Hello! My name is Vulena Xiong and I am from San Gabriel, California. I am a 3rd year first-generation, low-income student at UC Irvine. I am very passionate about my studies in Public Health Sciences and I’m also on the premed track. My ultimate goal is to never stop learning about the vast experiences individuals have in healthcare due to parts of their identity and promote preventative health. I care deeply about serving underserved populations and providing them with quality healthcare because of my own negative experiences as a Hmong American in healthcare. On campus, I am Vice President of a club called Student Healthcare in Practice where we serve underserved communities in Orange County as medical interns at a free clinic. One of the main reasons why I chose UC Irvine was because of the Hmong community on campus, which I lacked growing up in Los Angeles. I serve on board for the Hmong Student Association, sharing our culture and building community across UC Irvine. I also am a member of the Nicholas Lab at UCI, where I conduct immunoendicrinology research, more specifically, on the hormone Prolactin’s role on the metabolic phenotype of PCOS. Outside of school, I enjoy thrift shopping and reselling vintage clothes and trying new foods!

What drew you to working with AASPIRES?

(Coming soon)

What was the college-readiness process like with AASPIRES?

(Coming soon)

What would you say to students from communities like yours who are unsure about the college application process?

To all the first-generation, low-income students unsure about the college application process, I would say to not be afraid to ask for help. There are so many resources available to help individuals especially from communities like ours. I understand the struggle to find these resources and even wondering who to go to to ask for help. I want to be a resource for all other students going through this long and difficult journey of applying for higher education. It takes a lot to even apply to college and I learned a lot of lessons the hard way, which I would love to share and help you avoid the mistakes I made. One of my main concerns when applying for college was being able to afford the hefty costs. Through a lot of research, I have found many scholarships that have allowed me to pursue my higher education without taking out loans and be financially independent. I want these students to know that there are so many resources there for you to succeed and pursue higher education, it is just up to you to find them, and I hope to be a resource that can guide you towards finding them!