Feeling Unsteady: The Impact of Stereotype Threat and Cultural Legacy on Immigrant Youth

Angela Rose David

I enrolled in a World Arts class my senior year of college to delve further into my ethnic identity. For our final exam, I choreographed a spoken-word dance (YouTube link here), contrasting childhood memories of folk medicine with my modern ambitions as a premedical student. Resonating with my story, peers voted me to headline the annual new student orientation ceremony. 

On September 24, 2017, I spoke about what being an Immigrant means to me on stage in front of 10,000+ incoming freshmen and transfer students at UCLA’s premiere indoor arena, Pauley Pavilion. By combining the storytelling elements of author Thi Bui’s memoir The Best We Could Do with the musical theme surrounding the X Ambassadors’ song Unsteady, I narrated my own personal struggles as a career-driven minority student. As the main dance performer, I wanted to engage with my peers from numerous perspectives — as a Student, Artist, and Future Professional — to create an inclusive space for new Bruins to reflect on their academic and postgraduate potential. 

Later, our performance was integrated into class discussions on Asian American (AA) art and published in Amerasia, a prominent AA journal. I am excited to create more projects that foster AA representation, both in healthcare and nontraditional fields like media.

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