Tags: AALEAD MD

• 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.

• Power of Youth Workshops

  By YLan Nguyen, MD Middle School Programs Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff For the past two months, AALEAD youth at Newport Mill Middle School have been planning their own workshops. Youth-led workshops are one of the ways that youth can choose what they want to learn about and how they want to learn. [caption id="attachment_15110" align="aligncenter" width="300"]

• 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

• 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

• Safe, Supportive, Stable: The Importance of Out-of-School Time Programs

  By Keo Xiong, MD Programs Manager   Any space that serves youth and young people should be safe, supportive, and stable. Safety, both physically and emotionally, sets the foundation for youth (and all people) to thrive. Creating a culture of support allows youth to share in each other's successes, and rally to uplift others in times of difficulty. Stability ensures that youth know they will always have a place to go and trusted people to talk to. When youth feel safe and supported in

• #AALEADFam is Forever

  By Tina Ngo, Mentoring & Volunteer Programs Manager Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff There have been many things that I've learned over the course of my time at Asian American LEAD (AALEAD), but one lesson in particular will always stand out to me. During an after school program session, a young person and I had a discussion about choices and how a single decision can create a ripple effect. I'll never forget this conversation because AALEAD youth speak truth: the choices that we make imp

• National Mentoring Month Highlight: Sue G.

  By Sue G., Current MD Youth Mentee Photo Courtesy of Shanice Lo, MD Middle School Program Coordinator We are halfway through National Mentoring Month, and I am excited to share another account of one of our youth mentees! This week's post comes from Sue G., who is an active member of our MD Programs. I first met Sue when I visited her after-school program in Fall 2015. I remember being nervous, as it was one of my first Maryland site visits. But, I also remember Sue putting me at ease wi

• MD Holiday Party 2016

  By YLan Nguyen, MD Middle School Programs Coordinator Photos Courtesy of Chelsea Iorlano, Development and Communications Associate To close off the first semester of AALEAD programs in Montgomery County, we had our annual AALEAD Maryland Holiday Party. This year’s theme, courtesy of the Maryland Middle School Youth Council members, was “Winter Masquerade Around the World.” We w

• Spotlight: Youth Voice on Social Issues

  By Ari Pak, MD High School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff, Youth Powerpoint, and Southern Poverty Law Center If anyone has ever

• What I’ve Learned from the Youth

  By Lili Greenstein, Development & Communications Intern Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff As I began this experience, I expected the typical internship position: filing, drafting cookie cutter tweets, instagram posts and other busy work. What I didn’t expect was to feel more morally and ethically connected to any other organization that I’ve worked for. AALEAD embodies the most important youth development component that I believe is crucial to success. H