Okada

The Asian American theme house was established at Stanford in 1971 to create community and center the experiences of a very small and primarily first generation Asian American student population. Renamed in 1979 after John Okada who is recognized as the first Asian American novelist, Okada House continues to explore and celebrate the diversity of Asian American peoples, cultures, and languages in a historical and contemporary context.

Find Okada on the Stanford Searchable Map here

More About Okada

In addition to fostering a warm and vibrant community, Okada serves as a focal point for students in the residence and across campus to explore the Asian American experience and what it means to be Asian in America–how it is experienced by those who are connected to Asian American Identity, as well as by those who are not (and the people who feel in-between).

Through weekly presentations by upperclass residents on topics such as Immigration Narratives, Intersectional Identities, and Art & Activism; dynamic programs with faculty; trips to local community organizations such as the South Asian Radical History Walking Tour; teach-ins at the People’s Teahouse; student group performances and events; critical conversations; and the lived experience, Okada creates an inclusive space where people of all identities and backgrounds can be vulnerable, explore identity, and uplift their voices together as a community.

All residents, those who identify as Asian American and those who don't, contribute to the vibrancy of our dorm community. We have two main goals: First, to be a community in which the residents living in Okada feel at home and are cared for – “Okada Means Family”. Second, to serve as space for the campus community to explore, engage in, and thinking critically about the Asian American experience.

Meet the Okada Resident Fellows

Resident Fellows, or RFs, are Stanford faculty and senior administrative staff who live in apartments or cottages adjacent to student residences and serve as leaders for their communities. Edith Wu-Nguyen and John Nguyen, along with their children, Eleanor and Jacob, have been the Resident Fellows for Okada, the Asian American theme house, since 2017. From 2008-2016, Edith and John served as the RFs for the off-campus Oak Creek Apartments, which housed undergraduates for eight years. Now, you can find this RF family taking walks around campus or spending time with their extended family, all of whom live in the area and visit Okada frequently. Continuing the tradition of the beloved former Okada RF, Anne Takemoto, they make Okada's famous banana bread on a weekly basis!

Edith is the Associate Dean and Director for New Students Programs in Academic Advising at Stanford, overseeing new student transitions through programs like Approaching Stanford and Orientation. She works with university partners to foster community belonging. An alumna ('99), Edith believes she has the best campus job. While Stanford has evolved since she first attended in 1995, it remains her growth place. She enjoys mentoring students learning about themselves and contribution. Edith earned her Master’s from Harvard School of Public Health and her Bachelor’s in Human Biology and Race & Ethnicity from Stanford. As an undergrad, she worked at the Haas Center, co-led Project AIYME, participated in Alternative Spring Breaks, and was an RA for Twain House—encouraged by her RFs Arcadio and Ellen Morales to return to Stanford for work. Before returning in 2006, she was involved in community development non-profits including Asian Americans for Community Involvement, Lucile Packard Foundation, andan Mateo County. Her family has deep Stanford roots: her parents moved from Taiwan; her father earned a PhD in Civil Engineering, her mother worked in the East Asian Library, her sister (’95) and brother (’02 Head Start in S) are alumni, and her brother-in-law (’95) was a ‘94-95 Okada RA.

John is the Logistics Director for Informatica, a software development company based in Redwood City where he has worked since 2000. Before switching into the tech field, he worked as a youth and family counselor and as a development associate for Asian Americans for Community Involvement. John was born in Vietnam and moved to the US with his family in 1974, living first in Tennessee near his sponsor family, and then moving to California where he grew up. John was a FLI student (first-generation, low-income), earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at UC Santa Cruz, and spent a year with the Master’s in Social Work program at San Jose State University. John is a loyal Bay Area sports fan and is always looking for folks to watch Warriors and Niners games with him.

About the Okada Theme

Okada House explores and celebrates the diversity of Asian American peoples, cultures, and languages in both historical and contemporary contexts.

Okada preassigns are committed to learning about the Asian American experience and cultural and political identity. It is not expected that preassigns come in with knowledge, but rather that they have a shared desire to learn, share, discuss, and grow together. Preassigns are also invested in relationship and community building and tend to become mentors to and friends with the frosh in the house. Many of the items on the list of expectations are things our residents naturally end up involved in regardless of preassign status - by including them as expectations, we want to identify some of the things that make living in Okada as a preassign so meaningful!

Pre-assignment to Okada will be made for students who can make a commitment to learning about the Asian American experience and actively engaging in the Okada community. Examples include: attending theme presentations and programs in Okada and/or the A3C, enrolling in Asian American Studies courses, attending campus events, participating in student groups, facilitating discussions, and actively engaging in the Okada community and being present in the house.

Attend the Fall Quarter Preassign Retreat (half day on Saturday or Sunday, date TBD).
Attend ALL Okada theme presentations given by preassign residents each quarter, scheduled for Wednesday nights from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Please be sure to adjust your schedule to ensure that you are able to attend.
Attend one of the three quarterly off-campus preassign field trips (full day on Saturday or Sunday, dates TBD.).
Participate in the dorm community, attend house meetings regularly, support other dorm activities, and be present in the house.
Participate in the Listen to the Silence Conference and/or Stanford Asian American and Pasifika Heritage Month events. Examples of participation include: leading programs, and/or organizational and leadership duties such as committees, publicity, and volunteer shifts for events.
Engage with the other ethnic theme dorms and communities on campus, including attending at least one event per quarter at another ethnic theme dorm. Examples include: attending theme presentations, programs, and events, and supporting joint-dorm activities.

Moreover, if you desire a single room in Okada, in addition to the above conditions, you will be required to make a greater commitment to the theme by agreeing to these following conditions. Please do not apply for a single preassign room if you cannot make these additional commitments:

Live in Okada for Autumn, Winter, and Spring Quarters. Please do not apply for a single if you have applied/or will apply to go abroad for one of these quarters.
Prepare and present a theme presentation. Planning meetings with ETA required.
Attend ALL the weekly theme presentations, scheduled for Wednesday nights from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. If selected for a single room, please ensure your course schedule does not conflict with Wednesday nights.
Attend ALL three preassign quarterly off-campus field trips.
Host or co-host three dorm activities, one per quarter - examples include: Teahouse Tuesday, Taste of Okada, Dorm Gov, on-call social activities, group trips to campus events/performances, facilitated discussions, off-campus dorm trips. Activities can be social, they do not have to be related to the theme.