Dublin Core
Title
Oral History: Jaclyn Marmol
Subject
Oral Histories at Virginia Tech
Description
Jaclyn Marmol is a Filipino-American Virginia Tech alumna who was born in Fairfax, VA and grew up in Falls Church, VA. She attended Virginia Tech as an undergraduate from 2014 to 2020, with breaks and internships in between. Before graduating in spring 2020, she spent her time at the university building the Asian and American American community through her strong leadership efforts, advocacy, and management.
“I’m very passionate about social justice and advocacy,” Jaclyn said. “I want to serve my community and want to make it so it’s easier for future generations of Asian Americans who come to Virginia Tech –– I don’t want them to feel like they don’t belong or that they need to transfer after a month in because they feel ostracized, I want to make sure everyone can feel welcome.”
Jaclyn was a part of numerous organizations and roles throughout her time here. She was a part of the residential leadership community in the Peddrew-Yates dorm hall in 2014. She also joined the Asian-interest sorority Alpha Kappa Delta Phi her freshman year, and joined the Asian American Student Union shortly after. After becoming vice president-external for AASU from 2016 to 2017, she became president a year later, from 2017 to 2018, when her social justice and advocacy took root. She restructured the council meetings and started the internship program, where freshmen are the central focus for keeping AASU active. She was also a part of the original committee that rebuilt and reformed the Asian Cultural Engagement Center at Virginia Tech in 2017.
“I did a lot of community searching during my time at Virginia Tech, and that’s when I really opened my eyes to the issues that were happening, not just on campus, but on a national landscape as well,” she said. “What were the ways I could help?”
Some of her past internships included working for the OCA National Center, which is a national non-profit organization located in Washington, DC that focuses on Asian American advocacy and social justice, the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) which is another Asian/Pacific American non-profit that focuses on building the political pipeline for Asian Americans at every level of the political process, and Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41) through the APAICS program. She continues her advocacy role in her current role as a political assistant for End Citizens United, for whom she interned in fall of 2018. Jaclyn works with them on political expenditure for the upcoming 2020 presidential election.
“Especially in divisive times like this right now, you can’t do this alone,” she said. “And even though you’re not the one being oppressed at that moment, that doesn’t exclude you from joining those conversations and doesn’t exclude from needing to advocate for other people.”
“I’m very passionate about social justice and advocacy,” Jaclyn said. “I want to serve my community and want to make it so it’s easier for future generations of Asian Americans who come to Virginia Tech –– I don’t want them to feel like they don’t belong or that they need to transfer after a month in because they feel ostracized, I want to make sure everyone can feel welcome.”
Jaclyn was a part of numerous organizations and roles throughout her time here. She was a part of the residential leadership community in the Peddrew-Yates dorm hall in 2014. She also joined the Asian-interest sorority Alpha Kappa Delta Phi her freshman year, and joined the Asian American Student Union shortly after. After becoming vice president-external for AASU from 2016 to 2017, she became president a year later, from 2017 to 2018, when her social justice and advocacy took root. She restructured the council meetings and started the internship program, where freshmen are the central focus for keeping AASU active. She was also a part of the original committee that rebuilt and reformed the Asian Cultural Engagement Center at Virginia Tech in 2017.
“I did a lot of community searching during my time at Virginia Tech, and that’s when I really opened my eyes to the issues that were happening, not just on campus, but on a national landscape as well,” she said. “What were the ways I could help?”
Some of her past internships included working for the OCA National Center, which is a national non-profit organization located in Washington, DC that focuses on Asian American advocacy and social justice, the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) which is another Asian/Pacific American non-profit that focuses on building the political pipeline for Asian Americans at every level of the political process, and Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41) through the APAICS program. She continues her advocacy role in her current role as a political assistant for End Citizens United, for whom she interned in fall of 2018. Jaclyn works with them on political expenditure for the upcoming 2020 presidential election.
“Especially in divisive times like this right now, you can’t do this alone,” she said. “And even though you’re not the one being oppressed at that moment, that doesn’t exclude you from joining those conversations and doesn’t exclude from needing to advocate for other people.”
Creator
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Source
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Publisher
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Date
2014-2020
Contributor
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Rights
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Relation
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Language
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Type
Oral History
Identifier
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Coverage
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Oral History Interview Item Type Metadata
Interviewee
Jaclyn Marmol
Interviewer
Tahreem Alam
Duration
59:09