The Asian/Pacific Islander American Program wishes to congratulate Erica Gehringer, one of the recipients of the Joel S. Siegel Scholarship awarded by the Undergraduate Committee of the Department of American Culture at the University of Michigan. Erica has enjoyed a long and direct engagement with our Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies Program.  Currently, she is hard at work on a rigorous senior thesis on transnational and transracial adoption.  Upon graduation, Erica plans to continue with that interest by pursuing a joint PhD and Master’s of Social work.  She hopes to devote her career to working with the adoption community.  Erica, we have no doubt, will go far in a career in Social Work. Her time in American Culture has given her a deeper appreciation of her own experiences and a wider view that will serve the many families she will help in the future. Congratulations, Erica!