Welcome to Apex for Youth’s 30th Anniversary Gala! We’re honored to have you with us for this special evening as we celebrate three decades of empowering Asian American youth. We’re thrilled to have our youth and volunteers, our esteemed honoree, and so many of Apex’s most dedicated supporters and friends with us tonight. We hope you enjoy the program, and thank you again for being in community with us TODAY, TOMORROW, and FOREVER.
After taking home two gold medals and one silver medal from the 2022 Winter Olympics, freeskier Eileen Gu became the only action sports athlete to win three medals at the same Olympic games, and was also the youngest freeski Olympic Gold medalist in history. The teenager’s achievements on snow also include a slew of other record-breaking performances, including being the first snowsport athlete to win three medals at the 2021 X Games and FIS World Championships (2 golds and a bronze at each). Eileen was also the first female freeskier to land a double cork 1440 and unnatural double cork 1620 in competition.
Eileen uses her voice to help foster cultural understanding and friendship through sport. As an ambassador for freeskiing in the US, China, and worldwide, she hopes to inspire young people, especially girls, to build confidence, break their own boundaries, and lead happier, healthier lives through sport. She has been recognized for her efforts with the Vogue Avrora Award for female empowerment, and the SuperELLE Most Influential Athlete in China Award. As a cross-cultural bridge between the US and China, Eileen has been invited as a keynote speaker at the ESPNw Women in Sport Summit, the C100 Summit for Sports and Entertainment, and as the only youth ambassador for the G20 Young Entrepeneur’s Summit in China.
Eileen is also an accomplished student and fashion model. She has shot covers for Vogue, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, and L’Officiel, among many others. She sat front-row at Fashion Week with Louis Vuitton, and is set to walk her debut runway soon, all before attending college this fall.
Miki Lin was born and raised in Manhattan’s Chinatown. She is a 16-year-old junior attending Millennium High School and has been with Apex for Youth since the 4th grade when she was part of PS1’s elementary program. From there, she joined the middle school mentoring program in 6th grade and also participated in Apex’s basketball programs. Currently, Miki participates in numerous Apex programs including high school mentoring, art and individual therapy, SAT prep, and Apex Youth Ambassadors. She also works at PS1 as an Apex after school teacher’s aide. Miki loves art and animals, and hopes to one day use her creativity to help people.
Sheng Wang is a comedian, actor and writer originally from Houston, TX. Most recently, he has been touring with Ali Wong and was a featured stand-up on HBO’s “2 Dope Queens” special. Sheng also wrote for the ABC show “Fresh Off the Boat.” He resides in Los Angeles and in his time off he enjoys visiting botanical gardens and discovering new ways to snack.
Through May 15th, 2022, shop online at Saks.com using code APEX30 and 10% of your sales will be donated to Apex for Youth.
