Yearly Archives: 2017

  • Creating Opportunities, Gaining Experiences

    By Yuanlong D., Current DC MS/HS Program Youth Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff It all started with a simple inquiry I made to one of the AALEAD staff: “Is it possible if I interned here?”. My school, School Without Walls High School, requires every student to complete one semester of internship in order to graduate, so I spent six months searching for a place I could intern. Many of my friends chose to intern at George Washington University, since our school was right on their campus. Wh

  • Stories that Envision, Create, Transform

    By Neel Saxena, Executive Director Photos Courtesy of Saadia Ahmed On March 22, 2017, AALEAD hosted the Aspire to LEAD fundraising event at Top of the Town in Arlington, VA. This was AALEAD's 4th such fundraiser and my first as Executive Director. Last year I was behind the scenes and this year I had the incredible opportunity to join our youth in sharing our often overlooked stories as Asian Pacific Americans. This year's theme was Envision, Create, Transform. For our youth, staff, mentors

  • Smithsonian Adventures and Current Events

    By Diane Bui, MDMS Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD MD Staff   One of the luxuries of living so close to Washington, DC is the ability to travel into the city and learn about American culture through the many Smithsonian museums in the area. On Saturday, March 11, we had the opportunity to bring 22 middle and high school youth from our MD programs to the National Museum of the American Indian. In light of current events, it is crucial to learn more about other culture

  • ECAASU 2017: Atmosphere Leads to Expansion

    By Charles Kuo, DC Programs Manager Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff   FY17 ECAASU Blog Image 1   18 youth. 3 program staff. 2 vans. 1 life-changing experience. On February 17, 2017, 18 of o

  • Starting a New Adventure with AALEAD

    By Vi Bui, Mentoring and Volunteer Programs Coordinator Photos Courtesy of Vi Bui My name is Vi and I am AALEAD’s new Mentoring and Volunteer Programs Coordinator. I am really excited to start this incredibly important and valuable work and wanted to take some time to introduce myself to the community. I was born and raised in the State of Delaware. Not to be confused with the city in Ohio or the county in Pennsylvania. You’ve probably never been there, driven through it on I-95, do

  • Don’t Underestimate Young People

    By Yonsoo Kang, VA Middle School Program Coordinator Photos courtesy of Yonsoo Kang Hello again! In lieu of the recent election, it is undeniable that there has been a rise in incidents of hate, bigotry, and prejudice in schools around the country. I wanted to design a lesson for my AALEADers so they could see past and current scene of people who expressed hate and how others have decided to respond. Instead of using dreaded PowerPoint slides, we decided to create a gallery made up of wo

  • Safe, Supportive, Stable: The Importance of Out-of-School Time Programs

    By Keo Xiong, MD Programs Manager   Any space that serves youth and young people should be safe, supportive, and stable. Safety, both physically and emotionally, sets the foundation for youth (and all people) to thrive. Creating a culture of support allows youth to share in each other's successes, and rally to uplift others in times of difficulty. Stability ensures that youth know they will always have a place to go and trusted people to talk to. When youth feel safe and supported in

  • My Fourth First Day

    By Stephanie Lim, DC Middle and High School Program Coordinator Photos courtesy of Stephanie Lim On one of my first Mentoring Program site visits in 2015, Ari, our MD High School Program Coordinator, joked that they had a plan to have me join the after-school program team. At the time, I'd already worked with youth and students in after-school and teaching programs, and thought that perhaps my time with that kind of programming was over. I took Ari's words to signal a welcome to the full-tim

  • Envision | Create | Transform and Aspire to LEAD on March 22!

    By Neel Saxena, Executive Director ATL Postcard FY17   Aspire to LEAD is about getting involved with Asian American LEAD to impact the lives of low-income and underserved Asian Pacific American youth. One of the ways to get involved is joi

  • Reminders at the End of National Mentoring Month

    By Stephanie Lim, Mentoring & Volunteer Programs Coordinator Photos Courtesy of Stephanie Lim This past week marked many celebrations. As we wrap up National Mentoring Month at AALEAD, I'm glad to have the opportunity to publicly appreciate our Mentors, whose victories and accomplishments occur in conversations, laughter, and moments of sharing with their mentees. [caption id="attachment_14788" align="alignleft" width="329"]

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