Educational Empowerment

• 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

• Fall 2017 Internship Reflections: A Fulfilling and Educational Opportunity

  By Fahduma Majid, Development and Communications Intern and Jenny Zhang, DC Elementary School Program Intern Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff   The AALEAD internship program seeks to provide interns with an educational and impactful experience. This semester, AALEAD had the privilege of supporting Fahduma Majid and Jenny Zhang in our internship program!  Freidricka Camille, Community College and Internship Programs Coordinator, shares that "Being the internship coordinator gives me

• Capturing The Essence Of Our Elementary School Program

  By Saadia Ahmad, DC Elementary School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of Saadia Ahmad They say a picture is worth a thousand words; so when I was asked to do this blog at a time where AALEAD participated in the Lights On Afterschool campaign, I wanted to capture the essence of our DC Elementary School Program through

• Grateful for AALEAD

  By Neel Saxena, Executive Director Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff It’s Thanksgiving week and this marks the 1 year anniversary of my transition to Executive

• Reflections of a Community College Program Coordinator

  by Freidricka Camille, Community College and Internship Programs Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff With the fall weather in full swing, it is hard to believe that it has been nearly a month since I started office hours at Montgomery College in Rockville. I have “met” and communicated with

• How the AALEAD Community Supports Youth

  By Stephanie Lim, DC Middle and High School Program Coordinator & AALEAD DC Middle and High School Youth Photos Courtesy of Stephanie Lim The beginning of another cycle of after-school programming is an exciting and busy time for staff and youth. Staff have been hard at work preparing lesson plans and act

• 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

• My Career, My Choice

    By Charles Kuo, DC Programs Manager Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff

  The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Do

• Coming full circle…

    My first job in California was with the Pacific Asian Alcohol Program, which is a social service agency that provides counseling and referral to Asian Pacific Americans (APA) who were convicted of drunk driving and other misdemeanors. Many of our clients were recent immigrants who do not speak nor understand English. The county could not provide translators most of the time, so our clients would bring their elementary or high-school age children to do the translation. I witnessed how t