As I arrived at LAX for the first time, I sensed the energetic vibration of this metropolis and its people, rushing through the streets, looking determined, filled with hope and goals. A few days quickly passed by and I finally arrived at my first day at CAUSE. In the office, I tried to utilize the information surrounding the logistics and expectations in an attempt to map out what this summer will look like.
As I learned that interns will be orchestrating a mock political campaign as part of their civics engagement project, I got excited in the chest, knowing that it will be a roller-coaster learning experience from the perspective of being an international student who is still grasping to understand the US political system. Another aspect I sincerely enjoyed since day one was meeting and talking with amazing cohort members and CAUSE staff, who are friendly, kind and very open to talk about their experiences, values and passions which I found integral and corresponding to mine in several aspects.
On the retreat site CSULA, the activities and leadership workshops significantly improved my understanding of the people around me- the cohort, people with Asian American backgrounds, immigrants and the API community on a higher level- as well as mirroring a clearer version of myself. For example, I got the opportunity to share my own story during the Tree of Life activity, and received very heart-warming comments from many cohort members who validated my bravery, independence and determination of coming to the US for higher education, challenging my struggles and continually seeking self-development. Before, I did not clearly grasp the importance of this experience, nor did I perceive these values associated with my story, but the people at CAUSE offered me their validations to take pride in my hard work and identity as a person with Asian ancestral heritage.
Even though the time at CSULA swiftly passed by, it developed an even stronger and closer bond between cohort members as everyone began to build greater connections between one another, sharing their perspectives and thoughts on things while having incredibly fun times. One crucial takeaway I received from the DISC workshop is the significance of having different types of leaders in a team, and the importance of knowing self leadership preference. For instance, there are commonalities and complementary between the C (conscientiousness) and I (influence) people. Even though the styles themselves are considerably different, they are essential in formulating a strong team which involves the components of strong vision and accommodation (I-leaders) and strong accuracy to deliver the achievables (C-leaders).
The last day of the orientation exposed me to important aspects of professional networking. Not only did I receive the opportunity to learn pro-tips on how to build a good networking introductory brief, but I also understand how to approach and exit conversations effectively and professionally. During the networking sessions and lunchtime, I was honored to meet a lot of wonderful people, including CAUSE’s board members, alumni and host-office supervisors, to hear their stories, some perks and challenges in their life-career experiences, as well as their fascinating wisdom. During lunch, I was enlightened by Wen, CAUSE’s Treasurer, as he mentioned an aspect of “making changes through being in the position of power”- that is to be an active representative of the underprivileged group, to advocate for their necessities and values, passing laws and regulations, amending bills to provide the recognition and rights they deserve. He brought up an example of Mercedes being a brand that has Asian as its biggest customer segment; however, the Mercedes’s Board does not involve any person of Asian or API background. We further discussed how this constitutes a problem relating to the lack of representation of the Asian community on a higher level, in both corporate and political ones.
Lastly, I had a very welcoming experience at CAUSE from day one, and the orientation week was amazing as I got to know a lot of inspiring people and remarkable information relating to the API community as I continue to learn and explore during this summer.