Monthly Archives: September 2014

• And So It Begins: The MD Middle School Program

  By Antwoine Johnson, MD Middle School Program Coordinator Photos by AALEAD Staff Yesterday was the long awaited first day of MD Middle School Programs and what a first day it was. The coordinators and youth alike have been waiting eagerly for this day; to get the ball rolling and to continue to AALEAD tradition of having incredible years and creating incredible memories. From my side, Loiederman Middle School started off with a bang. The day started with formal introductions but as we got more

• VA High School Programs Kick Off!

  By Shaima Ahmad, VA High School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of Shaima Ahmad, AALEAD Staff

  The past few weeks have been super exciting for AALEAD’s VA High School program. After many a lunch recruitment session we officially began after school programming this week. The students at Annandale High have shown much interest and have been very keen to find out what AALEAD is all about. The lunch sessions gave the them the opportunity to get more insight about w

• Message from the ED: September Highlights

  September is always an exciting month at AALEAD.  Our after-school programs start up again with some new youth and returning youth from the summer and the previous year.  After lots of planning, our staff get to do what they do best - which is provide new opportunities to our youth.  This year, we are excited to have launched a brand new after-school program at Annandale High School!  The response from youth there has been awesome.  We are looking forward to serving 50 new youth there this

• 3…2…1…Clear for Take Off!

  By My Nguyen, AALEAD Staff Photos Courtesy of My Nguyen, AALEAD Staff DC Middle and High School Program has officially blasted off! Two weeks ago, we started our DC Middle and High School Program, and kicked off the first week with team building activities, or simply put, fun activities to help students get to know each other better. With so many new faces joining the program this fall, we began our first meeting with an animal name game. With this game, students gathered in a form of a circle

• Intern Introduction: Greetings from Dong!

  By Dong Zhou, DC Elementary School Program Intern Photo Courtesy of Dong Zhou, DC Elementary School Program Intern Hello everyone, my name is Dong Zhou, and I am Asian American LEAD's (AALEAD) Fall 2014 DC Elementary School Program Intern! I am currently a college student studying Education at American University. This fall, I am a part of the Washington Mentorship Program, which gives me the chance to intern twice a week to explore my interests and get experiences outside of the classroom.

• Partners & Pins: AALEAD Mentoring Goes Bowling!

  By Tina Ngo, AALEAD Staff Photos Courtesy of Tina Ngo, AALEAD Staff This past Saturday, the Asian American LEAD (AALEAD) Mentoring Program held our first ever Bowling Social! Ten of our mentoring pairs gathered at Lucky Strike DC for an after

• MD High School Programs Off to a Running Start!

  By Ari Pak, MD High School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff AALEAD's MD High School Program kicked off last week and the generative momentum for the coming year is already impressive. On our first day of programs at both Einstein and Blair High School, youth participated in a contest focusing on teamwork and leadership skills. They were tasked to work together to build a tall structure with a limited number of building materials.

  AALEAD High School Youth Reflect on their Leadership Experience

  By Francine Gorres, MD Programs Manager Photo Courtesy of AALEAD Staff Before the start of Summer Programs, High School students applied and were interviewed to become group leaders and mentors for Middle School youth in the AALEAD Summer Kinect Program.  As part of the experience, High School youth participated in daily de-brief meetings to process their leadership development and to formulate action steps for improvement.  This past month we were able to review and analyze some End of the S

• Staff Spotlight: Her Name Rhymes with “Meow!”

  By Sharon Choi, Development & Communications Manager Photos courtesy of AALEAD Staff & Youth Keo joined the AALEAD family in August 2013, hailing all the way from Minnesota. When she’s not busy supporting AALEADers an

• Summer Memories and New Beginnings!

  By Melor Suhaimi, MD Programs Manager Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff Summer unofficially ended in Maryland during the last week of August with many Maryland students going back to school.  However, with the heat and humidity, it still feels like summer and it made me feel a bit nostalgic. This summer was filled with great memories in Maryland's Summer Kinect program, a bittersweet goodbye for our colleague, Francine Gorres, and a huge welcoming for 2 brand new staff members, Ari Pak and Shai