstanding students in Asia. I hope this scholarship will make a Michigan education available to students who are more than qualified but may not have thought about such a possibility.”

Looking back on the last 10 years, Wu said he’s happy to see how many people have taken up the cause. He’s hopeful that it will continue to grow and benefit students from even more countries across the region.

“I am most delighted to see the participation and contribution to the scholarship from a broad base of alumni,” Wu said. “I believe high participation from alumni will raise higher awareness and make a stronger impact, in addition to the financial assistance to the recipients.”

Chawit Vongsuly (LSA Class of 2026) is currently taking upper level computer science courses, which he hopes to put to use at home in Thailand after graduation. In the meantime, scholarship support has helped ease concerns about his family paying for tuition.

“Being an international student isn’t easy. Tuition is expensive and being in a family that is currently sending two other children to college, this scholarship has been a great help,” he said.

For Harry Nguyen, scholarship support has not only helped with a Michigan education but also valuable internship and extracurricular experiences. Nguyen (Engineering Class of 2024) is studying computer science and received the Pan-Asia Scholarship all four of his undergraduate years. During that time, he also landed an internship at Amazon working on industry-level software and participated in the International Collegiate Programming Contest, where his team placed in the top five for its division and advanced to the final round of the North American Contest.

“It is a great honor to receive this scholarship throughout my time at college,” Nguyen said. “None of this would have been possible without such generous support.”