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
By Charles Kuo, DC Programs Manager Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff 18 youth. 3 program staff. 2 vans. 1 life-changing experience. On February 17, 2017, 18 of o
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
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
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
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
By Neel Saxena, Executive Director 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
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"]
By Eugene K., Current VA Youth Mentee Photo Courtesy of Eugene [caption id="attachment_14766" align="aligncenter" width="865"] Eugene (right) with this mentor, Dave (left)[/caption] This last youth mentee spotlight this month comes from Eugene, who is dual-enrolled in our Mentoring Program and our VA aft
By Tina Ngo, Mentoring & Volunteer Programs Manager Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff There have been many things that I've learned over the course of my time at Asian American LEAD (AALEAD), but one lesson in particular will always stand out to me. During an after school program session, a young person and I had a discussion about choices and how a single decision can create a ripple effect. I'll never forget this conversation because AALEAD youth speak truth: the choices that we make imp