AALEAD MD Programs

• Celebrate Our Stories, Our History

  By Neel Saxena, AALEAD Executive Director Photos Courtesy of Various Sources   Every May, the Asian Pacific American (APA) community gears up for

• Maryland Social Event

  By Shanice Lo, Maryland Middle School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of Mecca McPherson   On March 30th, during the Maryland School Spring Break. AALEAD High School and Middle School Youth are invited to attend the MD Bowling Party. This event is a reward for youth who have had excellent attendance of 80% or better at AALEAD programs. We appreciate youth continually coming to programs and sharing their stories and experience with us.

• Practicing Leadership Through Facilitation

  By Diane Bui, MD High School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff One of the most exciting leadership opportunities AALEAD youth have is the chance to serve on our yearly youth council. Youth meet on a monthly basis to discuss what they hope to accomplish in programs, and help support planning events for their fellow AALEAD peers.

  19 going on 20

  By Neel Saxena, Executive Director Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff The title of this blog pays homage to the film, “13 Going on 30” which is the story about a girl who makes a wish on her thirteenth birthday, and wakes up the next day as a thirty-year-old woman. The story of AALEAD began 19 y

• Winter Nostalgia: Making Meaning from Winter Reflections

  By Ari Pak, MD Programs Manager Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff This winter season, AALEAD youth in Maryland chose "Winter Nostalgia" as the theme for our 2017 AALEAD Winter Holiday Party. Following the lead of our AALEAD youth, Maryland AALEAD staff wanted to provide a chance for us all to slow down, take pause, and reflect on our journeys. Winter can be a time of celebration, hards

• Kicking Off Another Program Year in Maryland

  By Shanice Lo, MD Middle School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff On Saturday, October 28th,  over 60 youth from across 4 middle schools and 4 high schools in Montgomery County attended the Annual Maryland Kick-off Picnic at Glenmont Local Park in Silver Spring.  Before the picnic portion of the day,

• AALEAD Origins: Rooted in our Past, Creating Our Future

  By Neel Saxena, Executive Director Photos Courtesy of Various Staff Logo Courtesy of DC Programs Manager, Charles Kuo Asian American LEADs orgins are rooted in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC where Sandy Dang, AALEAD’s founder, saw the unmet need in low-income Vietnamese refugee youth and made supporting th

• #ThrowbackTuesday

  By Diane Bui, MDHS Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD MD Staff After-School programs in Maryland start THIS WEEK! We are so excited to be back in our schools, reconnecting with returning youth, and welcoming new youth to programs. Youth in schools today are busier than ever. Between magnet programs, IB classes, AP course loads and a number of after-school activities, it’s no surprise our youth are always on the move. This got our MD staff talking about when we were younger, and

• Lessons Taught, Lessons Learned: What Young People Taught One Youth Worker

  By Keo Xiong, Former AALEAD Staff Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff In August 2013, I packed into my new Scion XB a few bags of clothes, some books, photo scrapbooks, and a few snacks, and hit the road on a three day road trip from St. Paul, MN to Washington, D.C. to begin my new job at Asian American LEAD as a Maryland Middle School Program Coordinator. Four years later, after having become the Maryland Programs Manager, in August 2017, I repacked my now-tattered Scion XB (thanks, DC drivers)

• Mic Check MD: Youth Exhibitions

  By: YLan Nguyen, MD Middle School Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff AALEAD Maryland ended its five-week summer program with exhibition walks and presentations. Youth were split into five “houses” or teams for the entire program. In these groups, youth participated in meaningful team-building activities and worked on their final art exhibition project.