Tags: Identity

• Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

  By Neel Saxena, Executive Director Photos: Various Sources As the month of May comes to a close we mark the end of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. We continue the journey of a collective identity that began in the 1960s. As we celebrate the diversity of a unified APA identity, we continued to be mired in the monolithic perspective of APAs that ignores our individuality, particularly for our youth. APA youth voices have played a significant role in shaping APA history and at Asian Ame

• 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

• Finding My Voice

  By Freidricka Camille, Community College and Internship Programs Coordinator Photo Courtesy of AALEAD Staff   My name is Freidricka Camille, and I am excited to join the AALEAD family as the new Community College and Internship Coordinator. A little bit about me, I was born and raised in the Philippines for eleven years before my mom and I immigrated to the United States to live with my dad. It was the summer before 6th grade.  When I lived in the Philippines, I had imagined that

• 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

• 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"]

  National Mentoring Month Highlight: Eugene K.

  By Eugene K., Current VA Youth Mentee Photo Courtesy of Eugene [caption id="attachment_14766" align="aligncenter" width="865"] Eugene (right) with this mentor, Dave (left)[/caption] This last youth mentee spotlight this month comes from Eugene, who is dual-enrolled in our Mentoring Program and our VA aft