Photo: Debbie Chan, Dean Tom Cary,  Chase (Cha Cha) Malone, and his mother Dawn Lucrisia -Johnson at  Lunch Bites

By Debbie Chan, Student Activities, Washington Academy of Languages (WAL)

How do I begin?  How do you express the true satisfaction and joy you feel when you know that if you wait patiently for something GOOD to happen — it will come at the RIGHT time, whether you expect it or not?

Let me back up.

For many years, I’ve been impressed with the talent and rising success of my friend Dawn Lucrisia-Johnson’s son,  Chase Malone, a Seattle native, who has become a very prominent producer, composer, songwriter, and singer in the world of “K-pop” (Korean popular, and hip hop) music not only in South Korea,  but also here in the United States and internationally.   Because of that, it lead me to ask Chase’s mom periodically over the past 6 years if she knew if her son would be interested in visiting one of our Lunch Bites parties on campus someday.

Why Lunch Bites?

Washington Academy of Languages (WAL), a division of City University of Seattle, developed Lunch Bites, a lunch party on campus that is held 4 times a quarter.  It is the perfect place for students and staff to gather informally for a simple meal or snack for free in the library, during the lunch hour.  The menu changes each time, and it is always an opportunity to bring some needed refreshment and creativity to our students and staff.

With that in mind, I always wanted Chase to come to one of our lunches. I mean, wouldn’t it be nice if he could join us for a meal so we can get to know each other better?  Or, maybe he could drop in on one of our English classes and answer questions about the K-pop music scene?  Either way, I always thought it would be great to have Chase (also known as “Cha Cha Malone” to his fans) come and visit us one day!

But with each inquiry, it always seemed that a visit from Chase would never work.  He either was too busy working on a tight production deadline,  traveling between South Korea and  Seattle, or he was in the middle of a collaboration with other top K-pop artists such as Jay Park, Hoody, and Sik-K, to name a few.

Yet, hope springs eternal!

You see, I was planning my Lunch Bites party for July 18, 2019.   I was going to schedule an Indonesian lunch menu, but I switched it to a Korean do-it-yourself rice bowl idea instead on July 14, just days before the event.  I also happened to send an email to Chase’s parents about another unrelated topic on July 15, but then thought to mention that we were having Korean food for our lunch party, too.   “Would Chase like to join us?” I asked.  I was expecting another “oh sorry” response, but can you imagine the silent scream I had when I read that Chase was available to come visit us?

OH MY!   Chase’s visit with us was so much fun and the students and staff had a great time meeting him!  We took photos, chatted, and feasted on delicious kimchee and bowls of hot rice with ground turkey bulgogi!  Ahhh….it was perfect!

We are now Chase’s newest and biggest fans, and this happened all because of a sudden change in plans, which somehow made everything else fall into place, just the way it was meant to be!

Lastly, Chase uses his signature tagline in the beginning of every song he writes or produces as, “I Need a Cha Cha Beat Boy.”   Well, we got it now, and we got it good!  Thank you Chase for your timely visit to Lunch Bites!

Learn more about Chase and his life and music or follow him on Twitter.

If you have questions about our Lunch Bites events, please contact Debbie Chan at debbiechan@cityu.edu.