An APASA x Speakers Special: Ali Wong Event

APASA x Speakers Special, as told from the perspectives of APASA’s Austin Nguyen and Jennifer Lee.

• Austin Nguyen • 

Two weeks prior to the Speakers event, our Executive Director Michelle Phan asked me if I wanted to be a moderator and told me that Ali Wong was going to be the speaker. I immediately called her and yelled “I KNEW IT” (the weekend before she asked me, Yunmi Kim, our Business Relations chair, and I spent a solid 30 minutes talking about who it might be while Michelle sat in silence trying not to budge). Basically, call me Blues Clues. Sherlock Holmes who? Detective Pikachu? Quaint. An important aspect of being a moderator is creating conversation worthy questions, but I am definitely not the best at it because nearly every question I wrote was scratched. Thanks Jennifer and Speakers Committee for contributing so much to where I struggle.

I have this problem where whenever I am incredibly nervous, I have to poop. On the day of the event, I would say I had the urge to poop every hour; I honestly should go to the doctor about this. Because Jenn and I wanted to be cute, she wore a leopard print scrunchie and I wore a leopard print tie as an homage to Ali. It was pretty hectic the hour before the event started as so many people were running back and forth between Bovard Auditorium and the USG Office to ensure this event went well. Jenn and I went into our green room thirty minutes before the event, and we were both incredibly nervous, excited, and scared. We were supplied with Fiji water to drink, and I just felt so privileged and blessed to be drinking Fiji; all of my sins were cleansed after drinking the holy water. We had the opportunity to meet with Ali before the event started and it really helped to alleviate our nerves because Ali is genuinely the coolest. I even got to shake her hand which I will never be washing again (coronavirus ain’t got nothing on my Ali Wong blessed hand).

The event began with Michelle’s and Patrick’s introduction which was sooooo good. Like just the best. So funny. It was so funny, I wanted to exit the building and never come back. I was terrified to walk out on stage but the people that really made me feel comfortable was our incredible APASA family. They were cheering so loudly which made me laugh and smile from ear to ear (thank you APASA). The event itself was spectacular. Ali was amazingly hilarious. The audience was fantastic. Quick sidebar: to all those people who say “oh don’t worry you can’t see anyone in the audience while you’re on stage”, please stop lying. I saw every single person in that audience. Anyways, our hour-long conversation zoomed by and I was happy that I could throw in some jokes to make the audience laugh. Goodbye USC, I’m going to be a comedian now. The Q&A session went well too, although some people did have interesting questions.

Overall, I am so thankful for the opportunity to have been a moderator for this event. APASA has given me so many opportunities this year and I can’t express how grateful I have been for everything. Thank you, Michelle for being APASA’s Executive Director. You have done so much for this assembly and have really impacted the lives of so many people while being there for our entire e-board and me (also great job with keeping the secret for that long). Thank you, Douglas and Speakers Committee for helping APASA with this entire process and for producing so many amazing events. Love you both very much.

• Jennifer Lee • 

The experience moderating was initially pretty daunting; we were trying to find the perfect questions to ask and to make sure the moderated interview flowed smoothly. However, after meeting Ali in person, our nerves really soothed themselves. Ali is just as down to earth and honest one-on-one as she is in her shows, so it was super easy for us to connect and converse. Not to mention, she’s equally as hilarious. The atmosphere in the auditorium was alive and focused, and everyone was so attentive. We had such a great time getting to speak to her about identity, career, and growth, and got some great advice as to how to go about our own journeys as college students.

Some of my favorite questions we got to ask were about being sure about career paths. Being college students, a lot of us could probably relate to the idea of flip-flopping on majors and minors, future aspirations, and potential professions. How did you know you wanted to pursue comedy? When were you sure about it? What are your ways of dealing with setbacks? Getting to hear about her experiences figuring this all out definitely made me and the rest of the audience feel more at peace with our realities. Her insight was succinct, inspiring, and optimistic: you can’t ever be sure about things unless you try and put yourself out there.

Thank you Austin, Jennifer and Ali Wong!