The National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA) was founded 40 years ago on November 1, 1979 to address the divide between AAPI elderly and the services they were entitled to. In 40 years, NAPCA has directly served tens of thousands of AAPI elders and indirectly provided assistance to approximately 100,000 more.

To celebrate this milestone, NAPCA is releasing 40 stories of their staff, constituents, and partners to celebrate the impact that NAPCA has had on AAPI older adults across the country. This week, we highlight Cecilia Wu, a participant of NAPCA’s Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). For more stories, visit https://www.napca.org/40-for-40/.

Cecilia Wu, formerly lived in Japan and Taiwan, shares her transition to the United States in 1996. Even with a University degree in Taiwan, it was challenging for her to find a job. To learn English, computer, and accounting, she attended classes and worked at the same time to pay for school. In California, she taught Chinese for three years; however, she wanted to get an office job. Through online, she found NAPCA and was assigned to Chinatown Service Center. Her multilingual skills became an asset to serve people at the front desk.

NAPCA’s SCSEP placements help seniors develop the skills and find placement with community service organizations that benefit from the rich diversity of a lifetime of experience and connection that elders bring to the workforce.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Diverse Elders Coalition.