Iacocca International Internship<\/a> Program in 2024, a summer long program designed to facilitate students working overseas, in Hong Kong.<\/p>\nJavier also studied abroad last year through a rigorous user interface and design program at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, where he undertook a semester long research project.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Javier worked with students from Hong Kong and Singapore to improve international student registration for classes. He said his internship helped him better understand Asian cultural dynamics.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned a little bit more about how people outside the United States live,\u201d Javier said. \u201cYou realize (the U.S.) is not the center of the universe like we think we are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Javier said the experience shifted his vision in education and inspired him to pursue an additional major in global studies. He said the program allowed him to build on his ability\u00a0 to connect, learn and grow.<\/p>\n
One strong connection came from his mentor, Angelina Rodriguez, the assistant vice provost for global learning at Lehigh. Rodriguez helped guide students through the Global Citizenship Program and facilitated their sophomore-year trip to Mexico.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c(Javier) is not only exceptionally smart and interested and engaged, but he\u2019s also one of the kindest human beings I\u2019ve met,\u201d Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n
Since his freshman year, Javier has worked closely with Jiaruo Li, \u201826, a fellow member of the Asian Cultural Society who served as vice president in the 2024-25 academic year.<\/p>\n
Li has seen the club through several iterations over the past four years. She said the organization has noticeably expanded to include more cultural backgrounds under Javier\u2019s leadership, which she attributed to his connections with like-minded leaders in other cultural clubs.<\/p>\n
Last semester, the Asian Cultural Society partnered with Lehigh\u2019s\u00a0 Korean Students Association to host a discussion on Korean skincare culture and skin-whitening practices.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are the largest Asian organization on campus, and I think we should use that to amplify our voice a little bit more,\u201d Javier said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Javier broadened the club\u2019s focus, he also remained emotionally attentive to its members.<\/p>\n
During the first event Li ever led her freshman year, she said Javier noticed her apprehension about speaking to a large crowd and helped ease her worries beforehand<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really grateful for him at this time for noticing how I felt,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Javier said his responsibility as a graduating senior is to ensure the next iteration of the club is prepared for the coming year, but he also wants to leave a broader impact\u00a0 on campus beyond the Asian Cultural Society.<\/p>\n
He ran Fusion, an annual multicultural dance event at Lehigh, during the\u00a0 fall semester. Javier said the event represented all of Lehigh\u2019s communities and left a lasting\u00a0 impact on campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His team began planning the event in May. Javier said he remained dedicated despite challenges related to\u00a0 coordination and the extensive organization required. He said organizing the event was one of his proudest accomplishments.<\/p>\n
Throughout his four years at Lehigh, Javier has worked as a global citizen and encouraged growth in cultural conversations. Despite his extracurriculars and accomplishments, Javier said there were times when he hesitated to apply to Lehigh and other opportunities, but those experiences\u00a0 helped reach where he is today. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beyond having confidence in himself, Javier said he wouldn\u2019t be where he is today without the support\u00a0 of his family and the friends he has made at Lehigh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAll those people that really pushed me and made me feel like I could do the things I could do, I am really grateful for them,\u201d Javier said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Growing up in an immigrant household in San Francisco, Ryan Javier, \u201926, assumed the role of technological support…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106225,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[48710,153,155,154,9728,5878],"class_list":{"0":"post-106224","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-3-min-read","9":"tag-bethlehem","10":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","11":"tag-bethlehem-news","12":"tag-profile","13":"tag-student-life"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}