To broaden the pipeline of Asian American college graduates interested in a career in public service, the UC Davis Asian American Studies Program and a committed alumnus are launching a new internship program at the State Capitol.

The pilot project started this month with five students matched to four state Assembly members and a member of the Board of Equalization, thanks to Bill Wong, chief of staff for Assembly member Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park.

Wong, a 1989 UC Davis graduate, says he is spearheading the project out of his concern that although Asian Americans are now about 12 percent of the state population, they are represented only in the low-single digits among the California legislative staff. He also believes that young Asian Americans aren't aware of how satisfying working in the public sector can be.

"I think it is hard to explain why Asian Americans don't consider public service as a good career," Wong said. "It's not clear to people whether public service is a stable career. Nobody brags about financial benefits of a state career, and rarely do they say, 'You should be a legislative staffer.' In fact, my own parents didn't know what I did for 10 years."

Nevertheless, many Asian American students, who comprise nearly 40 percent of undergraduates at UC Davis, have a deep interest in policy matters and are searching for ways to become involved, said Bill Hing, director of the UC Davis Asian American Studies Program.

Hing believes the new legislative internships will expose Asian American students to career alternatives and inspire some of them to choose a future in public service.

Plans call for expanding the UC Davis program to a dozen or more students each quarter, if more donations can be secured. Eventually, Hing said, the Asian American Studies Program hopes to help establish senior internship programs in Sacramento throughout the year and bring state policy-makers to the Davis campus to engage with students.

To be eligible for the program, interns must be Asian American studies majors or minors, but specific ethnic background is not a requirement.

UC Davis has particular advantages to make the Internship at the Capitol for Asian Pacifics Program succeed, Hing said.

"Our proximity to Sacramento provides an excellent opportunity for students to engage in public policy issues and the legislative process," he said. "Because Asian Americans are a fast-growing segment of the California population, they are deeply affected by policies debated and acted upon in Sacramento."

The UC Davis students arrived in Sacramento this week with concerns about immigrants' language barriers to health care, education and jobs; the cost of the criminal justice system as well as its reform; and increasing student fees and cost of higher education, Wong said.

Students will be shadowing their public official, attending high-level meetings, researching policy and responding to constituents, as well as taking on the more mundane intern tasks of answering phones and making photocopies.

Wong has raised $2,500 from groups involved in public policy, such as the California Cable and Telecommunications Association, for student stipends. As part of the internship, students will attend a weekly class he teaches in fundamental political skills: how to build coalitions, speak in public, do field organizing, rally people on issues, and conduct practical analyses of policy.

"These are actual practical skills that you use in this job to make you effective," Wong says. "These students are all very passionate about their issues, but don't know how to get their issues across to policy-makers.

"My hope is by the end of the internship, these students have better respect for the process and leave with an optimism that you can change the system and do good."

For more information on how to donate to the program, contact Anita Poon, Asian American Program student affairs officer, (530) 752-4447, awpoon@ucdavis.edu.

The students, their e-mail addresses and corresponding public officials are as follows: