Training The Next GenerAsian: Leadership Development In The Rockies
By John Chin
April 12, 2001

Some drove eight hours to get to the training. Moreover, the students firmly believed in the old adage about "working hard and playing hard." After a full day of highly interactive training and an evening reception with local community members, many of the participants still went to Shakepeare’s (a local pool hall), Church’s (a well-known nightclub) and DJ’s (a popular Karaoke hangout) getting back to their rooms about 4 AM in the morning. Yet, they were on time -- Asian time anyway -- to the training on Sunday morning.

Over thirty college and university students from Kansas, Colorado, and Utah participated in the second Annual Series of Leadership Trainings for Student Organizers sponsored by the Organization of Chinese Americans and funded by State Farm Insurance Companies. The training was held at Front Range Community College in Westminster on Saturday, April 7^th and Sunday, April 8^th. This was one of 12 sessions for Asian Pacific American (APA) students held by OCA around the country.

Christine Chen, OCA director of programs and primary organizer of the training, said that, "the goal of leadership training is to provide Asian Pacific American student leaders and activists an environment to develop leadership and organizing skills that are relevant to Asian Pacific American students on their campuses and in their communities." Chen was recently identified by Newsweek magazine (January 8, 2001 issue) as one of 15 women that the magazine called the "kind of women who will shape America’s new century."

The 1 1/2 day training brought together students in the region to share experiences and develop tools so they can effectively serve as a catalyst for change and activism. The format of the program was designed to be very interactive with a series of presentations and hands-on exercises and discussions conducted by two facilitators. The participants were expected to share and participate fully, challenging themselves to learn from each other in structured group processes and exercises. The training was led by two experienced Asian Pacific American facilitiators who have conducted this training in other cities for OCA. Sefa Aina is Assistant Coordinator, Student & Community Projects, at the Asian American Studies Center at the University of California at Los Angeles. Karen Kwan-Smith is an Advisor at the Center for Ethnic Students Affairs at University of Utah. Kwan-Smith is also a founding member of the OCA Salt Lake City chapter and serves as the chapter’s executive director.

The training focused on self-awareness, building relationships, team building and team-awareness. Exercises helped the students to identify and develop characteristics and skills needed to be an effective leader and create a shared vision. The training also emphasized the fusion of leadership and ethnic identity issues, e.g. how cultural influences have an impact on how one leads and various issues facing Asian Pacific American students. Specific focus was given to how to use their new skills to address difficult campus and societal issues. Some of the issues that the training included were:

• How do you and your organization grapple with issues of apathy and activism?

• How do you develop your – and your organization’s -- leadership skills?

• How do you organizing around Asian Pacific American issues or other issues you are facing on campus?

• How do you work with the APA community on your campus to work effectively in coalitions?

• How are you preparing for a transition of new officers for the upcoming year?

• How do you empower new and younger student leaders?

• How do you build a strong and viable organization for the APA community on your campus?

Saturday evening, the students and the facilitators participated in a community reception at the college catered by FRCC catering staff and Empress Seafood Restaurant. Community leaders representing a broad spectrum of the APA community greeted the training participants. George Kuwamura, 2001 chair of the Asian Roundtable of Colorado, said, "I sat in on much of the training today and I wish that I had had this kind of training when I first became involved in the community."

Over 400 students have already been trained at sessions in Philadelphia, PA; Athens, GA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; Washington, DC and Austin, TX, Tucson, AZ, Seattle, WA, and Boston, MA. Two additional sessions are scheduled for the near future in New York City, NY and Berkeley, CA. OCA expects that approximately 600 students will have received training by the end of this training cycle. Chen said that the participant evaluations on the training have been very good and she hoped that State Farm will again sponsor the training for a third year.

Selection for the training was rigorous. Participants were expected to be Asian Pacific American college students who would be returning to their campus for an undergraduate degree next year. Moreover, they needed to be involved with an Asian Pacific American student organization or community organization and intended to serve the organization or the Asian Pacific American community in a leadership capacity. The Denver session participants were Sirigoon Butcher/Maneerat, En-Kae Chang, Jonathan Ching, Collin Hu, Jeremy Kuo, Jeana Lee, Jonathan Lee, Danny Leota, Sze Ng, Hue Nguyen, Phuong Nguyen, Toa Palu, Tuyet-Hong Pham, Phuong Phan, Hanh Phi, Oanh (Kathy) Than, Kim Trang, Hubert Chen, Jazzmin Chun, Joo Lee, Ami Noshiravan, Shawn Ng, Vinh Nguyen, Marena Smitobol, Santi Soumpholphakdy, Mira Tan, JP Tongson, John Tran, Tamara Trinder, and Nicolas Veohongs. Additionally, George Kuwamura, Lynn Hoang and Eric Sung sat in on sessions.

The Colorado Asian Pacific Student Alliance (CAPSA) was also a local sponsor of the training. CAPSA was instrumental in the planning of the local event including recruitment, marketing and logistics. They also assisted Denver visitors with the evening tours of the metro area and ensured that they had a safe, but great, time. CAPSA will be holding its own conference in late April, entitled "Past, Future, Present…" The conference is the second conference hosted by the student organization. The first conference held in April of 2000 led to the initiative on Racial Profiling, aka Biased Policing, that has galvanized the APA community. CAPSA’s second annual conference is Friday, April 27, 2001 at the Auraria campus. For more information, contact Hanh Phi, CAPSA President, at Hphi@du.edu.

John Chin is Chief Academic Officer at Front Range Community College. He is also 2001 President of the Organization of Chinese Americans, Denver chapter. OCA is dedicated to "embracing the hopes and aspirations of Chinese and Asian Pacific Americans in the United States." Founded in 1973, OCA has 81 chapters and affiliates. OCA maintains its headquarters in Washington, D.C. For more on OCA, go to http://www.ocanatl.org.