Beloved Community Day

Mai Du, one of Get Konnected! Boston’s 50 Most Influential Asian-American Pacific Islanders, has two passions — and she shared both with Brooks on May 21: martial arts and community work.

The social justice activist performed with the Wah Lum Kung Fu Academy and shared an inspiring talk in Chapel during our annual Beloved Community Day, focused this year on the Asian Pacific Islander community as represented by Brooks’ office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging and Asian Student Alliance affinity group.

Watch highlights from Beloved Community Day 2025:

Putting students’ regularly scheduled schoolwork on hold for the morning, Beloved Community Day provided opportunities for all members of Brooks campus to engage in activities and discussions that foster a deeper appreciation of Asian Pacific cultures, specifically highlighting Chinese, Korean and South Asian cultural values and traditions.

“When we celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and truly understand the significance of it, we are learning about each other,” said Du, following a talk sharing her personal journey as an immigrant and her current work in Boston-area community coalitions and education initiatives.

Students rotated among various stations, including:

• Style Me Dance’s “K-Pop Dance” workshop  
• Triveni Indian Dance Group’s performance of traditional Indian dances
• Kung fu how-to
• Asian storytelling workshop
• Lesson on the Korean alphabet, Hangul
• “Asia Unplugged: Traditional Games” workshop 
• Hindu yoga and meditation  
• Chinese calligraphy mini-lesson  

before an Asian themed lunch featuring a special delivery of Boba!

“Understanding what another person's culture means to them, and what they do as a part of defining who they are as a global citizen, helps them make connections,” Du shared.

“It’s all about being in community, learning about friends who are Asian Americans or learning more about their history and being interconnected with each other. The idea is about appreciating each other's heritage and traditions and hearing each other's stories.”

See an album of photos from the festive day on brooksschoolphotos.com.