WEBVTT

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(bright piano music)

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<v ->My name is Colten Muth, and I don't need to be to belong.</v>

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So the reason I joined APA was back in 2020,

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there was a lot of Asian hate sweeping America

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and so I really wanted to kind of transition

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from the ally ship to an activator

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to really help out and support.

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the whole mantra of, you don't have to be to belong,

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I'm truly, truly a believer in.

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I'm not a part of the AAPI community,

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but it was a community I really wanted to help uplift

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and showcase voices behind.

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We all have different stories.

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We all have different backgrounds

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and things we have to persevere through.

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The more we understand each other

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and kind of where we come from,

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I feel like the better we cohesively come together.

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Coming into the company,

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I thought I had to fit a certain mold.

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I thought I had to dress a certain way, look a certain way.

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When I had a VP that recently joined the company,

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I saw her show up.

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She was wearing Jordan's her first day.

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I'm thinking like, oh she's a vice president

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being her authentic self.

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it was like, okay, I can be myself.

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I don't have to look a certain way and fit the kind

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of corporate mold that I originally thought coming

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into the company.

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I want to be comfortable in my skin for the work that I do.

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No, that's not gonna hinder me from growing my career.