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120 Years Later, Part 1: The History of Asian Allure

February 15, 2026 • Think ND

0:00 | 59:13

Episode Topic: The History of Asian Allure (https://go.nd.edu/c9944d)

Discover the origins, evolution, and impact of Asian Allure, the annual, student-led performance that has become a cornerstone of the Asian Pacific Islander community at Notre Dame. Explore how Asian Allure began, how it has grown over the years, and what it continues to mean for generations of API students at Our Lady’s University in a conversation with co-founder Teresita Mercado ’97, ’00 J.D., and her daughters Bianca Feix ’25, and Mia Feix ’27, moderated by Cecilia Lucero ’84.

Featured Speakers:

Cecilia Lucero '84, University of Notre Dame
Bianca Feix '25
Mia Feix '27, University of Notre Dame
Teresita T. Mercado '97, '00 J.D., Buchalter

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/e124a2.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled 120 Years Later: Asian and Pacific Islander Alumni Perspectives.

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Introduction to Asian Allure

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 0:06

Thank you for joining today's episode where we are going to discuss the origins, the abolition and impact of Asian allure, the annual student led performance that has become a cornerstone of the Asian Pacific Islander community at the University of Notre Dame. We are going to explore how Asian allure began, how it has grown over the years, and what continues to mean for generations of API students at our ladies University. Asian allure began more than three decades ago as a way for API students to showcase their cultural heritage on stage. Over the years, the event has become both a creative outlet and a community touchstone, students a chance to express identity, build belonging, and invite others into their cultural tradition traditions. My name is Cecilia Lucero, and I will, I'm really excited to be moderating this, conversation today. I serve as the director of the Balfour Hesberg Scholars Program at Notre Dame, which guides high achieving students from low income backgrounds, under resourced high schools, and first generation college backgrounds towards academic success and personal growth here at Notre Dame. I'm actually celebrating 30 years of being involved in the program, and, I am a member of Notre Dame's class of 1984. and while at Notre Dame, I lived in Lewis Hall Yay, among a few other Asian Pacific Islander alumni. I received the a PA Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995. Thank you to the Asian Pacific alumni of Notre Dame, an alumni group that is celebrating its 30th anniversary the year, this year, the L Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, and the Notre Dame Alumni Association. sponsoring this special episode today, I'm thrilled that we have the opportunity to discuss Asian allure. Well, it takes the form of a cultural showcase. Asian allure has always been about more than just performance. It's a space for storytelling away from Notre Dame's, API community, to be seen and heard, enduring. Example of the heart of how the arts can foster dial dialogue and connection across campus. For many alumni, Asian allure is remembered as a highlight of student life, an event that not only is entertaining, but also educated, is also educated and brought the campus together. Today, we'll revisit its history, its evolution, and its lasting impact on Notre Dame's Asian Pacific, Islander community. So let's meet our guests. Terrace Mercado, class of 1997 in jd, class of 2000. He was part of the pioneering group of students behind Asian allure. In joining her are her daughters, Bianca, of 2025, and Mia Fay. Sorry. can you tell me Mia again? caring towards the tradition today. A little bit about Terra Cita. She's an attorney with a Buck Balter law firm in Phoenix, Arizona, specializing in commercial litigation. She's a former president of the Arizona Asian American Bar Association. Has served as a judge pro tem with Maricopa County Superior Court, has previously been appointed to various task forces and committees for the State Bar of Arizona. As an undergrad, she lived in BP Hall and double majored in government slash international studies and Russian. She was an officer of the Asian American Association. of the BP intramural volleyball team and was on the club coordination counseling while in law school. Terra Cita was a member of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association, at the Immigration Legal Aid Clinic, the managing editor for the Notre Dame Journal of Legislation, and received a Jessup International Moot Court Award at graduation. also served as a board member of the Asian Pacific alumni of Notre Dame and is a member of the Notre Dame Club of Phoenix. welcome Terra Aita. What an impressive background.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 4:12

You so much. Happy to be here.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 4:15

All right, and daughter Bianca recently graduated from Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and Behavior, and Minors in Science and Patient Advocacy and Asian studies. an RA in Pasilla West and worked as a student assistant at the LU Institute for Asian and Asian. Asian and Asian Studies. Bianca was an active member of the N-D-A-P-I community serving as the AAA board secretary, vice president and President, the Faso Board Vice President and President, and the CCS board secretary. She was committed to raising awareness and education of API culture at Notre Dame and creating a welcoming community for all API students in May. Bianca was a recipient of the Jose Valez Impact Award for her service, leadership, and dedication to the API community at Notre Dame. She's currently doing a year of service in the St. Joseph Worker Program in Orange, California while applying to medical school. Welcome Bianca.

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 5:15

Thank you so much for having me.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 5:18

Okay, and Mia is a current junior at Notre Dame pursuing a major in psychology with a pre-health supplementary major and a minor in Asian studies. She's actively involved in the Asian community on campus, serving as co vice president of AA and an active member of the Filipino American Student Organization and Chinese Cultural Society, as well as the student assistant with the LU Institute for Asia and Asian Studies. MIA is also part of the communications team on junior class council and serves on the ND psychology club board feminist ND board, and is a merchandise chair for her dorm, McGlynn Hall. Welcome Mia.

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 5:57

Thank you. I'm so excited for us all to be here together.

The Origins of Asian Allure

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 6:00

Yeah, is lovely to have all three of you and I. It's pretty cool that it's a generation of Notre Dame women, here for our conversation tonight. let's dive in. Teda, let's start with you. Can you take us back to the beginning? What inspired you and your peers to create Asian allure in the 1990s and what was your vision for the showcase at the time?

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 6:25

So, thank you again for having me. this is just a huge honor, to be able to do this and, to do it with my daughters. I, because my memory is not necessarily the best, I actually contacted some friends who served on the AAA board with me at the time, and I kind of got a little bit of a rundown on the history. Before we actually launched Asian Allure, which would've been my senior year in the fall of 1996, this actually, the idea of it actually started, and the seeds started in the fall of 1995 when Notre Dame and AAA hosted for the first time the Midwest Asian American Student Union. it was a conference that, it was actually, I think, the fourth leadership retreat that the conference even had. and at the time our co-presidents, Michelle Yoko, James Adonia, worked really hard and tirelessly preparing for the summer before to host, 20, leaders from 27 Midwest campuses. it really invigorated our group. and really, Got us in the mindset of, not thinking of ourselves as just kind of possibly one of the smallest cultural groups on campus, but as something to strive for in terms of representing the Asian, Pacific Islander student community on and then the next year, our co-presidents, vun and Hubi, actually went to the conference, went to the leadership conference that was hosted another school, and they came back with the idea that we were gonna host a signature event showcasing API students on campus. because our board felt that Notre Dame needed an annual event that would both educate the Notre Dame community about the API experience, and also show that there were API students at Notre Dame. it was really important for us to establish an API identity. the Notre Dame community, and to establish a signature event that exhibited the different facets, of the students on campus. but I have to admit Cecilia, that I was actually sitting at the table. I rem I remember vividly, how excited everybody was and I was kind of the negative Nelly. I remember sitting there thinking that everybody was crazy. I had actually participated in, at the time, one of the large. cultural, shows at the time, the Black Cultural Arts Festival fashion show, the year before. I remember trying out, I remember practicing on the weekends. I remember they even brought a fashion show consultant to help us learn how to walk, every weekend. He came from Chicago. and I just remember how much work that was, how many resources they had, and I was thinking, sitting there, you know, in the room we didn't even have enough people to put on a show ourselves. and I just didn't understand how we could do it, because of course you wanna do it well. but luckily I was overruled and, I'm so glad that VU and Hubi were assistant, and so insistent in having us do this, because, They decided, that it was better to try to put something on and fail than just to not do anything at all. Right. And I'm so glad that they had the courage to do that because, what's come from that, what's come to fruition, is just literally beyond anything we probably, could have imagined Asian allure could become. really our goal was just to have people show up, and hopefully have a semi full

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 9:43

Mm-hmm.

The Evolution and Growth of Asian Allure

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 9:44

to watch the show. so we decided to, just do the best that we could. and, we're very strategic with some things.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 9:52

Mm-hmm.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 9:53

So one of the things that we did, because of the fact that we weren't sure that anyone would actually show up, much less pay to watch, our show, we came up with the idea of a fashion show to bring in more interest. It was actually very strategic because we decided to invite, you know, non API

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 10:11

Mm-hmm.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 10:11

course, we also had API students, I participated in the fashion show myself. but we were very strategic in inviting students. I mean, let's just be frank. We invited popular, good looking students, and different groups on campus. We invited people from rotc. We invited people from different dorms, leadership groups, different classes. I think we tried to invite grads. We had grad students actually now that I remember. and we basically went out of our way, to invite models that we thought would, garner interest and bring a community, to come watch them and then, be introduced to AAA in our community. And then to fix the fact that we didn't, you know, there were maybe 10 of us sitting at the table. at the time, discussing this, we decided to invite, various API clubs to participate. we had graduate student groups like the India Association, I remember distinctly. They performed a musical program with their native, musical instruments. And then we invited Troi at the time, had a lot of, Faso members, Filipino American Student Organization members. I think we may have had another, we may have had a Faso separate Faso. Presentation. And then, my friends tell me, because really my memory's a little bit foggy, that we also had, we believe, VSA, the Vietnamese Student Association perform. so we had several groups and, that was great because we basically interspersed the cultural performances, with bits of the

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 11:42

Mm-hmm.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 11:43

Um, um, you know, one thing that we did, at the time was, we went around to University Park Mall. I literally, I blatantly copied from my experience of doing the BCAF fashion show the year And I knew that they, there were stores in the mall that, donated clothing for the models to wear. So I just went out, and hit up, the stores that, that, might be interested in promoting their, their line of clothes for the year. and

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 12:14

That was.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 12:16

Then we did, again, limited resources. So somebody came up with a brilliant idea of giving us, I wanna say 10 or$20. And the models for that segment got to go to the Goodwill and pick out outfits. And we ended up with this funky, seventies kind of, show where, we, one of my friends, Keoni Koha from Hawaii found some roller skates, and I think somebody else might have had roller blades. And we decided to just do this funky seventies, you know, bit where, I think we played at the car wash. we all came out in our gear. People were rollerblading and I think we had people in the background blowing bubbles. so it was just, you know, we did what we could to make things interesting, while trying to kind of showcase and highlight the different, Asian cultural groups on campus.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 13:07

Wonderful. Yeah, that sounds excellent. The name Asian Alert has become iconic on campus. How did the name come about and what did it mean to you when you first coined it or adopted it?

Personal Reflections: Bianca and Mia

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 13:22

So it's really funny because I actually, got in touch with Vu, the, who was co-president at the time, and he also can't remember, I, I can't remember who came up with the name, but I remember we sat around at the table talking about the fact that we wanted something with an A so that we could, be alliterative. So we wanted it to be Asians a something and people threw out a bunch of different names and, allure just stuck. we wanted something unique, and we wanted something to showcase and describe, the fact that, there was something. To highlight and promote about, the API students on campus and Asian Pacific Islander or cultural in general. and that's how we came up with the name. We can't remember who it was, but I think that's kind of fitting.'cause I, I think the whole point is we came up with the name together as a group.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 14:11

Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. So Bianca and Mia, what was it like growing up, hearing about your mom's involvement with Asian Pacific Islander community at Notre Dame and also founding Asian allure? How did that shape your own participation in this, as students?

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 14:28

Yeah, I always loved hearing about my mom's experience at Notre Dame. for me, Notre Dame. Was my dream school. And a lot of that was shaped by her experience there and the people she met there and her friends that I got to meet growing up. but I remember like, obviously we're her daughters, so there were times where we would be like, oh, mom's talking about her fashion show again. but I grew up with honestly this real like, kind of a reverence for the show. And like talk about how there were so few Asian students and this was really them trying to put their mark on campus. So to me it was always something that was so important and representative of, API students at Notre Dame and the API legacy. So it was definitely something that going into Notre Dame I knew I wanted to be a part of. and I definitely dove right in when I got to Notre Dame. I wanted to be involved with as many of the Asian clubs as possible. And, when I got there, I realized that. Not everyone thought Asian lore was as important. Like they, not everyone going into their freshman year had heard about this event growing up, but everyone really quickly learns like how important this event it really is to the community and, I just feel so lucky to have been a part of it. So I think that hearing about all of these things growing up definitely made me want to pursue that at Notre Dame. And, I'm grateful for every moment that I got to spend, working on the show and just being involved in the Asian community in general.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 15:55

Thank you.

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 15:56

Yeah, my journey was a little bit different than Bianca's, so I actually transferred to Notre Dame. I initially attended Fordham University for half of my sophomore year and my freshman And it was, I would come to visit my sister when she was a student and having shows and I would come for Asian Alert and there are other cultural shows in the spring. and it was really, it was those visits that kind of solidified the fact that I did wanna go to Notre Dame. If you asked me in high school what college I wanted to go to, I would respond with a resounding, I don't know, but I'm going anywhere. But Notre Dame and here I'm wearing Notre Dame merch. She can't catch me without some blue gold or green on anymore. So funny how that turned out. But wasn't, I, so like at Bianca, obviously we grew up hearing a lot about my mom's extracurriculars and how, how involved she was on campus. But it wasn't until I actually became a student here that I realized how. Big Asian alert was, and how much the Asian community really can mean to a lot of people. Me, and I'm speaking for my sister now included, and I came as a transfer student. I was a mid-year transfer, so I had known a couple of my sister's friends, so upperclassmen, and they really just took me under their wing and had, they're the best community ever. I, as a half Asian. I've never felt like I've never been enough for them. They've always loved me wholeheartedly. and I'm super excited to be part of Asian allure for the first time this year as a member and performer and not just an audience member. I will say I felt like I'm a little VIPA special person because I'm like the nepo baby of Asian alert when I would come and visit in high school, right. Bianca's freshman year or her sophomore year, her Asian alert. So we'd sit and then Bianca would reserve the front row for families and we'd sit in there and I'd saunter in with my high school self and think I was super, super cool for the fact that my mom started this as like, these people don't know that I am a descendant of the first Asian alert performer. but yeah, I think it's just makes it all more special to me. I'm super involved with, AAA board right now working on Haitian allure. and it's just so incredible to me how something that started when my mom was my age is now continuing going on and that I have the opportunity to make it even more. And it's such a huge staple on campus. Like, we had alum come by our AAA concession stand last weekend, or the UP two weekends ago now. And they were just, oh, do you guys still do Asian alert or do you guys still do that cultural show that I heard about when I was a student? And we were like, yes, and your donations go right to that. So thank you very much. So it's just so personal to me and I feel like a lot of people who don't even have that family connection, it just speaks to the volumes of how Unit Inc. Asian Alert and the Asian community at Notre Dame really I, even though I was hesitant at first, I have jumped into the deep end. I'm in it deep and I'm so excited for our next stage more.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 19:09

That's wonderful. Thank you.

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 19:12

I feel like,

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 19:12

emotion, oh, go ahead.

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 19:14

sorry. I feel like it's also important to note that you did kind of get a little sneak peek of working on Asian allure before you were a student here. Because I mean

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 19:23

yes. If you guys go back to the YouTube of Washington Hall and look up Asian Alert 2024, there's a beautiful video that's filmed by yours truly. So again, just another way I felt special and Asian alert really did bring me to the school.

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 19:39

yeah. Yeah. And

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 19:41

Yeah.

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 19:42

it's funny because I just, yeah, I just kind of rope my family into helping me.'cause they came for my senior year Asian allure and at. My mom now, however many years later, is having to work again on the show that she started. So I'm very grateful for all your guys' help.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 19:58

It was great. It was fun. I, actually, it's awesome. I remember we were putting together, we were just, again, around to find costumes for the fashion show. And now actually the fashion show is not, you know, from the mall. It's traditional native fashion. And, to now what's mostly cultural performances, and modern dance and other things, the fashion show is actually the grand finale. And, one of the things I couldn't even believe is that the club's grown so much that they actually even have costume bins and, past, you know, traditional formal wear that's been donated, by students, in years past. And so I had a lot of fun helping some students last year pick out their, formal wear for the fashion show. And it was really fun scurrying around in the back of Washington Hall, just kind of feeling a little bit of deja vu what it was like, when we were there. 30 years

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 20:52

Yeah. You know, I have some dresses. I used to do folk dancing when I was, at the Filipino Club of Pittsburgh. I should bring some in, if you need

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 21:00

Yes, they love it.

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 21:01

We'd love it. Yeah. say, I don't know how it's, it just got around, but, so I'm not, Bianca and I are not the ones to tell people about my mom's history with Asian Alert and that she was on board when the first Asian alert happened. But people just somehow know. So I'll be walking around campus and I'll run into some Asian friends. They'll be like, oh, are you, is your mom coming for Asian alert this year? Or, and I'm like, oh, I guess, yeah. They're like, oh yeah. Like she was one of the first Asian alert members. Right. And I was like, I guess, yeah. They're like, is she gonna give us a pep talk before we perform? Like, that would be nice. And I was like, I mean, sure. Like, so it's just, it shows how much of a big family we are. And then especially with her work on the alum, a PA just, it's just I always, even though we're half the country away now, I still feel like her presence everywhere through the Asian community. So, yeah.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 21:53

Yeah. So what emotions do you, did you all experience when Bianca and Mia took the stage, the same showcase that Terra Cita helped create? did it feel like a full circle moment?

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 22:06

So, I have to say for myself, it. So, last year was the first time I actually, we'd watched Bianca before, on the video'cause there's a video feed. And if you're watching this, look on the, Asian Pacific alumni Board of Notre Dame Facebook or social media or the aaa, social media. And they'll post a link, near at the end of October every year, when the annual shows is broadcast and you can watch it live. You don't necessarily have to go on campus to see it. but after watching it, online for three years, we decided that, for Bianca senior year we were gonna come down, drive, get, fly from Arizona and, Mia came from Fordham in New York. I just, it was really amazing. it was really amazing to not just see my daughter. Participating, but to see how far it had come. I knew it, I guess I knew it because I'd seen, past shows, to see it in person and to be sitting in Washington Hall and just to actually in person, see how many, first of all, how many, Asian Pacific Islander students there

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 23:15

Mm-hmm.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 23:16

we have enough students on campus now to, to just do the whole show ourselves. It's something that we never even thought to dream when we were thinking about this, because we never thought that we would get to a point, as part of the Notre Dame student population to have enough students to actually man the show ourselves. so to see that, and then not just that, but the quality and the excellence of the performances, the diversity of the performances. I mean, they had, you know, Korean drums, they had modern songs being sung, in the Asian languages by the students. They had traditional and modern versions of dancing. I just, it was amazing to see, the breadth of. Performances, showcasing just so much different kinds of talents and parts of the different cultures. the Asian Pacific Islander cultures that, comprise of the students at Notre Dame currently. And so that was just amazing. it was just, and then to see the students, I mean, it went from, I hope somebody shows up to now two nights sold out,

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 24:29

Hmm.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 24:30

um, a weekend. and that's just, and not just sold out. I mean, people were, I don't know, I probably shouldn't say this because of fire. I don't wanna get you in trouble, but there were students just standing in the aisles. There were students. it was a full house.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 24:46

yeah.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 24:46

was amazing. It was amazing for me to see. we had, parents, we had, I actually even think some members of the community, members of the Lew Institute, always come. I think you had wonderful guest, father, father Pete last year come, father Dowd, came, we met him there. He came for the first night. and it was just, it was from my perspective as an alum,

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 25:12

Mm-hmm.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 25:13

a parent, uh, it was just, it was just amazing to see how far it had

The Impact of Asian Allure on the Notre Dame Community

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 25:17

Yeah. Yeah, no, I've enjoyed the performances I've gone to and, you know, being from, attending Notre Dame when nothing like this was there. It was just wonderful to see. so what impact do you think Asian allure has had on the broader Notre Dame community over the decades from representation to inclusion, to cultural understanding? Can you talk a little bit about that? All of you?

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 25:48

Do you wanna take that Bianca?

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 25:49

Yeah, I can. I think that it's had a great impact, you know, like even if the seats weren't full, just the impact that it has on the API community involved and like creating the show and putting it on and just having that proud moment of being able to share and represent your culture is so special. And, and doing the show together really, it really strengthens our community. And it's cool to see that, like a lot of people think that we're all separated by the, like sub umbrella clubs. right. So it's really cool to show people that we are all still kind of united under that AAA umbrella and we don't isolate ourselves from each other. Like we are one big API community. And I think that, like my mom mentioned, we, we have people from the local community coming through the show, so it really is playing a part. And educating people about API culture and traditions. And we've been able to reach, the broader Notre Dame campus beyond our API community. We've been able to reach the South Bend local community. And it's just really cool to see that, that we have that opportunity to share our culture with other people and that we have that, we can be very educational, you know, and we have a lot of fun putting it on together. but it, I think that the show in and of itself, shows people that we are present. Right. And that was the goal that, that my mom and her board had at the very beginning. That there is this API presence at Notre Dame. And, you know, students can see that and see that they are represented, that students there, and, Every year students have an opportunity to learn something new about the API community. I feel like I was always learning about different parts of API culture because, we also see what the director, wants to focus on in terms of their theme and their vision. And so there's also some storytelling involved in that and, including an explanation of the history and the background of various performances. Like, I remember, in, for the 2024 show, the theme was love. And so the director asked, the clubs and audition acts to find acts that would kind of showcase their culture's representation of love or some way that their culture, expresses love. And so I, choreographed, the Karen, which is a Filipino traditional, like courting dance. So it's like that's not something that had been shown at user earlier before, but because of this. Specific theme, we were able to like explore that avenue of, okay, well what does love look like in all of these different API cultures? So we definitely, are able to bring a lot of that educational, cultural and inclusion to Notre Dame campus and the broader South Bend community, which is so cool.

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 28:34

Yeah. Yeah. To echo that, I feel like there's also, a major like unity aspect. We have people from all around the country, people from all around the world coming together, sharing their own personal experiences. Like for example, Bianca and I grew up doing a little bit of Filipino dancing, but we honestly hadn't done that for, throughout kind of high school, so we were a little rusty, but we have people that grew up. Similar childhoods like us, remem like relearning how to do like tin clean steps. Or even me personally, I, my Chinese heritage, I was able, were able to perform with CCS the Chinese cultural society in the fan dance. So you have that opportunity through Asian alert to not only like strengthen your own, sense of identity in yourself, but also Bianca performed with ssa, right? The South Asian Student Association'cause she had friends there. And where else can you learn a Bollywood dance taught by people who have been doing this their entire lives. And it's just so beautiful seeing how close everyone gets and how you have the opportunity to do things that you really not, don't only really get in college. and it's just a wonderful blend of everyone's backgrounds and heritage. I also love that like the students have included food in group meals at the end of the show. So that's your tradition. And it's also a lot of peoples that come to watch the show, it's their favorite part, right? So food in general and Asian communities is a huge part of our culture, and it's a way that we show our love in a way of coming together. So it's a tradition after Asian alert, and there are other cultural shows to go to La Fund, LA Fortune Center and share food. that's often bought by local Asian owned restaurants in the South Bend community. So it's kind of goes hand in hand, right? We're giving back to the community and we're fostering those relationships and it's just another great way to celebrate Asian and Asia and Asian Americans, on campus. So it's a, it's home away from home for a lot of people. and I just, it was special.

Introduction to Asian Allure Preparation

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 30:38

Yeah. Yeah. No, and it also, like I told you, I, I did, folk dancing with a Filipino club at Pittsburgh. which was something I loved doing every year, and to have it be at Notre Dame was just great. It's just so cool. Yeah. So, Bianca and Mio, what as club officers and performance, can you share what goes into preparing, Asian allure each year? From the choreography to the costumes? To the coordination?

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 31:05

Oh yeah. how much time do you have?

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 31:08

Yeah. Yeah. A lot of moving parts, I imagine.

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 31:11

A lot of moving parts and I definitely got to experience that the most, last year when I was the AAA president. there's just so much that goes into this show and it really is. So many people that are involved in making it all happen. every, all the preparation begins the year before. so the semester before, we have to decide on a date and then we go through, applications to, to select the director of Asian or, and, we've had some amazing directors, the past couple years. They, all have their own sort of like creative vision for what they wanna see in Asian allure with keeping the spirit of like sharing API culture and telling these stories, but doing it in their own very creative way. So it's really fun working with the directors. and then from there, it's really just everything that you can do to support making that vision come alive. So we have to organize auditions, and then. Each club, umbrella club for aaa, if they so choose, is guaranteed, one to two slots in the show so they don't have to audition. so then we have to make sure that people are staying on top of their choreography. they're having rehearsals, singing groups are having rehearsals. So just with that alone is a lot of coordination in reserving, spaces for rehearsal, making sure people have the things that they need, they have the outfits they need, for the performances, we had a whole marketing committee this past year and they designed all of the art, for the show. All of the posters, all of the backgrounds that we use, during the show, we put things up in a projector in the back, and they did an incredible job. we had a finance committee as well, which helped us with making sure that we were, we had enough to fund the event and we were using our funds in the, in a, in efficient way. So that includes. applying for grants from MSPS and the Low Institute. and then because we had decided this year that we wanted to add that like banquet aspect, so, 2024 was actually the first year that we did food after Asian Illinois because it was so daunting because we have so many different types of Asian and Pacific is cultures involved that people weren't really sure how to go about, getting food that represents all of these cultures. But our director, was really passionate about it and we wanted to help him make it come true. So we ended up ordering a lot of different cuisines from a lot of different places. So figuring out like how we're gonna do that with, catering, ordering the food, having a space big enough to have all of it, having a team that could set it up and help serve and take it down. there are a lot of, a lot more people behind the scenes during the show that are involved, like, doing stage managing lighting and sound. Uss and ticket sellers, like every single person that you see involved in this from the very beginning to the day of the show is a student. And I think that is so cool that we can all be involved in this as a community and that we never have to, really like, rely on paying other people to do it because everyone wants to be involved and wants to give their time and their skills to the show. I remember like freshmen would come up and be like, I wanna be involved, but I don't really like performing. And it's like, well, what do you like to do?'cause we have something for you. Like, you can work on designing posters, you can do tech if you want tech to do tech, if you like tech and you wanna do lighting and sound. so yeah, it's just a huge team effort. And then, obviously you have to clean up everything after the show as well, but, which really takes a lot of teamwork. But, it's really, it's a lot of coordination between a lot of different people. But it's really rewarding in the end because you see how the community comes together. because this show is so important for all of us, and, everyone wants to make it the best that it can be. So it's a lot, but we get through it together.

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 34:57

Yeah. Yeah. Bianca kind of mentioned this, but when we are thinking about how Asian alert has been dynamic and changed over time, from when my mom first started, it was, it's now you, now we've shifted towards, there's a full plot now and there's a continuous, like the last year's theme was love, and this year's theme is going to be announced soon, but it's fluid and it's super exciting to see, the different ways. E everyone is just so creative and I'm always constantly blown away at how people can integrate these ideas and come together and produce something that. leave anyone in the audience, like in awe and just think how are these 19, 20 year olds doing this and making it so invigorating? I also think that, like NCA said, it's so whatever, however much you have to give to Asian allure, they'll take, right? So if we have some busy people who maybe like an architecture major or someone who's got a lot of extracurriculars, they can have as much, it's as much commitment as they want it to be. So just for the night and do tech and then know what to do, like that's okay. Or if you wanna be like Bianca and dance in every other dance and basically being the star of the show, you can do that. Bianca was really good at the dances and she had a couple of, she would do the traditional and modern dances. She's being modest by not mentioning that, but she had a really cool, everyone loved seeing her dance. And I'm not a dancer, but I. Acting history, so, we'll see. We've got like, there's different ways that everyone can contribute, and it's so beautiful the way that it comes together and everyone can just add their little things, that's what makes it so, so nice. and how everyone in the audience, regardless of if you're Asian or not, can kind of take something home from that and realize that there's something that is bigger that's uniting us all.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 36:58

Yeah,

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 36:58

yeah.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 36:59

I'm always blown away at how talented students are, you know, performance to the organizers of the event. yeah.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 37:08

I, as a parent, I was blown away that these are full-time students.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 37:12

yes.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 37:12

students who are there to learn engineering concepts in, I don't know, organic chemistry or biochemistry, is gonna help them get into medical school or other majors that will help them get into law school or become, you know, the future teachers and, other things that, they're there primarily at Notre Dame for, in terms of more traditional education. but I love that in addition to that, these kids are educating themselves on how to become leaders, and teachers, in different ways, both for each other, for the, and for the greater Notre Dame community. it's amazing. And, you know, one thing. it's kind of Asian allure adjacent that I also, was really proud to see was that Asian allure, was the first, but it's not the last event, right? So Faso, the Filipino American student organization has their big event, Fiesta. Hawaii Club. you know, gosh, when I was there, my Hawaiian friends, you could count on, you know, one hand. But, Hawaii Club puts on, a luau that fills up the ballroom every year, including, you know, home cooked, roast pig and other food, that they coordinate with, Notre Dame Food Services to do. and you know, I like to hope that Asian allure kind of inspired the clubs to think, you know, well, if AAA can do it, we can do it too. and it's amazing to see that, it's amazing to see how the other clubs have, grown to have their own signature events, and share that with the Nerd Dam community. And also, you know, even just last year, one of Bianca's friends, who was president of sas. who also won the, inaugural Valdez, alumni award. He, directed and created the very first, SSA event.

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 39:09

Yes. He also was Asian Alert Director the year before, so

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 39:12

And he had, yeah. So he took that experience and he created something even more. Right. and that's just to me, amazing, to see that, you know, you send your children to school, you, you hope that they will do better than you. and I feel like my kids have. and that's. That's even more special since I was, you know, a first generation student. And for me, I just was, I remember just, you know, in some ways keeping my head down, just trying to survive and, you know, make it through the classes and get to graduation and hopefully law school, which I felt very lucky to have done. and along the way, met some friends, got involved and put on something that I'm so glad, helped to enhance the experience of students, API and non a PII hope, at Notre Dame.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 40:04

I really think that Asian allure has, inspired people to embrace their culture and not look sort of assimilate with everybody. and have fun doing it and, you know, show off the talent that everyone wants to show off. So, no, I really think it adds to the greater, like the richer tapestry of Notre Dame. We're all Irish. Yeah. But we're also, you know, we're Filipino or

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 40:28

Yeah. And on that theme of not even, like, one of the core things that I took away when my mom would take talk about her time at Notre Dame was, I remember her telling her stories about like the minority table and how there were so few of them on campus at the time that they all just stuck together no matter what. They were black, Latino, native Hispanic. And while it's a great thing that like we've got such a big Asian community and we have the amount of people to do these things, we did kind of lose that, like intercultural interactions. And so this year specifically, we're trying to bring that back. So we've reached out with the Latino, like we're collabing with the Latino clubs and BSA, and we're gonna try and next semester bring back the. Original essence of the original Asian allure, where we have a total cultural fashion show that is leading into the Asian or fashion show roots of going to the mall and seeing who's gonna, who can donate and also have a cultural aspect of that. So I think it's so amazing that we, Asian allure has now kind of divided and gotten into two things. So we have enough people and enough support where we can have both a fall and semester event and create that unifying sense on campus that a lot of people will be able to participate in. So that's something that's new that we're trying to do in the spring, and we're really excited about that. And as soon as with, as soon as the Latino students came up to us, at AAA and asked us about that, it was just an immediate yes from us because how could you not? And then just knowing the history of Asian allure, it being such an important year this year with Asian students, and even women and leaders, like we've got women leaders in all these clubs too. And just really inspiring. And we hope, as right now we're doing freshman applications for our freshmen representative for aaa, we're seeing that look into the future of what kind of legacy are we gonna leave behind when we graduate? or I guess when I graduate,'cause these two have already, but, but it's just, it's, it just shows how you can change like a lot of people's lives or their experiences on campus with things like this. and to me that's kind of a major facet of what leadership is. It's creating that environment that you would want to have as a younger person and making sure that everyone feels welcome and feels seen and has the ability to do what they want to do or be shown in the way that they wanna be and so it's so amazing, how this is kind of yarn balled into all these different, the jazz ba which is the SSA show, FIEs Don, CCS, Zodiacs, luau, all of the above. VSA,

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 43:12

And

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 43:12

just amazing.

Memorable Performances and Experiences

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 43:13

You guys have sold out,

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 43:14

yeah. And VSA is ND by night. Yeah.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 43:17

That's great.

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 43:18

Just keeps growing.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 43:20

So what are some of your favorite memories from participating in Asian allure, either as performance performers or audience members?

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 43:30

I have a lot of memories that I love. I don't, I can go first. I honestly, I love everything leading up to the show. I feel like, all the rehearsals and practices and tech week, which is the week leading up to the show where we do all of our blocking and then lighting and sounds and then the dress rehearsal. those memories of being at rehearsal and being at tech are my favorite because it was, you really see everything come together. and that's really also how you bond and get to know all the people in the community is like, you're in this together. We have this shared goal of putting on an amazing show and we all wanna do our best. and there are obviously always funny moments that happened at practice with people messing up or. Lines or anything, but it's like we, it's just such a fun, fun time and it's so beautiful to see the community come together in that way. And, yeah, I would definitely say just even though it can be stressful, everything leading up to the show with practicing rehearsal and meeting with everybody is just my favorite.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 44:34

Oh, Mia, how about you?

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 44:37

Yeah. so last year was really great to see all the behind the scenes how the show was run. Right. Like it's the way that everyone just kind of seemingly knows what to do, but doesn't at the same time and everyone relying on each other. it was so crazy to see and think that these people are like my age and they just are putting on something like this. That's so on a large scale, I will say I love of the performances. I feel like the first, my favorite personally, like when I would watch the live streams and, be in the audience would be the salsa show, which I'm so happy that they have their own show now because it's just, I feel like that is a totally unre, underrepresented, community in within the Asian community. And it's so great that they have this place and this platform to showcase how beautiful their art and music and dance can be. I love everyone else as well and I'm super excited to perform. and I've signed up for as many as my schedule, as many dances as my schedule will allow

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 45:40

Yes.

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 45:41

another thing that's really fun, I mentioned it before, is that you don't necessarily have to be part of the culture that you're dancing right? Like, you just have a friend bring you in. And so suddenly I'm dancing in with KSA and putting a traditional Korean mask on and some fun outfits on. So it really is just that total, appreciation and celebration of culture that kind of defies what, like society kind of wants to box you in. and just, yeah, I love everyone coming together. There's a big group huddle right before we start and the doors open and they take their group picture with the shirt that they make every year. And that's just kind of your last like. last night together. The seniors are all borderline crying because this is their last one. and everyone is just together and excited and things will go wrong the night before, but you wouldn't guess it the way that everyone just stays strong and plays it off. And everyone is basically professional at this point, which is insane to think about, but it's just so grazing to see how it all culminates together.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 46:45

Tita what? What are some of your favorite memories?

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 46:48

Well, I kind of shared them a little bit. I think, you know, that going shopping at Goodwill, finding outfits, and, just having that really fun, kind of funky performance where we, you know, had some people coming out in roller skates and, we all just kind of, did our thing for that section, that segment. That was fun. the other thing that I thought was, kind of, it's not so much a memory, but just an interesting insight was the fact that Sasa performed, I think for the first time last year. Was it? Or when did Sasa perform

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 47:23

Oh,

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 47:23

the first time? A

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 47:24

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 47:25

years

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 47:25

yeah, salsa at my time in Notre Dame has always had an, an act in Asian allure. And because previously they hadn't had their own show. That is new this year. they had a, like a 10 minute long performance dance performance.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 47:40

Okay. Because I remember Bianca. Okay. That's what it was. I remember Bianca telling me that, SASA had their first, they had their first performance this year. And, I just remember thinking, you know, that the, it's a, it was called the India Association when we were there, and it was mostly grad students. but they were one of the first performers, in the first Asian allure. So it's kind of a full circle moment to kind of have that group now being big enough to, to put on their show. But, yeah, I mean, I have to say, I, the, you know. I had some great memories doing the one show, but I think probably most more special was seeing, you know, Bianca perform in it Right. As a parent. And, you know, I had, had a Filipino, a special Filipino dress made, for a show actually that the kids did when they were younger. We did a fundraiser at our local, their local school and had a fashion show. And, so I had a ana dress made and Bianca actually wore that, in the fashion show, for the finale, I think of her very first Asian allure. So I remember Was it your first one?

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 48:49

No.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 48:49

it the first one

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 48:50

Yeah.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 48:50

second one? I can't remember, but I just remember watching it online and seeing her coming out in the dress and it just. it was just great. I, you know, that she wore the dress and she was doing it, at Notre Dame on Washington, on the stage of Washington Hall, in Asian allure. That, that was a memory for me. And I can't wait because, I'm bringing my dress for Mia. So I'm very excited to see, Mia carrying on the tradition and wearing that dress.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 49:18

That's

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 49:19

And that reminds me too, what you were saying earlier, mom is this year we're so excited because we have two new additions. we have an Indonesian student association, which officially got confirmed as a club this past year. And our Thai student Association has gotten revamped. And it had a couple years, previous where there weren't a lot of, student leaders and now they've gotten back in full swing. And so they're gonna have lovely features, in Asian to learn. We're so excited about that.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 49:45

Oh, I'm so excited. That sounds

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 49:47

It is so exciting. Yeah, I can't wait for the pictures. That's another thing. All student photographers and they edit the photos and they always look amazing.

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 49:55

they are truly, yeah, they're insane. Like they need to be, they could be paid thousands of dollars for the work that they do and they do it

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 50:04

Do for free.

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 50:05

of how much they love the community. And that's just,

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 50:09

in contrast to the fuzzy, maybe a little bit out of focus, taken on disposable camera photos that I have from the first Asian allure.

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 50:19

But I love those photos so much. I Are you gonna send'em the photo of you in that fur coat? Mom, love that photo.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 50:26

I am going to send the photos. I don't know if they will make the cut in terms of quality, but Yes. we've, I've hunted down some friends who may or may not have a VHS from the first, from the first show. And, people are looking to see if they can find photos. and oh, there's the, our shirt. So a very good friend. Wa Vu, who was an Archie, an architecture major, but so artistically talented. He actually designed the very first, Asian Allure logo, and we made that into a shirt and, you know, created this huge styrofoam backdrop that was, you know, the backdrop for our show. and, that was, that. It was beautiful. It still is beautiful now. And, hopefully I'll send pictures of that. So, we can edit it into this interview.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 51:14

Wonderful.

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 51:15

Yeah.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 51:15

there be t-shirts? I want a T-shirt.

Future Aspirations for Asian Allure

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 51:17

Yes. They're always so cute. Every year. Again, student designed, always according with the theme, and they look so amazing. I wear mine all the time. but.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 51:28

Wonderful. So what would each of you like to see for the future of Asian allure, are there ways that you hope that tradition grows or adapts for future generations?

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 51:44

Wants to start.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 51:47

You girls can talk. I talk too much,

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 51:49

No, I

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 51:50

or I can start if you want.

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 51:51

so,

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 51:55

Do you want me to start or you go Mia?

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 51:58

Okay. I would, I'm sorry, I'm just rereading the question. I would like to see Asian allure, just continuing on in the direction that it's going. I feel like they've done a great job at balancing both incorporating new traditions and keep staying true to previous Asian allure. I think that there's no shortage of absolutely talented and creative students here, and we, if we keep having that enthusiasm that we've been having, I have, I think that we can maybe even extend it to three nights in a matinee or something like that. I can't imagine how I, to me, Asian law is already like the greatest thing in the entire world, so you can't get much better than it already is. But I'm excited to see what the future students do with it. every year it's got a new twang to it, depending on the directors, and we've got three amazing directors this year. so I'm super excited to see what they do with, with the theme with the students in acting and the plot and the dances that they have. we've gotten to the point where we have an issue of there's just too much Asian alert, and so we have to cut it to two hours, which is still a long time. And even then, people are still trying to get, add more time. So, I'm super excited to see where it goes in the future. and I just, I trust the hands of the future Notre Dame students that will have it so.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 53:18

I would love to see. I know that they have community engagement for luau, right? Local members, of the community are invited to participate in that. And, you know, there is probably logistics. I don't necessarily know how much more people Washington Hall can hold seeing personally last year, how full it was every night. and then afterwards for the food, you know, which always runs out if you're not there first five minutes. But I would love to see a little bit more community engagement. maybe some way to invite student groups to come and watch, and or some other, community groups that might be interested. I also learned, a couple years ago we met a Filipino usher. in while we were watching a basketball game, I think it was And there's a pretty active, Filipino community in town and I think it would be fun to invite the elders to come, you know, invite the Filipinos and see if there are other communities in South Bend. maybe, Cecilia can help you with that. Or, you know, other contacts where, you know, we could invite members of the community to see if they might be interested in, watching as well.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 54:25

Yeah, I was actually thinking of a performance at the South Bend Civic Theater because the executive director there has done a great job highlighting community, you know, diverse community engagement. So we'll have to talk.

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 54:38

Yeah, that would be so cool.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 54:41

Gosh, doing it at the Civic Center, although you do have a beautiful, you have the

Advice for Future Students

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 54:45

Yeah, it's, yeah, it's a smaller venue, but I think for, you know, to sort of, get rid of that divide between town and the community, you know, and to show that Notre Dame is more diverse than maybe what it looks like on the outside. Yeah. so what advice would you give to current and future Asian Pacific students at Notre Dame who are interested in building community sharing their heritage through events like Asian allure?

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 55:16

I think I always say this is just my general advice to all people who are starting at Notre Dame or their college journey in general is like, just try it. Try as many different things as you can. Expose yourself to as many different things as you can. Like even if you're scared, even if it's not something that you have done before, like. Everyone here is so supportive, and wants you to be comfortable and they want you to succeed, so don't be afraid to take that leap and just try

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 55:49

Yeah, I agree with that. And I'll say, just at best, at the smallest, just sign up for any, everything that you can or that piques your interest, and then you can sort it from there. everyone here is so welcoming and they're, we're so excited about the freshman or the prospective students, that will be thankful for anything that they have to give. They'd say if you just, if even a tiny part of you wants to get involved, then just talk to someone about it and we can f figure out a way if. having trouble or if anything, I don't know anyone who's once has performed for Asian allure and regretted it. And even if you are a current student and you're not active in the Asian community, there's, it's never too late to start.

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 56:28

too late.

mia-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_205515 56:29

we do not discriminate. yeah.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 56:33

So I would probably end it, in a similar vein, but with a quote from Father Hesberg, which is that the very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet, So as Father Hesberg, so astutely said, don't be like me when I was a senior and voting no on Asian allure. You know, vote yes. And, go out there, put yourself out there. The worst thing that could happen is possibly that it, things don't work out, but things won't work out if you don't Right. and I can guarantee that even if things don't work out or you accidentally trip and fall in front of everyone

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 57:14

Which has happened. It has happened.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 57:17

on the floor, it's still gonna be an amazing experience. I can't tell you if I tripped when I was, you know, on, on the stage when I performed 30 years ago. but I can tell you the memory of how, there made me feel, because I remembered it last year when I went back on the stage or I walked around in, in, in the back of Washington Hall. I had that feeling. The feeling came back. and, it's an experience, right? You go to college, to have experiences, to grow, to challenge yourself, and to become a better version of yourself and to become a leader in a way that you may not have thought. and so my advice would be to follow, father Hesberg and not me, and to just go for it. do what you, you know, just go for it and, and do your best. and it'll be an amazing experience regardless of the result.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 58:14

Yeah. Boy, I wish we had Asian allure when I was a student at Notre Dame.

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 58:19

It's never too late. It's never,

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 58:22

too late.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 58:25

I think they have guest stars on the fa or guests. Guests,

bianca-feix--she-her-_1_09-24-2025_175515 58:28

we do have guest stars in our fashion show if you want.

cecilia-lucero_1_09-24-2025_205515 58:32

Talk to Mia. Well, this has been a really fun conversation. It's great to meet all of you. I wanna thank you to Taita, Bianca, and Mia. this has been a really inspiring conversation. and thank you all for joining us in exploring the history of Asian laureate Notre Dame as part of our celebration of 120 years of Asian and Pacific Islander students at the University of Notre Dame. to explore over 90 other series, please visit thank dot nd.edu to inspire your mind and spark great conversations. go Irish.

teresita-mercado_1_09-24-2025_175514 59:10

go Irish.