By Claudia Han, Part-Time Virginia Middle School Youth Facilitation Coordinator Photos & Media courtesy of Claudia Hi Everyone! My name is Claudia Han (she/her/hers), the new Part-Time Virginia Middle School Youth Facilitation Coordinator. I am so excited to share with you a little bit more about myself, and can’t wait to meet you all at future AALEAD events, field trips, programs, and so much more! Let’s get some of the basic information down! I was born in Tampa, Florida, but I would consider Massachusetts as my home state. I am Korean American and the third child out of five kids (shout ..read more

By Olivia Lancaster We hope you enjoyed Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month!  To celebrate, AALEAD attended the Asian Festival on Main in Virginia and were their official nonprofit partner this year! AALEAD received a donation of $3,500! We also observed AALEAD’s 25th anniversary with a 25th Anniversary Gala. We were so happy to see everyone who could attend and loved celebrating with such an amazing group of people! Thank you to everyone who supported us throughout the event.  Since May is also Mental Health Awareness month, AALEAD also held an AAHI mental health event f ..read more

Hey everyone! My name is Kelly Ji, and I’m working for AALEAD as a summer program intern. I worked with AALEAD in high school, and I’m so excited to return to the organization after a year in college. I just finished my freshman year at Pomona College in Claremont, CA with a double major in Asian American Studies and Politics and a minor in Art. I grew up in Rockville, Maryland, as the child of two Chinese immigrants. Surrounded by Chinese Americans my whole life, I didn’t really conceptualize my identity until I was sucked into the world of Asian American student advocacy in my junior year o ..read more

This summer, Asian American LEAD hired four interns: Olivia Lancaster (Mentoring Program), Li Turner (Programs), Jaz Bisset (Executive), and Kelly Ji (Programs). With the end of summer, their internships came to a close, and they each reflected on their experiences with AALEAD. Olivia Lancaster: Olivia is a rising junior at American University and is a Communication Studies major. This was Olivia’s first internship, so she was extremely grateful for the opportunity to learn so much about design, data organization, writing, event planning and the various methods to support youth. Olivia’s favor ..read more

By Olivia Lancaster, Mentoring Program Intern The month of April is National Volunteer Month, which gives us an opportunity to honor and celebrate our amazing volunteers here at AALEAD! What are some of the ways volunteers help out with AALEAD programs? In our afterschool and summer programs, program aides provide support to our coordinators in various tasks, like helping with projects to facilitating fun and engaging activities with large groups of youth. In our mentoring program, all of our mentors are volunteers too! When they are paired with a youth, they provide them with a positive role ..read more

Hello everyone! My name is Olivia Lancaster (she/her), and I am currently a second-semester sophomore at American University. I am a Communication Studies major with a minor in International Studies. Apart from being a full-time student, I am also AALEAD’s spring 2023 Mentoring Program intern! I applied to AALEAD because I love that they are focused on providing resources and role models for Asian and Asian-American youth. When I first found out about the organization, I recalled what it felt like to move to the United States from South Korea and gradually lose that part of my identity as I ..read more

By Catherine Han, Virginia Middle School Program Coordinator Photos by AALEAD Staff Members On November 17, 2021, I joined the AALEAD community as Virginia Middle School Program Coordinator, and after being here for a little over a year, my time here at AALEAD is coming to a close. My last day with AALEAD will be on Friday, January 27, 2023.  Transition and new changes are never easy, but it is an experience that we all will go through one day. These experiences shape and help us to grow in ways that we may not realize at the moment. A transition can be big or small and have lots of diffe ..read more

Written by: Paris Copeland, MD MS Program Coordinator Images by: AALEAD Staff members On December 10th, 2022 our MD AALEAD youth went ice skating at Rockville Town Square’s Outdoor Ice Rink. This was the start of the end-of-semester celebrations for the youth to uplift all their hard work in and outside the classroom. Later in the week, they would finish their celebrations with a winter holiday workshop that included board games, white elephant gift exchanges, bibimbap, and much more! Youth were also encouraged to lead their own activities, which included Just Dance songs, and brainstorming i ..read more

Written By: YJ Jun (AALEAD Volunteer) This January, we are celebrating National Mentoring Month at AALEAD!  Just how important is mentorship for K-12 students? Students with at least one non-parental adult mentor are more likely to graduate high school, engage in community service, become leaders, and apply to college (and apply to higher-ranked colleges). They’re also less likely to miss a day of school, use drugs, or engage in violent activities. More importantly, students with adult mentors develop more confidence and self-esteem, namely in adjusting to college campuses, finding the r ..read more

By Catherine Han, Virginia Middle School Program Coordinator  Photos by AALEAD Staff Members After a little hiatus due to COVID-19, AALEAD Virginia Fall semester After-School programs for middle school youth were back in action and in person. As of December 2022, we have over 45 middle school youth currently enrolled across our three different school sites. Many of the youth enrolled were brand new to AALEAD.  The three school sites we are currently at include Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church, Kilmer Middle School in Vienna, and Poe Middle School in Annandale.  Durin ..read more