We had many speakers this week, and my values aligned with several of their presentations which I appreciated. However, there were also moments of doubt that I had from my newly learned practice of skepticism and having a mindset that is not too easily convinced. As someone who was once really easily persuaded, this is a really valuable and vital trait to have. Our Monday was spent at Monterey Park City Hall with workshops from four different AA and AAPI organizations followed by a panel of city council members and the mayor. I already knew most of the history and facts on Asian America from completing my Asian American Studies minor at school. Most of the cohort also had prior knowledge on these histories or agreed with the stances and conclusions drawn. For this reason, I feel that after one or two workshops on AA history and facts, it gets repetitive. Furthermore, we are not the only demographic or audience that these lessons truly need to be taught to especially when many of us take Asian American classes and educate ourselves on our histories and ethnic-specific issues. Our community does not need convincing on the importance of our history and issues–rather, it is the rest of the country and other populations outside our own that are ignorant or oblivious to our struggles and stories that should hear these presentations.
I enjoyed the Bystander Intervention training as well as the Policy Advocacy workshop by Asian Americans Advancing Justice SoCal because they were more informative and useful to me in the sense that it was a lot of new information. I was really glad to hear about the bills that were introduced and in the process of getting passed that relate to our communities. I personally appreciated the opportunity to learn about bills in California on language access and the systemic issues our communities face within that realm. Since the revitalization efforts for my native language and my recent interest in preserving and using my own language, I have been a lot more interested and passionate about language use and access–especially indigenous languages. Hearing about the injustices and inequality when it comes to language accessibility infuriated me and sparked an urge to take action and share what I had learned. The intervention training was really useful and invoked reflection on past situations I had been in and what I could have done better. I left this workshop feeling empowered and equipped to intervene in future situations I might find myself in.
Hearing from Monterey Park Councilmembers introduced us to local politics, and I was especially touched by Mayor Jose Sanchez’s session. He brought his adorable young daughter with him because he wants to expose the younger generation to politics and civic engagement as much as possible. He shared how he is a high school teacher and he aims to pique his students’ interest in politics and advocacy. He gives them extremely hands-on and realistic projects including writing laws and bills. One of his classes was able to get their bill signed and adopted by a politician and all of their names were included in it. This was really surprising and incredible to hear. I have enjoyed my learning experiences with many of my teachers and it is always due to the teacher’s passion for the subject they teach as well as their great care and love for students and the next generation. I believe that teachers have arguably the most important job and can make a world of difference in children’s lives.
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the views or positions of CAUSE or the CAUSE network.
Written by Olivia Diaz Anderson, Leadership Academy 2023 Intern.
The CAUSE Leadership Academy (CLA) for students is a nine-week, paid, internship program that prepares college undergraduates to lead and advocate for the Asian Pacific Islander community on their campuses and beyond.