Monthly Archives: May 2015

• Waves of Change: A Reflection of the Year

  By Antwoine Johnson, MD Middle School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” ― Søren Kierkegaard This has been a very interesting year, for both me and the youth at Loiederman and Newport Mill, where I am the coordinator. At both schools we received new crowds of youth that were very different from the ones that were in programs

• AALEAD – A Constant in Our Lives!

  By Shaima Ahmad VA High School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of Shaima Ahmad Yesterday, Anandale High School AALEADers came together and reminisced about their past year with AALEAD. Surely, our youth have come along way since they started their journey back in September.  The over all consensus was that this year was full of opportunities and experiences that they may not have experienced outside of AALEAD. The youth remembered the team building activities they took part  in the beginn

• Message from the ED: May Inspiration

  This month I have been lucky to experience several reminders about why we do this work. I have had the opportunity to interact with 4 of our alumni and have seen them shine. More than that, they all credit AALEAD for developing their confidence and giving them the opportunities to lead. On May 8, AALEAD hosted a wonderful event with UMD basketball player, Varun Ram. Varun is a great role model for our

• See You Next Week!

  

  We are so excited for our 16th Annual Dinner on Wednesday, June 3, 2015--exactly a week from today! We will kick o

• Food and Fun: Learning through Eating

  By Keo Xiong, MD Middle School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of Keo Xiong, MD Middle School Program Coordinator "What are we doing today?" asks a youth entering the room as I am writing the agenda on the classroom board. "Are we making food today?" shouts another youth from the doorway. I hear these two questions daily. As expected, middle school youth are most excited about our in-class food and cooking lesson plans. As one youth remarked, "I like cooking activities because it shows me

• MDMS & MDHS: A Tour of High School

  By Melor Suhaimi, MD Programs Manager Photos by AALEAD Staff Transitions can be tough and with the end of the school year coming to an end, many of our AALEAD youth are transitioning from middle school to high school. This past week, AALEAD's MD high school programs at Einstein and Blair High School offered a tour of their schools for our youth at Newport Mill, Eastern, and Argyle Middle Schools. The tour kicked off with an opportunity for middle school youth to share what they think high sch

• DC MS/HS Update: The Past Six Months

  By Shobana Modur, DC Middle and High School Program Coordinator Photos by AALEAD staff

  In December 2014, I was brought on as the new DC Middle and High School Program Coordinator.  Almost immediately, I was thrown into all the holiday party craziness, met AALEAD’s dedicated staff and board members, and was introduced to the DC AALEAD youth.  What struck me instantly was how they all took me in like family!

  Over the course of six months, DC Middle and High School

• Bancroft Bulletin: AALEAD Heroes of K-2nd Grade Honored in Mt. Pleasant Youth Arts Fair

  By Madeline Sumida, Elementary Program Teacher & Site Coordinator Photos Courtesy of Madeline Sumida

  The Kindergarten through second grade AALEAD team earned artistic accolades for the class submission to the 15^th Annual Mt. Pleasant Youth Arts Fair. At a special reception held at the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library, judges announced that the AALEAD artwork had earned 15 out of 15 possible points and a prominent display in the children’s section

• Youth Media Project: Upstanding Upload

  By Sharon Choi, Development & Communications Manager Aaannd, AALEADers are back with their second youth media project! We partnered again with the Gandhi Brigade to mobilize youth to create film projects around cyber civility. Last year, our youth created two videos around stereotypes and 

  AALEAD at Fiesta Asia DC 2015!

  By Chelsea Iorlano, Development & Communications Associate Photos Courtesy of Chelsea Iorlano This past Saturday, May 16, Asian American LEAD joined the festivities at Fiesta Asia DC.  161 youth, staff, and mentors came out to represent AALEAD and celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at the 10th annual Fiesta Asia street festival!