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Chapter Leader Newsletter
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Pilipinx American Alumni Chapter Spotlight, Volunteer Opportunities, New Alumni Book Club, and More!
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Alumni Chapter Leader Spotlight
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Mark Asuncion ’92
B.A. Economics
Pronouns: He/His
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 | Mark Asuncion ’92, CAA Pilipinx American Alumni Chapter Leader
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| Mark "Munch" Asuncion is currently a naval officer, having spent the first half of his naval career as a naval aviator, piloting the E-2C Hawkeye. After almost two decades of flying for the Navy, he transitioned to the Navy’s Foreign Area Officer Community, where he has spent the last 15 years serving in multiple U.S. embassies and U.S. military and Interagency staffs to implement, inform, and shape U.S. foreign policy.
What was your undergraduate life like at Cal? Someone should write a book about life at Cal from 1988-1992 (my undergraduate years). It was a particularly "extreme" and eventful period of time, even by Berkeley standards. And I use the word extreme deliberately. Those four years were dominated by literally seismic events on campus, in Berkeley, and the greater Bay Area. Mixed in with the highs of rising athletic success (the era of Russel White and the arrival of Jason Kidd) were a series of tragic events, including the People’s Park riot my freshman year, the Loma Prieta earthquake my sophomore year, the hostage situation at one of Berkeley’s best known pubs my junior year, and the Oakland Hills firestorm my senior year. But above all, the most tragic and devastating event for me was the on-campus murder of my younger sister, Grace.
In between the highs and tragedies, I led student life with multiple identities: a student majoring in economics, a midshipman at the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps Unit, a part-time waiter at Kip’s, a fraternity brother, and an older brother to my sister. It was a super diverse life with increasing levels of responsibilities and stressors as the years progressed. What ultimately carried me through were the friends and relationships I made, and the amazing education—both academic and life lessons—uniquely gained at Cal.
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 | (Left to right) Belinda Paz, Mark Asuncion ’92, Grace Asuncion, Mike Pasqual ’92 at PAA formal dinner 1992.
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| What advice would you give your undergraduate self? The advice I would give to my undergraduate self would be to learn more about and embrace my ethnicity. I’m a Filipino American raised in Agoura Hills, California, which at the time was not as ethnically diverse as it is now. Growing up, my siblings and I weren’t exposed much to Filipino culture, except for the great food my mom would cook. Arriving at Cal, I did not take advantage of exploring my ethnicity with the larger Filipino student community and the Filipino clubs designed to support each other and impart the distinct Filipino American culture along the way. More than missing the opportunity to learn about my culture, I missed the opportunity of participating in what Berkeley is famous for: student activism–binding together to make positive cultural changes despite the challenges minority groups often face. My sister didn’t miss that opportunity. Even though her life was cut short at Cal, her legacy of making the lives of Filipino American students better and more enriched is alive and well—even 31 years later.
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 | Mark Asuncion ’92 (center) and Naval Aviators at the State Department honoring the release of Top Gun: Maverick. (Left to right) TOT, J-No, Munch (Mark), McGoo, BB, and Collin.
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| What life lessons did you learn at Cal that still impact your daily life? Time management is probably the biggest life lesson I learned at Cal. Carrying a full academic load, being a midshipman, working 18 hours per week, and holding leadership positions at my fraternity stretched my time and pulled me in different directions. The prioritization and triage skills first developed at Cal have served me well in my career. The need to manage emotions and maintain poise was introduced to me at Cal. I was by no means in control of my emotions and poise by the time I graduated, but the pace of my life at Cal served as a good primer to my career in the United States Navy. From being a naval aviator, where compartmentalization is key to execute tactical missions in the dangerous aircraft carrier environment; to evacuating the US Embassy from Tripoli, Libya; to now, setting up a U.S. Embassy in Vanuatu—an island country in the forefront of geo-political competition—controlling my emotions and maintaining poise have been absolutely essential to succeed (and, at times, survive).
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Mark Asuncion ’92 (center right) supporting late Senator John McCain’s (left) meeting with former Libya’s Chief of Armed Forces in Tripoli, Libya.
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Mark Asuncion ’92 shaking hands with Vanuatu’s new Prime Minister Charlot Salwai in Port Vila, Republic of Vanuatu.
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| What are some current projects you are working on? As mentioned earlier, I am currently the senior U.S. official in Port Vila, Republic of Vanuatu, located in the South Pacific Ocean. I was sent there by the U.S. State Department to lead the establishment of a new U.S. Embassy. The Blue Pacific is an extremely important geo-political region, not only for the U.S., but for the world. The Pacific Islands are both the victims of and the key to addressing global challenges such as climate change, illegal fishing, illicit maritime trafficking, and threats to sovereignty. Vanuatu has a particular history with the United States. During World War II, Vanuatu—then known as New Hebrides—was a crucial logistics and staging node for U.S. military forces, especially in supporting efforts in Guadalcanal and other battles in the Pacific. Back then, New Hebrides and the U.S. partnered and relied on each other to face a global threat. It’s exciting to lead the establishment of the embassy all these decades later to once again partner with Vanuatu to face different, but equally existential global threats.
Before deploying to Vanuatu, I served as the senior navy representative at the U.S. State Department. Once I leave Vanuatu, I’ll return to State as the senior military authority. A project that the senior service representatives from the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps and I were working on focused on improving the integration of military advisors seconded to the State Department to enhance foreign policy discussions and development. I look forward to continuing the implementation of that project.
Lastly, I have been leading a working group to make recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the Navy’s Foreign Area Officer (FAO) community. As the Navy’s cadre of political-military experts, FAOs need to be fit for purpose in today’s strategic competition environment to ensure naval activities best support strategic policy objectives and inform the shaping of national strategy with our perspectives from the field.
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Mark Asuncion ’92 (center) at Homecoming 2023 alongside fellow Cal alums: (left to right) Amy Labao, Jun Cruzat, AJ Cruzat, Bernard Camarao.
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How do you tap into your Cal Alumni network? I have only recently tapped into the Cal Alumni network through the Pilipinx American Alumni Chapter (PAAC). Grace’s roommate at Berkeley (and former President of PAAC) invited me to speak at her celebration of life last October. It had been over 30 years since she died, but it was the first time I represented my family at the annual celebration of life. I didn’t know what to expect and was completely awestruck by the undergraduate Pilipinx American Alliance (PAA) and PAAC’s efforts to keep Grace’s memory and legacy alive for over three decades. In doing so, I felt Grace’s spirit alive within them. They did their part to keep Grace’s impact current in ways I failed to do since graduating Berkeley. I realized it was my time and turn to carry Grace’s torch alongside Cal’s Filipino community, which quickly led me to join PAAC.
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Mark Asuncion ’92 (center right) at Grace Rualo Asuncion’s Celebration of life September 25, 2022 with (left to right) Rachel Paras, Charity Nicholas, and AJ Cruzat. They are sitting on Grace’s bench, UC Berkeley campus near Alumni House.
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| I joined PAAC to give back to Cal’s Filipino community in ways I know Grace would have. I was inspired by the generations of students, now alumni, that never allowed Grace’s legacy to fade away. It’s now my time to contribute to keeping her memory thriving in the greater community.
On September 25, 2022, we had a Celebration of Life for my sister at her bench on campus near Alumni House (see above). The Pilipinx American Alliance was gracious enough to produce and post a short clip of that day on YouTube.
I’m learning that making greater, lasting change requires Cal alumni chapters supporting each other in each other’s causes. Even with the great and sustained work PAAC and PAA have done in keeping Grace’s legacy alive, I never felt her importance resonate with the larger Cal community, even though she was a fellow student. My goal when joining the PAAC board was to have a broader reach to all students and alumni groups. I’ve also served as a mentor for UCDC and Cal in the Capitol. Creating a network of alumni networks to support each other in our respective causes will increase the volume and demand to make greater societal improvements, such as addressing gun control, gender-based violence, and hate crimes.
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Mark Asuncion ’92 (center, holding bouquet of flowers) celebrating with students and alumni after ASUC Senator Stephanie Wong (wearing white to right of Mark) introduces bill for an annual moment of silence for Grace.
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What's New with the Alumni Chapters Department?
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Alumni Chapter Leader Town Hall
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During this town hall, CAA staff will review the changes made to the annual reporting process, the Chapter Manual, and cover all the annual requirements needed to continue as a CAA Chartered Alumni Chapter. Come by to learn thedetails, network with your fellow chapter leaders, and ask any questions you may have.
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What Else is Going on at Cal?
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Berkeley Career Engagement
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| Be an Alumni Host for Cal Job Shadow Program!
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Co-Sponsored by Cal Alumni Association and Berkeley Career Engagement, the Cal Job Shadow Program (formerly Externship) is a unique opportunity for students to experience life after UC Berkeley. Over Spring Break (March 25 – 29, 2024), students shadow alumni at their workplaces–observing day to day activities, meeting colleagues, conducting informational interviews, or completing small sample projects.
If you’d like to give back to Cal students and be an alumni host, join our program! Sign up for the Cal Job Shadow Program on Berkeley Career Network by November 3.
For questions, email careernetwork@berkeley.edu.
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UC Berkeley Alumni Virtual Book Club
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UC Berkeley is excited to offer a complimentary virtual engagement for Cal alumni! The Berkeley Alumni Virtual Book Club is a free, fully online opportunity for the Berkeley alumni community to expand their intellectual horizons and connect back to Cal no matter your age, industry, or geographic location.
The first selection is the New York Times best-seller The Boys in the Boat, authored by Berkeley alum Daniel James Brown '74. Enrollment is open now with the first reading period ending on Dec. 15. We hope for a highly involved community of Berkeley book lovers!
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Cal Athletics 2023 Away Game Tailgates
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 | Photo credit: Al Sermeno/klc fotos
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| Cal Athletics 126th Big Game Tailgate
Saturday, November 18, 2023 | Time TBD
Koret Plaza | Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Join Cal Athletics in Stanford, CA for the official Cal Athletics Football Tailgate before the 126th Big Game!Tailgate ticket includes food and drinks.* Early Bird Tickets: Adult $100, Youth (ages 4-17) $35
*Does not include admission to the game.
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 | Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics
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| Official Cal Athletics UCLA Tailgate
Saturday, November 25, 2023 | Time TBD
Rose Bowl - Lot H, 1011 Armada Dr., Pasadena, CA
Join Cal Athletics in Pasadena, CA for the official Cal Athletics Football Tailgate before the Golden Bears take on the UCLA Bruins! Tailgate ticket includes food and drinks.* Early Bird Tickets - Adult $100, Youth (ages 4-17) $35
*Does not include admission to the game.
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What Else Is Going on at CAA?
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Cal for All: Thriving Communities for All
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 | Photo courtesy of Keegan Houser
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Cal for All is a speaker series aimed at creating a more inclusive alumni community. Cal for All brings Cal alumni from diverse backgrounds and Cal Alumni Association (CAA) Alumni Chapter leaders together to discuss diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice (DEIBJ). This series offers a unique opportunity to learn from our speakers about their efforts to promote DEIBJ values in their work and across the Cal community.
We are excited to announce our upcoming event in the Cal for All series, “Thriving Communities for All,” scheduled for November 1, 2023, 5 – 6:30 p.m. PT on Zoom. Cathy Han ’01, the founder of CAA's DEIBJ Alumni Leadership Council and a member of the Cal Alumni Club of New York board of directors, will lead a fireside chat with UC Berkeley’s Vice Chancellor and Chief Diversity Officer, Dania Matos, J.D. A panel discussion on DEIBJ leadership will follow immediately afterward, featuring Cal alumni leaders from technology, higher-ed, and sustainability advisory backgrounds. The panel will be moderated by Diego Jácome, the co-chair of UC Berkeley Chicanx Latinx Alumni Association, Los Angeles Chapter.
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