By Han L., Current AALEAD Youth and Vi Bui, Mentoring & Volunteer Programs Coordinator Photo Courtesy of AALEAD Staff
by Neel Saxena, Executive Director
Photos Courtesy of Neel Saxena & Bitmoji
Today is Halloween, one of my favorite “holidays” because it was a time in my life as a youth to be able to define for myself how I wanted the world to see me and emulate a favorite character and see someone I did
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
By Vi Bui, Mentoring & Volunteer Programs Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff Here at Asian American LEAD (AALEAD), volunteers are a crucial resource to our youth development work. In some cases, such as with the mentoring program, we literally would not be able to provide these opportunities to our youth without the commitment of our volunteer mentors. Last April, we celebrated National Volunteer Month
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
By Vi Bui, Mentoring and Volunteer Programs Coordinator Photos Courtesy of Vi Bui My name is Vi and I am AALEAD’s new Mentoring and Volunteer Programs Coordinator. I am really excited to start this incredibly important and valuable work and wanted to take some time to introduce myself to the community. I was born and raised in the State of Delaware. Not to be confused with the city in Ohio or the county in Pennsylvania. You’ve probably never been there, driven through it on I-95, do
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.
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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
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
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