A big thank you to all the students who submitted to this year’s contest and exhibition. We were blown away – record number of submissions this year! We’re currently going over your submission and will be announcing the winners by the week of April 22th. Stay tuned! In the meantime, please see our esteemed judging panel for this year’s contest.
Scholarship Contest Judges
CHELSEA SIK
Born and raised in Malaysia, Chelsea Sik left her home country at age 15 in pursuit of an acting career. Her journey began by learning the craft at Idyllwild Arts Academy as a sophomore Musical Theatre major, then furthering her education at USC as a BFA Acting major. Since graduating, Chelsea Sik is a working actor, executive producer and digital creator, known for her award winning short film Foreign Planetary and growing social media presence. Under her brand as a "Clown", Chelsea has amassed over hundred thousands of followers and multi-millions of views across platforms. You can follow her journey on Instagram @chelseasik!
BRIAN LIN
Based in Los Angeles and raised in small-town Oklahoma as a child of Taiwanese immigrants, Brian is a lifelong advocate for the arts and education, particularly in their power to help youth find and express their voice. Since childhood, music has been a critical path for expression and community for Brian, and he holds a deep appreciation for teachers like Ms. Askins and Ms. Anduss, who showed him how powerful it was for a student to feel seen and heard, particularly when most of his classmates didn’t look like him. Brian believes in the importance of APIA representation in leadership and media, and along with Tommy Chang and Albert Kim, he hosts the miseducAsian podcast to help amplify the voices of APIA communities across the country. He is currently a consultant who supports education institutions across the country to make more equitable and inclusive decisions for all students.
JASON KEAM
Jason Keam is a Long Beach, California based free form hard-edge figurative and abstract painter with a background in animation and visual effects. His work celebrates and liberates all living beings, cultural tools, and their relationship with each other. Everything starts with a drawing on paper then digitized then redrawn and repeat until refined, reduced, or simplified. His world is filled with vibrant animated figures with curious and playful abstracted lines. His paintings have the quality of a screen print on a freshly printed skate t-shirt.
KATERINA JENG
Katerina (they/she) is a dedicated advocate for inclusivity and healing through creativity, known for founding an acclaimed Asian American creative collective in 2016 and co-founding Spectacle, an inclusive marketing agency, in 2018. Their work spans from editing a literary journal that amplifies Asian American stories to advising companies like Vans and Denver Health on culturally sensitive messaging. With a background in English and music from Cornell University and a fellowship at Lighthouse Writer’s Workshop, Katerina's efforts in community organizing and marketing are rooted in a deep commitment to social justice and equity. A New York native, they find joy in simple pleasures like sunshine, good food, and quality time with loved ones.
