“Well the biggest thing is that [AALEAD] helped me find what I really want to do with my life. Sounds pretty cliche, but it’s true. Before joining I already had my mind set. I was going to pursue programming and make all these video games and everything. But then I realized that programming is boring. And really hard. It wasn’t something I wanted to do. Then Digital Connectors came along. We had filmmaking activities, and they were my absolute favorite. Then [AALEAD] had all these opportunities like the Gandhi Brigade workshop [opportunity] and the youth summit that helped shape what I really wanted to be. I really didn’t know how much I liked film before [AALEAD]. So thanks for that.”
“AALEAD has enforced the idea that education is very important when living here. Our diversity and uniqueness is what will help the universe in the long run whether it’d be a small or large impact, an impact is an impact. I also learned that there are always options, there is always support, there are always others like me. AALEAD in whole has helped me become more open minded and helped me branch out into different communities and explore new ideas and things.”
“I joined AALEAD when I was in high school and that helped me continue my education in college. Now I am studying at the University of Maryland, College park. They put me in the right path and I thank them for doing this so now I can continue my path towards my goals. I learned to speak out more and to be more social through AALEAD and this helps me with interacting with others, which is great.”
“I learned helpful techniques like how to apply for jobs, how to behave during interviews, how to get an internship and mainly how to be proactive.”