Asian Latino Mark Keppel Students Talk to LA Times About Dual Heritage Identity

Los Angeles Times reporters Brittny Mejia and Anh Do reached out to AUSD last fall for help in finding Asian Latino students to interview for a story on the fastest growing population in California. It wasn’t easy. In a district where 66% of students are Asian and 22% are Latino, few students are both.

The district found four dual heritage, bicultural Asian Latino Mark Keppel students who gathered in the school cafeteria in September to talk to Mejia and Do about how they navigate their mixed identities. Nearby photojournalist Irfan Khan was snapping photos.

Emily Ortega Liu’s mother is Mexican and her father is Chinese. She was the only student who was trilingual. Emiko Luna Hernandez’s mother is Japanese Mexican and her father Mexican. Isaac Guo Meyer’s father is Mexican and his mother Chinese. Matthew Sy’s mother is Chinese and his father Salvadoran.

The four students were featured in the superbly reported LA Times story “Asian Latinos: These mixed families represent California’s future.” The article published May 31, 2022, to wide acclaim. Read more: https://www.latimes. com/california/story/2022-05-31/ asians-latinos-family-california-future