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• #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

• 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

• The 3 Most Important Things I’ve Learned About Youth Work in 3 Months

  By: Mecca McPherson, MD Middle School Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff I had just arrived off the metro from a closing shift at work, when I saw the email notification. I read good news - my application to intern with Asian American LEAD had been accepted! During orientation, I met the other interns and learned I would be working with the DC Middle and High School Summer Program under the tutelage of one Stephanie Lim. Though filled with slight apprehension, I was mostly excited.

• Let’s Keep Going, Together

  By Mecca McPherson, DC Middle & High School Summer Program Intern and Stephanie Lim, DC Middle & High School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff It’s been such a fun summer for us in the DC Middle & High School Summer Program. We’ve visited museums, gotten the ball rolling on some dope summer projects, staff and youth have facilitated activities and workshops, and we’ve survived through some very contentious rounds of Uno. We accomplish this by spending ne

• AALEAD Day 2017: Heroes Across the DMV

  By Ari Pak, MD High School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff If you were at the Silver Spring Civic Center last Saturday June 3, you already know how big AALEAD celebrates our community members! If you couldn't make it out, don't worry--I'm here to give you a peek into our first ever AALEAD Day! Photo h

• 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

• A Cycle of Peer to Peer Mentoring

  By Keo Xiong, MD Programs Manager Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff   March was an inspiring month of youth leadership in action. The AALEAD Maryland middle school after-school program spent their March learning about high school, and had extended opportunities to meet their high school counterparts. Middle school youth learned more about life after middle school through our ‘Middle School to High School Transition Support Series,’ which included in-class workshops and guided walk

• 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

• 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