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June 19, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2014 Asian Hall of Fame Press ConferenceHonoree Quotes

Seattle, WA Comments from Nathan Adrian (Olympic Swimmer 2008 and 2012; Three-TimeOlympic Gold Medalist), Norman Y. Mineta (59th Mayor of San Jose; Member, U.S. House ofRepresentatives; 33rdUS Secretary of Commerce; 14thUS Secretary of Transportation), Grace Park(Actor Hawaii Five-0, Battlestar Galactica), and Manu Tuiasosopo (NFL Player Seahawks and49ers; Super Bowl XIX Champion), the honorees for the 2014 Asian Hall of Fame.

Credit: Starla Sampaco, Asian Hall of Fame volunteer

NATHAN ADRIAN

On ho w being Asian Paci fic Amer ican has imp acted his l i fe:

Im a hapa. My mother grew up in Hong KongI grew up in an infusion of cultures NathanAdrian

[When the] Olympics were in BeijingI felt a little something extraIn 2012, the year of the water

dragon, I won a gold medal.Nathan Adrian

Thereis certainly an underrepresentation of Asian Pacific Islanders in professional sports/athletics.

Nathan Adrian

On marking his ethnic i ty when taking the Washington Assessment of Student Learning

standardized tests:

When taking the WASL, it was important to check two or more boxesThere is a new generation of

mixed Americans.Nathan Adrian

On s tereotypes:

I remember kids saying, Why are you swimming? Youre good at math. And I was like, Okay.

Whatever.Nathan Adrian

NORMAN Y. MINETA

On ho w being Asian Paci fic Amer ican has imp acted his l i fe:

Asa ten-year-old kid, I looked at signs that said, Attention: all those of Japanese ancestryalien and

non-alienI looked at these signs and said, Whois non-alien?and that is why I cherish the word

citizen.Norman Y. Mineta

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2014 Asian Hall of Fame Press ConferenceHonoree QuotesPage Two

NORMAN Y. MINETA (con t inu ed)

On ho w being Asian Paci fic Amer ican has imp acted his l i fe:

After Pearl Harbor, Peoplecouldnt distinguish between the people who bombed Pearl Harbor and

Asians who lived in Washington, Oregon, and California.Norman Y. Mineta

On l i fe af ter Japanese Amer ican internment c amps:

Iam hopeful that people dontcome out with bitternessinstead the attitude that something like that

should never happen again.Norman Y. Mineta

On advice for young people as a role model today:

With a lot of hard work, mentoring, and networking, people can get into all sorts of positions.

Norman Y. Mineta

Thereare boundless opportunities for young people today.Norman Y. Mineta

Iencourage everyone to work hard and have a sense of integrityand family values.Norman Y.Mineta

GRACE PARK

On ho w being Asian Paci fic Amer ican has imp acted her l ife:

I grew up with a lot of values that my parents brought over from Korea in 1972you end up having

these two cultures.Grace Park

During an audition for a role, I was told, That was great. Can you do it with an accent? and I was

thinking, What accent?Grace Park

It is a blessing to be colorblind. Grace Park

Unlike Norman Mineta, ethnicity is not a coat that Im always wearing. Grace Park

On wh at the Asian Hal l of Fame hon or m eans to her :

We (the honorees) are all of completely different fields, but I consider broad heritage as something to

bring us together. Grace Park

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2014 Asian Hall of Fame Press Conference

Honoree QuotesPage Three

GRACE PARK (con t inued )

In response to people who ask, What are you?

Its important to get them (the person asking) to clarify what they mean. Grace Park

My parents are from Korea, but I was raised here. Grace Park

On advice for young people as a role model today:

Its important to find out what is valuable to them (the youth of today)to find the deeper values that

drive us in our who livesif you dont know what those are, you are steering blind Grace Park

MANU TUIASOSOPO

On how b eing Asian Paci fic Amer ican has imp acted his l i fe:

My culture means everything to me. In the 1950 s, there were only a handful of families from theislandsmany were congregated in Californiawe had a sense of unity, sense of pride, sense of

community.Manu Tuiasosopo

On the Asian Hal l of Fame hon or :

WhenI first got word, I was surprised.Manu Tuiasosopo

Iam honored to be first Samoan to be included and thankful to the Asian Hall of Fame for including our

culture.Manu Tuiasosopo

In response to people who ask, What are you?

Myparents are from American Samoa but I grew up here.