AALEAD VA 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

• When Youth Facilitated Their Own Workshops

  By Shaima Ahmad, Virginia Programs Manager Photos courtesy of AALEAD Staff   Over the past few weeks, our youth at Annandale High School have worked hard to research, prepare, and facilitate workshops for their peers. Youth are given the opportunity to generate ideas for topics that they find interesting. This year we covered a variety of topics such as:   <

• What Leadership Means to Us

  By Pallavi Rudraraju, VA Middle School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff   This week marks the first full week of Spring (regardless of what Punxsutawney Phil has to say about it), and with fast-approaching, warm weather and bright sunshine comes a new focus on leadership and career exploration in the VA Middle School programs. Last week, VAMS youth had wo

• Getting in Touch with Our Roots

  By Pallavi Rudraraju, VA Middle School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of Pallavi Rudraraju   As you may know, AALEAD’s theme for this 2017-2018 school year is “AALEAD Origins: Rooted in Our Past, Creating Our Future.” Our goal is to learn about our past and use it to create the future we want to see in the world. For the past few weeks in the VA MS After School Program, we have been focusing on just that!  

  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

• Do You Know Who You Are?

  By Ha Nguyen, Development and Communications Associate Photos Courtesy of AALEAD staff As 2017 starts to wrap up and give way to 2018, we begin to reflect back on how our life has progressed throughout the year. It is essential to not just dwell on mistakes that you have made along the way. It is also about rejoicing for what you have accomplished and drawing lessons on what disappointed you. 2017 has been a roller coaster for me, but I would not take it any other way. Hello eve

• Bringing out the Family of AALEAD

  By Emily N., current AALEAD youth and Pallavi Rudraraju, VA Middle School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff Last week, AALEAD’s VA Programs sent off our youth for winter break with a fun and activity-filled Winter Holiday Party. For many of our new AALEADers, it was the first time they interacted with staff and youth outside of their school. As a program coordinator, I am thankful for and proud of all the hard work our VA youth put in to the party. Our Youth Councils play

• 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

• When It Comes to Our Youth, Expect the Unexpected!

  By: Pallavi Rudraraju Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff As I near the start of After School Programs in Fairfax County, and head into my fourth month as the VA Middle School Program Coordinator, I feel so grateful for a wonderful beginning to my journey in the VA Middle School Program. Over the past few months, I have worked with MD and VA high schoolers during their leadership retreat, co-facilitated the VA MIC CHECK Summer Program, and learned immensely along the way. One important less

• MIC CHECK VA: The Weekly Play By Play

  By Vi Bui, Mentoring & Volunteer Programs Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff It feels like summer programs have just started but our Virginia youth have already closed out their program by giving their final MIC CHECK presentations. Here’s a recap of what they’ve been up to this summer! Week 1 Our Youth Program Co