OSU’s Asian American Student Association members fostered their leadership skills and learned

OSU’s Asian American Student Association members fostered their leadership skills and learned about national issues facing the Asian American community this weekend at the Asian Pacific American College Leadership Training. This was the group’s first year to attend APIA-U. The event was held Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Student Union French Lounge.

“The program is a great way to get other Asian-American clubs from around the region to see where OSU-AASA comes from and how we operate,” said Nhi Tran, a sociology sophomore and AASA secretary.

The one-day leadership training program gathers about 60 students from around the country and focuses on self-awareness, team-building and direct-action organizing, Tran said. The other students in this year’s program were from Wichita State University and University of Oklahoma. The program involves hands-on exercises, small group discussions and presentations led by two APIA facilitators.

The AASA students participated in the event because they wanted to gain leadership skills and tools for their officers, said Saleah Blancaflor, a multimedia sophomore and AASA social chair. The group wanted to gain more insight and information about current Asian-American issues, as well.

“AASA recognizes there are future leaders and activists within our organization,” Tran said. “By holding a conference like APIA-U, it gives direction of how to focus and really use the leadership skills to make a change in the community, and it strengthens our relations with other colleges around the region.”

APIA-U participants are asked to challenge themselves, share their experiences and develop leadership tools to effectively serve as catalysts for change, Tran said. Throughout the day, students split up into small groups and participated in different hands-on activities pertaining to Asian-American history, self-awareness and controversial issues such as racism and stereotyping.

“There is a constant need for leadership and change within the APIA community, and anything anyone does for the greater cause can make a huge difference,” Tran said.

Tran said she hopes the AASA members walked away from the conference understanding there are bigger issues outside of Oklahoma that affect them.

The students were able to learn things about the history of Asian-Americans in the United States that they never knew, Blancaflor said. The program also helped the students to learn about other students, their pasts, their ideas and their opinions about current Asian-American issues.

“For me, I gained the confidence to become a better leader for my community,” Blancaflor said. “It made me realize that I shouldn’t be afraid to express myself if I have something to say, especially if it can change or make the world a better place.”

Carleton Szeto, an economics senior and AASA president, said the AASA students learned how they can help one another and work as a team.

“It is all about bettering ourselves and bettering others at the same time,” Szeto said. “The main take away from the program is believe, try, enjoy.”

http://www.ocolly.com/asaa-hones-leadership-skills-1.2697145#.TsU8mPK-0WD