One Year Of HAUPIAA
Dean Caparaz (in black shirt) with HAUPIAA members (l to r) Marc Pugeda, Kris Arden and Christine Lissner at the recent staff Boba & Bao event.

deibj5/2/2023 1:48 PM | By: Dean Caparaz '90

One Year Of HAUPIAA

With the advent of AAPI Heritage Month, I can't help but reflect on HAUPIAA – Cal Athletics' AAPI employee-engagement group – and what it's meant to me over the past few years.
 
Our mission has been to educate people about the diversity of AAPI cultures, celebrate our accomplishments and build community among our staff and student-athletes. In this year's AAPI Heritage Month, we're putting together a panel discussion, scheduled for May 31, along with content headed to CalBears.com and social media, including Instagram (@HAUPIAA_at_Cal) and Twitter (@HAUPIAAatCal).
 
Dean CaparazWhen we began, we weren't called HAUPIAA – which stands for Honoring Ancestry and Uniting Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans – and didn't have a name at all. Leading up to AAPI Heritage Month in 2021, staffers from disparate corners of the athletic department came together to produce a Zoom panel that discussed the film "Vincent Who?" That was an adventure, but it came together in the end.
 
I worked mainly with Debbie Schram and Kasey Benjamin to create the Zoom discussion, and I was impressed with the work ethic that Debbie and Kasey displayed. I'd known that Debbie was a Cal Athletics veteran who was a huge asset to the Cal football program. From what was my first major interaction with Debbie, I could see the makings of a future leader of our fledgling group. Kasey wowed me with her knowledge of various AAPI issues, including cinema. Business office folks are often super busy, given the number of requests each segment of the department sends their way, so I was grateful that she was with us.
 
I was happy that Cal Athletics was celebrating a month that meant (and means) a lot to a lot of people. I was even happier to work with more than one or two colleagues who looked like me for the first time in my professional life.
 
In spring 2022 we decided to call ourselves HAUPIAA, and having a name feels better than just being known as the AAPI EEG. HAUPIAA gives us an identity, which we've been building on with the events that we've sponsored – from Boba & Bao and holiday gatherings to the Lunar New Year dinner, complete with a lion dance – and that have been well-attended by student-athletes and staff.
 
Throughout our short existence, many colleagues – including Laura Wong, Jonathan Chew, Courtney Okazaki, Marc Pugeda, Christine Lissner, J.T. Okada, Chris Grace, Kris Arden and Monica Lee – have lent their considerable talents to HAUPIAA. We wouldn't have gotten to this point in our growth if not for the contributions of everyone, starting with Debbie, who has in fact become our fearless leader. Thanks, too, to Dr. Ty-Ron Douglas, Associate AD, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging & Justice, for helping us get off the ground and navigate the world, and thanks to Bobby Thompson, Cal's former Director of DEIBJ Operations & Engagement, for all he did for us. I'm just glad to have a part in this august assemblage.
 
An Assistant Director in Cal Athletics Communications and a Cal alumnus, Dean Caparaz is a member of HAUPIAA, FFSA (Filipinx Faculty & Staff Association) and APASA (Asian Pacific American Systemwide Alliance).  
 
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