Amy Ling Yellow Light Awards
In honor of the memory and legacy of our founding director Professor Amy Ling, the Asian American Studies Program is proud to offer four 2026 Amy Ling Yellow Light Awards to enrolled undergraduate and graduate students at UW-Madison. Each award winner will receive $250 in tuition funds for the fall semester, be featured in the Bridges 2.0 Newsletter.
Students must be enrolled for the following fall semester to receive the tuition award.
Amy Ling Yellow Light Award for Integrity
This award recognizes positive role models for Asian American Studies. The nominated students should demonstrate a pattern of leadership or of overcoming challenges while maintaining integrity. Two Awards for Integrity will be granted.
Submission Guidelines:
Application period will re-open in Spring 2027.
Email two nomination letters of support to asianamerican@letsci.wisc.edu with the subject line “Amy Ling Award”. Letters should explain how the nominated student creates and fosters community for Asian American studies, is open to understanding the viewpoints of others, and serves as a trusted advisor for fellow students.
Amy Ling Yellow Light Award for Creative Endeavor and Scholarship
This award recognizes the creative endeavor and/or academic scholarship of UW-Madison students that advances the field of Asian American Studies. Two Awards for Creative Endeavor and Scholarship will be granted.
Submission Guidelines:
Application period will re-open in Spring 2027.
Email your submission with the subject line “Amy Ling Award” to asianamerican@letsci.wisc.edu. Your submission should include your creative endeavor and/or academic scholarship and a 300-word explanation for how it connects to Asian American Studies.
Please direct questions to asianamerican@letsci.wisc.edu.
Previous Awardees:
Juliet Chang: 2022 Amy Ling Yellow Light Award Gallery
“For my Asian American Studies 240: Southeast Asian Migration and Education final project, I wanted to create something that visually captured the importance of representation within the classroom by sharing the perspective of other Southeast Asian students at UW-Madison. I drew upon the theories of Critical Remembrance and Asian Critical Theory to invoke introspection in students that forced them to deeply engage with their experiences. I asked students a few questions about their identity and their schooling experiences to build profiles around them. What was it like to be Southeast Asian in the Midwest and to feel seen or unseen? How did their multiple identities impact that? To me, this project was equally about my own digging into their experiences, but also asking these participants to partake in a discussion with me and reckon with their own truth.
In terms of delivery, I chose to contrast the narratives of exclusion with imagery that was attention grabbing. Using blurred portraits to maintain their anonymity, I hope to display how this translated to their K-12 schooling and college experience. With the use of bold colors, this art piece intends to contradict that experience and force viewers to notice them. It’s bright, pop art-y and is a visual shout for attention for those who were traditionally ignored. These are Southeast Asian students on our campus who, even now, feel ignored by our educational system. Through this art piece, I hoped to reiterate our presence at UW-Madison and in higher education– an affirmation that these spaces may not be built for us but we will not let that silence us.”
