“Home away from home” is how some University of Pennsylvania students describe the Pan-Asian American Community House, the cultural center for students interested in Asian-American culture and the Asian-American diaspora. PAACH is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year.

One of five multicultural and academic centers at Penn located in the heart of campus on the ground floor of the Arts, Research and Culture House, or ARCH, at 36th Street and Locust Walk, PAACH offers students a place to make friends, participate in peer mentoring and leadership programs, learn about University resources and discuss identity and race.

Sofas at PAACH’s entrance are where students can be found studying, catching up with friends or enjoying a meal.

“We provide a familial type of atmosphere,” says Peter Van Do, director of PAACH.  

That sense of family extends to alumni, faculty and staff at Penn. 

For students, the three PAACH staff members provide guidance and assistance for many issues, from academic life on campus to family relationships.

“We are aware that, for a lot of students, they can’t talk to their parents about certain issues,” says Viraj Patel, associate director. “For a lot of Asian students, they haven’t had a chance to really explore their identity and show that to the world yet. Our goal is to create the kind of space where students can think and reflect on who they are and how they came to be the way they are and have a space where they can be flawed and thrive and succeed and be happy in who they are versus feeling pressures that may be coming from different areas of their life.”

When Kristen Kelly arrived at Penn as a freshman, she wasn’t sure she’d fit in at PAACH because of her multi-cultural background. Her mother is Chinese and her father is German and Irish.

“Being able to come in and have a group that I could immediately fall in to wasn’t something that I had before but became a great way for me to explore my identity,” says Kelly, now a senior, majoring in urban studies and English with a minor in Asian American studies.

Kusum Soin, PAACH’s office coordinator, is like a mom for many at PAACH.

“The first time they come here, they can feel uncomfortable coming to PAACH because they don’t know anyone in the group,” says Soin, who has been a staff member at PAACH since it was created in 2000 as the student life complement to the Asian American Studies program in the School of Arts & Sciences. 

Soin encourages new students to reach out to peers, to participate in activities on campus, and often feeds them, taking students home with her for a meal and for conversation. 

Events and activities marking PAACH’s 15th anniversary have been going on since the spring and include the creation of a quilt with a cultural theme.

“We want it to be a reflection of the diversity that’s a part of the PAACH family,” says Patel.

“The idea was for people to donate a fabric piece that was meaningful to whatever we held dear,” says Van Do. 

Some people donated pieces of traditional clothing and pieces of shirts from Penn organizations and cultural groups.

“I had a t-shirt from La Casa Latina’s 15th anniversary, so I donated that piece,” says Van Do. “We were doing our first sewing session and La Casa Latina director Johnny Irizarry saw us sewing that piece, and I saw his delight. It inspired me to reach out to the other cultural resource centers to donate a piece from their t-shirts too.”

Included on the quilt are fabric pieces from the Greenfield Intercultural Center, the LGBT Center, Makuu and the Penn Women’s Center.

The quilt will be presented at the anniversary banquet in November and will be housed permanently and prominently displayed on a wall at PAACH.

View a video of PAACH's history:

https://upenn.app.box.com/s/hyjzb9l29ieoemap7c25zw51zf5wg68v