Networking is tiring

Posted by Leslie | Friday, July 24, 2009 | 12:00 AM
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Not quite sure if I mentioned this earlier, but I look forward to Fridays in the LEAP office with my fellow LIA interns. We always have the most interesting conversations (just take a look at our google group emails), but always manage to get our work done efficiently.

Last week I got to see them a day earlier because of the LEAP dinner, yay! We were all required to be there by 11:30am and prepare for hectic moving and set up. Instead, thanks to the recession we were able to have the ballroom earlier this year and most of the LEAP staff moved the stuff over to the hotel the night before already. Before lunch Grace came in to tell us our assigned seating and who would be sitting at the tables. First off was Jen, who basically had all the honorees and big name you-should-google-them-before-hand people. I was scared. How big was this awards dinner anyway? 400 people. SHIT. Time to get my networking groove on.

After some awesome Hot Pastrami with Russian Sauce from Langers, it was off to the Omni Hotel for setup. Next thing you know we were getting dressed in a hotel room and off to the VIP Reception in the upstairs Grand Cafe. Since no one was there, we kinda formed a welcoming committee. Then more and more people stopped by, and it was time to network, network, network. Of course, Linda was there to introduce us again, instead of us being some awkward interns trying to get in on the action. I first struck up a conversation with one of the honorees, Henry Gee, Vice President of Student Services at Rio Hondo College. He had a couple links to Bob Naples, an administrator at UCLA who hooked us up with some money for SEA Admit Weekend. Apparently Bob used to be Henry's pitcher in a softball league. Interesting. Met some past and present board members, and some guy heading up a young AA professionals association in OC. He lives about 2 streets down from me. o.O By the end of the VIP Reception alone my throat was parched. I still had the silent auction and dinner time to talk to people. Networking is tiring!

Silent auction and dinner time basically meshed together. We interns just huddled together along with some past (younger) LEAP staff. Even my friend Viet Bui was there, whose sister is on board for LEAP and OCAPICA. We were all visibly tired. For dinner, I sat at Tram Vo-Kumamoto's table. She was recently assigned a dean position at a small college up north. She was pretty quiet compared to the others involved in Higher Ed I met, but we had some similarities. Surprisingly when I asked her where she's from (thinking she would list an American city), she replied, "Saigon" from which I followed with "I'm from Little Saigon." Her husband also teaches in Oakland, where he had a lot of Mien and Lao students. Good people doing good things. She tried to introduce me to others in higher ed, but I was lured away by some of the other interns whispering DAVID ONO.

By far the best part of the night: David Ono as the MC and meeting/taking a picture with him at the end of the dinner. When he came on after JD's long speech, I immediately fell in love with calm, soothing voice. He hella butchered my last name, but he corrected it so its ok. Like Lisa said, homeboy should go on KOST 103.5 after he's done with ABC-7.

I Gotta Feelin....

Posted by Leslie | Thursday, July 23, 2009 | 11:23 PM
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First off I'd like to apologize for not blogging for the past 2 weeks. Things have been changing gears with all the LEAP networking events, our intern project finally getting into full swing, and of course finally feeling at home at OCAPICA. I'll try my best to recount my time in the last couple weeks.

7/9 - "When I step into the room I stop feeling like an Asian American, and start to feel more like a complete human being."

After a short day of work at the CBO, I took a quick (not really) detour to Cal Poly Pomona for LEAP's Leadership Development Program for Higher Education hoping to gather some contacts and attend some workshops. After getting lost for a good half hour (damn you Google Maps!) I was able to catch the latter half of Pat Hiyashi's session on "Personal and Professional Exploration." Apparently he had a very compelling story as a former internee of the Japanese internment camps, but since I arrived late I couldn't quite piece together his story, which was unfortunate. In the brief 10 minute stint I heard, though, the above quote really seemed to stand out. I think this really ties to my experience being involved with so many API and ethnic-specific groups - this concept of familiarity, of comfort, of support in the midst not just other Asians, but like-minded ones. It gives you that warm tingly feeling inside. :)

Then what I thought would be a good networking opp turned instead into a delicious meal at a Filipino restaurant (my first time eating REAL Filipino food) with some higher ed administrators. The Provost of Seton Hall University (!!), whom I've had the honor of sitting next to paying for the meal. Being someone of such high status, he also showed his human side, too with some light hearted stories. For instance, when he was at his old post in Arkansas every time he to mow the lawn he had to make sure he had enough gas to hide and come back in case someone were to see him jeans. Just a reminder I guess that even though people are of high status, they are still inevitably human and need some private time, too. I do appreciate them allowing me, some overeager intern, to join their dinner. Linda, of course, was there to introduce me. Thanks Linda! I thoroughly enjoy car rides with you even though everyone says I should be thoroughly afraid. Hahaha.

The Calm in the Storm

Posted by Leslie | Saturday, July 4, 2009 | 12:52 PM
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Happy 4th of July y'all!

I have to agree with Seyron's latest post that us LEAP interns are soooooo dedicated to come into the office even on a public holiday yesterday! To top it off, most of us stayed 'til late on Thursday even though others got off at 1pm (according to Jen). Ah, the life of a non-profitier.

I must admit I was a little reluctant at the thought of going to the office while my parents were still sleeping in for the morning. And I was not looking forward to sitting through a FOUR HOUR workshop (9am-1pm) about presentation skills. But hey, at least we got spam musubis! (Thanks, Reimar!)

When it came down to it, Vanna Novak, our facilitator, made the four hours fly by wayyy fast. She really engaged us "chatty" interns, while we occassionally got sidetracked as we usually do. (Sarah Palin's resigning as governor? What?!) That was until we had to videotape ourselves, and even more painfully, watch ourselves! Whaaaa.

Okay. So watching yourselves on tape anywhere is pretty awkward. Imagine you had to then critique yourself in front of a group of 10 people? Really? It's really not that bad, and pretty valuable actually. What I noticed about the two development workshops we've had at LEAP is that there is an emphasis on self-criticism, but also self-reflection and positive affirmation.

While we took turns seeing how funny all looked on tape, talking about how our arms are moving way too fast, or how they aren't moving enough, discovering UPSEAK, or whether our "ummms" or "likes" are really that apparent, we also evaluated a couple things that make us effective speakers. Yay positive reinforcement!

So after Vanna went around reading people like a fortune teller, it was my turn. I need to detach my arms, yes. I need to "anchor," yes. I need to engage the audience with more illustrative gestures, yes.

But apparently I'm also very calming. Very grounded. And I demonstrate "a wealth of maturity beyond my years." I remember Vi telling me this during retreat during our team appreciation session, too. Honestly I've always felt that I was an old soul, but I didn't know that this aura was so visible to others.

Although Vanna told us repeatedly not to think (when we make presentations), I really appreciate having the time to think, and rethink, about myself and just re-evaluate where the road has taken me, and what lies ahead of me.

Well, enough of this deep thought stuff. I'll save my Zen for another day. Happy Birthday, America! Be safe everyone!

In Honor of the Late MJ

Posted by Leslie | Friday, July 3, 2009 | 5:44 PM
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In honor of the late Michael Jackson... and a shout out to Asian American artists Far East Movement and Quest Crew! Plus, its a catchy song!


The Wanderer: Finding Where I Fit In

Posted by Leslie | Wednesday, July 1, 2009 | 11:14 PM
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So my experience at OCAPICA has been... interesting. After stopping in last Thursday for "orientation," which included a quick run through of the organization's history, an introduction to ALL of the staff (roughly 25 people), a break down of all their components and programs, and some one-on-ones with different staff about the work they do, I went home a bit overwhelmed, pressed to figure out how I would fit into the bigger picture and how the 7 or so weeks I will be interning there would benefit both parties the most. The internship coordinator, Asma, mentioned I would be spending roughly two weeks (or less) which each department (Health, Mental Health, Youth, and Policy), hardly enough time to really take in each aspect, and "run with it." Monday was orientation part II, involving more wandering around, more figuring out how I would get the best out of the internship. Frustrating, just a bit. But I do enjoy having agency over how and what I can get involved in, to make sure my final product makes an impact on the organization and the community at large.

Tuesday was when I started to get a more concrete picture of where I would fit into the multidimensional OCAPICA space. I met with Jason Lacsamana, the current Program Manager of Youth Programs and UCLA Public Health alum (GO BRUINS!). OCAPICA initially started as a community health organization, but later tacked on its other components when they felt a need to expand its services.

Jason just rejoined OCAPICA earlier this year and had been there when the Youth Programs intially started forming in the late 1990s. Like the others, he debriefed me on the evolution of youth programs and shared its current state, but also expressed his outlook for the future, and how I, as an intern, can work toward that vision by engaging my experience and expertise. Perhaps it was the way he framed the opportunity, or his poise in words which made it seem like this was the project for me.

Immediately after my talk with Jason, I joined a retreat planning meeting for Young Leading Women, or YLW (pronounced yellow). I was again debriefed on the program, and hopped right into the logistics of their retreat, following the theme of human trafficking. It's refreshing to see people take initiative into educating the youth about these social justice issues, especially because I truly believe many of us progressives don't gain consciousness of our communities and the issues affecting us until we are in college. The services these people provide to the youth are invaluable to creating our future leaders. As you can tell, I've come to take a liking to the Youth component.

I've sincerely tried heeding the advice of John Kobara, who gave us a talk last Friday about trying not to limit directions where we go, about questioning different fields, and not being afraid to leave that "comfort zone," but I always seem to gravitate towards education or working with youth, especially since it falls in line with the community work I do at UCLA. Jason talked about reviving one of the youth leadership development programs, Cal24, to bring more of a holistic approach to student development, which I am all for and is one of the reasons why I might pursue a career in student affairs. Perhaps this is my calling? Maybe. I'll take it with a grain of salt. Hopefully I'll learn more about the field, and also what direction I want to pursue for my career after my experience in this department. :)

Today was the Youth Staff all day retreat, which was an invigorating adventure in itself and which I shall save for a later post. Looking forward to Friday with the interns! Time to get crackin' on our project!

On to the wilderness.... kinda.

Posted by Leslie | Tuesday, June 30, 2009 | 11:39 PM
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The opening retreat in Lake Arrowhead last week was one of the best I've been to in my college career. After hosting two retreats in the area before, I was familiar that this wasn't the type of "roughing it" we deem the wilderness, so it wasn't this aspect that struck me the most. Rather it was the closest experience I've had to the seclusion, closeness, empowerment, and warm fuzzy feelings associated with "retreating," and I'd like to thank all my fellow sexy interns, and our kind facilitators, (and chauffers, cooks, maids, etc.), Reimar and Linda for the kind welcome.


You know how sometimes you meet people and you really just don't know what to say? Or maybe there's that one socially awkward person in the group? It was surprisingly not a real problem for any of us interns when we arrived bright and early to the light smog in Little Tokyo on Monday. I myself was still a bit groggy from the 1hr 30 min commute on the I-5 from Orange County (rawr LA traffic!) But right when we all reached for the Spam Musubis on the table, it was like we were childhood buddies, grubbing on the very same goodness that seemed to summarize our love for food and our identities as Asians and hyphenated Americans.


My favorite part of retreat was probably listening to everyone's stories. We're a talkative bunch, its true. But aside from the discussions about food, movies, and YouTube videos, we've come to make our greatest connections through the experiences we relay to each other and the commonalities we pull from those conversations. Everyone's diverse experiences of college organizing, working for community empowerment and social justice, and also our personal struggles that have humanized and humbled us. It's reminded me why I do the work that I do, and why I should continue doing the work I do.


Definitely looking forward to working more with this team, and also taking advantage of the curriculum and workshops LEAP has to offer.


Cheers to the community!