WeChat ID APAPA-OHIO About Feature 通过教育、参与和领导能力的培养，加强亚太裔美国人对政治和公共事务的影响。 2019 CLUSA National Conference As a grantee of CLUSA Summer Internship program, APAPA Ohio was invited to attend the 2019 CLUSA National Conference at Santa Clara University. Two adult leaders from Columbus, two interns from Columbus, two interns from Cincinnati, and one intern from Cleveland were lucky enough to spent the evening of June 21 to the early afternoon of June 23 at the National Conference, to learn from each other and to build long lasting friendships. The following are reflections from the 5 participating interns: Alan Guo, Jason Zhang, Norah Xu, Craig Qi and Hannah Qin. APAPA Ohio Team Forming "OHIO USA" CLUSA Internship Recollection by Alan Guo Upon hopping off the Uber to Santa Clara University, I froze. The paved-black road before me was littered with vibrant flowers and pastel-purple petals fluttering from the trees above, all shining brilliantly underneath the California sun—for a moment, I stood in awe at the picturesque scene before me. California certainly was no Ohio. And my very next thought was, “where’s the food?”—after two transfers, riddled by delays and rescheduled flights, I was absolutely famished. I scrambled to Locatelli, praying that dinner hadn’t started yet (I was an hour late).  I hate to admit it, but when I arrived at Locatelli, I was more excited about the Bay Area than the actual CLUSA Internship Conference itself. I was highly skeptical about how much I could learn from what was basically a 1.5-day event—I saw the whole thing as more of a Bay-Area field trip instead of a leadership-development retreat. But despite my doubts, I was hopefully optimistic—it wasn’t every day that I get the chance to fly down to California to spend a weekend alongside other talented interns for free. And I thankfully could not have been more wrong. To say that CLUSA 2019 was eye-opening is an understatement—from learning about shower-claps to the ballroom vs. the balcony, we didn’t just learn about leadership techniques at CLUSA; we learned how to think critically. By examining our own perspectives and how they were formed by our surroundings, CLUSA highlighted the power of introspection, analysis, and being vulnerable—lessons that I am forever grateful for. And from late-night talks with my roommate to breakfast chats about Pokemon Go, I’m so thankful for the new friends that made it so hard for me to say goodbye. It all went by so fast—I soon found myself hungry for more time with people whom I had just met, but I felt like I had known for years. On the last day, Anthony described leadership excellence as “expressing your best self to inspire others to be their best selves, and serving others before yourself”. Because as I sat on the Uber back to San Jose Airport, it dawned on me—CLUSA was never about leadership, internship experience, or impacting our community. It was about how to lead our lives—the leadership experience and success will come along the way. Leadership Excellence by Jason Zhang The CLUSA National Internship Conference at Santa Clara University featured multiple guest speakers who talked not only about their Asian roots but also of their “life story”. Some mentioned interning where respect for menial tasks prepares an individual to handle bigger ones. Meanwhile, others discussed being a public servant where a clear vision and a sense of integrity in work are key. However, at the end of each speaker’s life story, the conference trainer would ask “what is leadership excellence?” Despite the broad question and different backgrounds of the speakers, they all gave an answer that shared a similar theme.  So what is leadership excellence? A few speakers defined it as the lack of fear in challenging situations. Anyone working to become or who currently is a leader will obviously face challenges due to their responsibilities. However, with a fear of failure comes an impossibility for success as taking managed risks and learning from mistakes is the only way for both the individual and the entire world to change for the better.  Along with a lack of fear, another speaker also added that leadership excellence was the ability to understand what one is talking about. Too often many have viewed leaders as incapable of understanding the problems of the people they lead. Consequently, distrust and a disconnect forms between the two. Therefore, it is essential that a leader connects with people in order to truly understand a situation and hopefully discover a practical answer.  A different speaker also analyzed the question on a personal level, answering that leadership excellence is to first of all be a leader for one’s self in order for an individual to be better than they were yesterday. This originates from the idea that you know yourself best. As a result, you out of everyone else know what you can do to improve. Only by recognizing what one can improve on can someone learn to recognize what society needs to improve on. All of these responses focused on the importance of finding solutions to current problems. Not only do we have to have a will to solve them, we need to actively search for a way to solve them. One of the speakers put it best by saying “we go in not knowing the answer but we will always find one.” A will to solve problems despite its challenges exemplifies the importance of leadership excellence in a community that has typically remained quiet in the face of challenge. This conference certainly demonstrated that we can have a voice. Only by creating a voice that can move can we create moving change.  Meeting New People by Norah Xu Stepping into the room where the CLUSA Leadership Conference felt like a breath of fresh air. Other than to attend math club, I had never seen so many other Asians gathered in one place. It amazed me that there were people from around the country that were just like me: they cared about civic engagement and leadership.  However, my Mom had decided it would be a good idea for us to go sightseeing around the area before the conference began, despite the fact that our little detour would render us about half an hour late. When I entered the room, the Welcome Dinner had already begun and everyone had already gotten to know each other. I missed it, the most crucial part - meeting new people. When I looked around for familiar faces, I saw none, and my heart began to race. How was I to make friends when everyone had already gotten to know each other?   My eyes scanned the room and I eventually found Hannah, my longtime friend and fellow member of the APAPA Columbus Youth Chapter. I pulled up a chair at her table and quickly returned to the table after getting food, desperate to catch up on what I had missed. I looked around at the faces around me, everyone laughing as if they were already friends. I couldn’t help but feel intimidated. I thought I had missed my opportunity to make friends, but at that moment I realized the conference had only just started. Every single person around me was a new opportunity, a new opportunity to introduce myself and a new opportunity to gain a friend. Over the course of the weekend, I got to know people, little by little.  On the second day, Anthony Le, Executive Director of APALI, our youth leader training lead, had us discuss deep themes with each other. One of his questions was, “What aspect of your identity makes you the most uncomfortable?” One boy who was around the same age as I was raised his hand. He talked about how recently, his father lost his job, which resulted in economic strain on his family, and how his friends even made fun of him for not owning a car. Another boy talked about his challenges attending a Catholic school as an atheist and the difficulties that it presented him. Seeing people that were around the same age as me experience such different paths of life led me to reflect on my own as well. Another common theme, unsurprisingly, was the Asian-American identity, and the expectations and guilt placed upon the shoulders of the youth. Together, we talked about our struggles, triumphs, and unfulfilled desires as Asian Americans. In those moments, I felt truly connected to the others in the room, as we bonded through our shared experiences, however small or large they were.  At the end of the day, no matter someone’s background or beliefs, we were all united as Asian Americans who just wished to make a difference in this world. I entered the conference on the first day to a roomful of strangers and emerged with countless friends I will stay connected with for a lifetime. Our unity, as well as our differences, have inspired me to strive to be a better person and truly appreciate my own unique identity.  Today's Learners, Tomorrow's Leaders by Craig Qi Sponsored by Civic Leadership USA (CLUSA), the 2019 National Internship Conference was held at Santa Clara University; the conference consisted of 54 high school and college interns from all over the country. The most enjoyable part of the conference was the social networking experience because meeting new people is a challenge that requires stepping out of one’s comfort zone. Upon checking in, I immediately realized that everything was designed to push ourselves to meet new people through the room assignments, workshops, and leisure time.   First, the room assignments were designed so that you would share living quarters with someone from another group. This experience required you to learn how to stay with a different person through a mindset of curiosity, compromise, and understanding. Second, the workshops promoted social and networking skills with powerful icebreakers and a welcoming atmosphere with core beliefs that encourage curiosity over judgment. The first workshop was oriented in a seminar-like setup. We spent about three hours in this seating arrangement as we discussed icebreakers, “attention-getters,” listened to several guest speakers describe their journey from intern to leader in the workplace and community. The most enjoyable activity was the “Leadership Walk,” where the main objective was to keep a conversation going while exploring the college campus. Finally, during our leisure time, I explored some local attractions with the people that I met during the workshops. Overall, I learned to live in the moment. Throughout this meaningful conference, I realized that you should not have expectations; instead, you should put your faith in the idea that everything will be alright. Looking back, I feel that the most significant challenge was parting. As a wise man once said, “Lessons leave, and stories stay.” Although my stories of midnight ice cream raids, getting kicked out of The Apple Store, and the endless laughter throughout Paranoia will stay behind in San Jose, these newfound friendships will not leave and return home with me. CLUSA National Leadership Conference by Hannah Qin In this past week, I was blessed with the opportunity to attend a national leadership conference with other Asian Americans all across the nation. After returning back to Ohio, I reflected on my experience in California, and as a result, not only did I learn much about myself, but also about others. The first day when I arrived at the dinner reception, the room full of people who looked like me appeared as a typical Asian gathering that would take place in my privileged, suburban hometown in Dublin, Ohio, where everyone was like me, who was living in a bubble of friends, grades, and neutrality. However, as the days went on, I quickly realized that I had finally broken out of the “Dublin Bubble”.  Various activities aided in my realizing this. The most prominent and impactful one was one where Anthony asked us a question regarding how we, as Asian Americans, view ourselves, and we stand in different groups according to our answers. The groups were labeled as Gender/Sexuality, Ethnicity, Religion, Age, Economic Status, and Disability. One of the questions was, “Which category are you most sure about yourself?” The question seemed simple enough to answer, yet took me a long time to choose between ethnicity and gender. Both were God-given and I’ve lived with both my entire life, so I am sure about both, but I had to choose one. If you had asked me if I was sure about my ethnicity, I would’ve said yes. If you had asked me if I was sure about my gender, I would’ve also said yes. But if you ask me which one I am more sure of, it would be difficult, but I would choose gender. Why? I don’t know. I didn’t like my answer, but the truth is the truth. It is what it is. This question made me realize that I am not as sure in my ethnicity as I thought and hoped I was.  Another question was, “Which category are you the least comfortable with?” This question, although relatively easy for me, proved hard for others to choose and speak up. One brave soul raised his hand to explain after choosing the economic status group. He explained that his family was not economically stable, and this caused a big turn in his life which made him completely different from the others.  This question made me realize that not every Asian-American across the country followed the general Asian trend of living in a privileged community, that not every Asian-American is like me, whether economically or any other aspect. These two realizations both helped me come to a conclusion that although there are many different types of Asian-Americans, whether differentiated by religion, age, gender, sexuality, or even social class, we all have to come together, united by race, to create a change in society where Asian-Americans are not only more engaged in the civic process, but also comfortable with their race. We need to be active to actually progress. To do this, I need to feel comfortable in my own skin and make others feel comfortable around me and each other. This change must start with leadership from within the Asian community, which starts with confidence and assurance. I need to take initiative and make this change happen. 关于CLUSA The Civic Leadership USA is a 501(c)(3) incorporated in Washington DC in 2013. It was the vision of Mr. Sandy Chau, chairman of the board. The Foundation is headquartered in San Mateo California. Our main objectives are to empower and organize the Asian American communities, to create a national network of civic-minded organizations and leaders and work in unity. Train, connect, collaborate, empower and unite civic leaders and local organizations in the USA. The principal activity of CLUSA is to sponsor Civic Leadership Forums aimed at training Asian Americans to participate in the political process and our civic life. The Forums are non-partisan and inclusive of all Americans regardless of ethnic group or country of origin. 【编者按】本文所有图片均由作者提供或来自网络。如存在版权问题，请与我们联系。更多精彩文章，请查看我们公众号的主页。欢迎大家积极投稿！ 【近期文章】 1. 在黄石骑行探险是一种什么体验？ 2. 技术移民取消国别限制！HR1044提案对华人会有什么影响？ 3. 真人版“花木兰”：试图打破中西方文化隔阂的又一次尝试 4. 华人参政，从APAPA参加独立日游行说起 5. 女足世界杯：美国队的冠军之路 6. 女足世界杯：美国队长梅根的故事 7. 拒绝做哑裔，让杨安泽说话 8. 杨安泽的领带 9. 过去，现在，未来 — 方老师画室铁路华工纪念画展 10. 麻省理工学院校长致信MIT全体成员：移民如同氧气 11. 精彩的历史角落 12. 我们回来了 关于俄州亚太联盟公众号 俄州亚太联盟公众号是APAPA Ohio在俄亥俄华人协会(OCAA)的支持下办的公众号，旨在为俄亥俄的亚裔群体、尤其是华人群体提供一个分享、交流、互助的平台，宣传APAPA Ohio 、OCAA和其他亚裔团体的活动，促进亚裔社区对美国社会、政治、文化、教育、法律等的了解。APAPA的全名是Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (美国亚太联盟)，是在美国联邦政府注册的501(c)(3)非营利组织。网址：APAPA.org 我们的宗旨：通过教育、参与和领导能力的培养，加强亚太裔美国人对政治和公共事务的影响。我们的公众号将继续围绕这个宗旨，记录我们的社区活动，刊登社区关心的教育、文化、艺术、体育、时事和政论文章。请大家长按下面的二维码关注、支持我们，谢谢！ Go to "Discover" > "Top Stories" > "Wow" Posted Sending Comment Scan with WeChat tofollow the Official Account