Tags: Educational Empowerment

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• Envision | Create | Transform and Aspire to LEAD on March 22!

  By Neel Saxena, Executive Director   Aspire to LEAD is about getting involved with Asian American LEAD to impact the lives of low-income and underserved Asian Pacific American youth. One of the ways to get involved is joi

• Reminders at the End of National Mentoring Month

  By Stephanie Lim, Mentoring & Volunteer Programs Coordinator Photos Courtesy of Stephanie Lim This past week marked many celebrations. As we wrap up National Mentoring Month at AALEAD, I'm glad to have the opportunity to publicly appreciate our Mentors, whose victories and accomplishments occur in conversations, laughter, and moments of sharing with their mentees. [caption id="attachment_14788" align="alignleft" width="329"]