Extreme Celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

This month, we pay tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) who came to the United States and have since enriched American culture and positively impacted the success of the nation. Asian Americans have a fascinating history filled with rich cultural impact, which is why it is so important to celebrate and honor the contributions that Asian Americans have made to American culture.

Extreme is looking forward to celebrating AAPI Heritage month with activities led by our employee resource group (ERG), APIs@Extreme (Asian & Pacific Islanders). Our ERG, which I have the honor of leading, is planning several events and we’re excited to highlight as many of the 50+ Asian countries as we can.

We plan to educate employees about the different cultures through multiple social and educational events, including:

• A generational storytelling event sponsored by APIs and La Raza, our Hispanic and Latino ERG, where members of Extreme will share their generational stories and cultural perspectives
• An origami workshop
• A tea tasting paired with a presentation on the history of tea
• Weekly spotlights on historical figures and technology innovators
• A guest speaker session with Extreme-Board Member Raj Khanna, who will meet with employees in a fireside chat to share his experiences in the tech industry and as a first-generation Asian American
• A standup comedian show with Andrew Orolfo, a member of the API community, who will share why laughter is the best medicine

Our ERG’s mission is to bring internal visibility to different Asian cultures through social activities and events, and we’ve made a lot of progress over the last year. We accomplished this by not only celebrating holidays like Diwali and Lunar New Year but also by educating employees about these holidays and why they are important in Asian cultures.

We’ve also made it a goal to bring more visibility to career paths for APIs. We’ve led numerous sessions with executives and key leaders of Asian descent so they can share their experiences, career journeys, and how their API background influenced their careers. We believe that seeing others of similar backgrounds in leadership roles or specific teams/departments will help to encourage others to enter those fields and roles as well.

As our ERG continues to grow and cultivate a community of allies internally, our next step is to get more involved with our local communities. Over the next several months, we will be working with two nonprofits: Center for the Pacific Asian Family (CPAF), which helps address domestic violence and sexual assault within Asian and Pacific Islander communities, and the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE), an organization that promotes careers within the science and engineering industries by highlighting career paths of successful Asian Americans to encourage today’s youth to follow in their career goals.

I’m proud to work at a company like Extreme Networks, where we’ve created a unique company culture that promotes a diverse and inclusive environment where all voices are empowered, and everyone works to get the job done together. Other companies can create a similar atmosphere by simply understanding their employees, who they are, and what they can contribute. When we recognize our employee base, highlight their successes, and celebrate all individual and team wins, we can make a positive impact on our employees and empower them to continue their success. Our ERGs are also a great addition to our DEI initiatives here at Extreme and have enabled us to create groups of like-minded individuals who want to be a part of something and feel included beyond their day jobs.

I wish you the best this Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and hope that throughout the month you learn something new about one of the many Asian cultures. Follow Extreme on social media to see the latest updates on some of our AAPI celebrations.