Although sparse, increased research on the experiences of Southeast Asian/Asian Americans (SEAAA) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) highlights how this sub-population diverges from the perception that all Asian and Asian Americans are overrepresented in STEM. The importance of conducting research which disaggregates data by ethnicity, and even further by gender, is paramount to fully understand how SEAAAs pursue, progress, and persist in STEM degrees and careers. Much of the research on this population focuses primarily on the barriers that they encounter to persist, such as the model minority myth. This study examines the SEAAA experiences through an assets-based lens, highlighting the supports to their persistence. To contribute to research on SEAAAs, particularly on SEAAA women, this single-case study examines how an undergraduate SEAAA woman, a Filipina, persists in her U.S.-based computer science program by actively engaging in giving back activities. Previous research by this team has found a positive relationship between engaging in giving back activities and persisting in STEM for women of color. We define the act of giving back within STEM as one’s participation in activities that contribute to the improvement of one’s community, either interpersonally or on a larger scale. Active participation in giving back activities, such as serving as a role model or mentor, or identifying ways to utilize their STEM skills and knowledge to help their community, has been found to be a supporting factor for persistence for women of color in engineering and computing. Findings from this single-case study also indicate that, by engaging in giving back activities, such as recruiting young SEAAA women into computer science to further broaden participation, SEAAA women specifically are also motivated to persist and succeed within computer science. In addition to discussing findings from this single-case study, this virtual presentation will include recommendations for institutions of higher education and STEM departments on how to engage and support SEAAA women in giving back activities to help them persist and succeed in STEM.

Keywords: Southeast Asian American women, undergraduate, persistence, giving back, computer science.