Intern Update: Pearl Presidential Inaugural Gala

From left: Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa being interviewed by Krista Aniel at the Pearl Gala, filmed by Mark Wolf.

By Emilio Eusebio, Spring 2013 intern

At the 2013 Pearl Presidential Inaugural Gala, I assisted our team while we filmed and conducted interviews for our upcoming exhibition: I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story. The traveling exhibition consists of 30 banners and an app that will tell the stories of many different Asian Pacific Americans (APAs). The Pearl Presidential Inaugural Gala brings together different leaders of the APA community, supporters, entrepreneurs, and public policy makers who highlight APA involvement in politics and prepare for the new administration.[1]

Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center staff attended the Gala because it was a great opportunity to meet and interview some of the biggest and important leaders in the APA community. Our team consisted of Lawrence Minh-Bui Davis, Noriko Sanefuji, Krista Aniel, Krishna Aniel, and videographer Mark Wolf. We asked our interviewees many different questions for our exhibition such as “What does it mean to you to be APA?” and “What does it mean to be American?”

A few of the interviewees include Secretary Norman Mineta, Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa, and Deepa Iyer. I assisted our team by  making sure no one interrupted the interviews and had every interviewee sign our release agreement.  The experience was  surreal and I’m very proud to have been a part of it.