All,
AASuccess Action Plan has been posted. Please click at the following link for information and volunteer project(s) for which you could volunteer. Those who have volunteered, please strategize and plan ahead for the resources and a completion date:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df23bkj3_15g7fnf9
Announcement #1:
On August 22nd, AAS board had a meeting at Phu's house to discuss the board and professional capacity. We did vote on the capacity (see attachment) in favor of the majority. Board members were present at the meeting are:
Dave Nguyen
Phu Ngoc Nguyen
Dan Ye
David Montanari
Tien Le
Kelly Li
Jim Alstrum-Acevedo
Binh Nguyen
Other board members (Sumesh Kaushal, Irina Nguyen, Jake Vu and Mimi Luu were absent)
Meeting minutes:
1. Board's Capacity
Six requirements for board members (Click the following link for detail: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df23bkj3_11gdhm94 ):
- To involved as a lifeline in at least one of the major projects.
- To find a funding source for at least 300 dollars for AAS scholarship or grant.
- To contribute 50 dollars to our on-the-spot award program per fiscal year.
- In person quarterly meeting is mandatory.
- Attendances in 3 major AAS events: AAS annual retreat, annual AAS award ceremony and AAS annual fundraising dinner are required.
- To facilitate at least one of the following options during the fiscal year:
a) Facilitate 1 monthly workshop/seminar (such as leadership and communication skill seminar);
b) Organize 1 students monthly meeting;
c) Lead 1 student volunteering project (such as cooking for the sick children etc).
AAS Board: Please comment on our AAS board forum by clicking on the following link (Note: the forum will ask you for two passwords, one is used to get into the forum, and once entered, click on the upper left corner at "Asian American Success", then click on "Board Forum" on the menu, a second password is needed to enter the board forum. Kendra will send you an update on the procedure soon):
http://z6.invisionfree.com/AASuccess/index.php?showtopic=87
2. Professional Member's Capacity:
One requirement for professional members: (if one cannot fulfill such requirement, but he or she wishes to be involved with AAS, he or she could be a AAS supporter/friend)
To involved as a lifeline in at least a project led by a student member of AAS or contribute at least 50 dollars towards AAS scholarship or grants.
3. Guidlines for Collaboration:
Due to the numbers of organizations approaching AAS, a procedure is needed to post such volunteering opportunity to AAS students. Kelly will work with students to come up with such procedure.
4. Guidlines for Grant/Award
We also discussed about how an award/grants are formulated and distributed.
A grant is to support a project that is written and lists out the cost to accomplish the project, we should support such and dish out the money and approving the proposal.
An award can be given bi-monthly or more depending on a number of projects being completed. An award should be based on the data obtained from a self-evaluation form, feedbacks and recognition/recommendation from a lifeline/collaborators.
One condition though: the award will be given only as a reimbursement (up to a given amount) to cover expenses spent for college's books and necessary supplies. Each award should be in a range of a couple of hundred dollars.
Kelly Li
Secretary of Asian American Success
kelly.li@aasuccess.org
http://www.aasuccess.org/
Announcement # 2:
New AAS Members:
We are glad to introduce the following students who accepted our membership offers. We also would like to extend our thanks to Nguyen Nguyen (Johns Hokpins University), Qi Bin (Virginia Tech), Jay Pham (University of Virgina), and Bao Nguyen (George Mason Unviversity) who have volunteered their time and resources to interview at least one student applicant.
If you would like to represent AASuccess in interviewing a prospective student member, please email us at aasteam@aasuccess.org or post a comment to this newsletter. As an interviewer, you shall be able to enhance your interviewing skills, decision making process, and mentoring skills.
Please drop a welcoming note to our AAS active student members.
DATE JOINED: August, 2007: Click on the following link for more detail:
Description of New Members:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df23bkj3_9dd794s
Current Student Directory (nees AAS Password to view, check with Kendra if questions):
http://spreadsheets.google.com/a/aasuccess.org/pub?key=pRHeLDNa9DviNL0W_ozTtFg
Announcement #3:
We are in the process of solidifying our student council's and student member's structures. Please review the propossed student council's and student member's capacity. We would like to hear from all of AAS student members. Drop us a note by commenting to this newsletter or email us. Deadline for sending comments: September 14, 2007. Please click on the following link for further detail:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df23bkj3_12d8749h (Student Council)
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df23bkj3_13gvck4r (Student Member)
Announcement #4: Internship
1) Website Development Internship: Deadline: 8/28/07
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df23bkj3_14f2k99m
2) AAS Monthly MEETING: Please save the date: September 8, 2007, and stay tuned for infomration
AAS Upcoming Projects:
"Tet Trung Thu" Event
When: Sep 23rd 2007, 11:30am - 4pm
Where: at Thomas Jefferson Community Center, Arlington VA.
Potential tasks/projects to lead: sale tickets, T-shirts, distribute moon cakes and labbes ( lo^`ng den`) for kids and so on...
Stay tuned for more information...
WHA's Fundraising Event: Blue Hawaii Event:
Where: Lucky Three Restaurant, Arlington VA
When: 10/5/2007
Why: Medical Mission to Laos in 2008
Potential student's project: WHA is working AAS for a collaborative project, which can be led by our student members and a professiona lifeline.
Update: Dell C. is interested to be a lead for at least one project; A request from WHA will be submitted soon. Stayed tuned for further information if you woud like to volunteer to be a part of this project.
Hope Benefit Concert
When: October 27, 2007
Where: Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall, Alexandria, Virginia
Why: Raise funds for future projects in 2008 - 2009: 1. Building a local community medical clinic, 2. Building an elementary school in Dak Nong Province.
Potential Student's Project: Hope is working AAS for for a collaborative project, which can be led by our student members and a professiona lifeline.
Update: Khoa Tran and Vu Nguyen are interested in this potential project; A request from Hope will be submitted soon. Stayed tuned for further information if you woud like to volunteer to be a part of this project.
RECENTLY COMPLETED PROJECTS:
Food for Others- Harvest for the Hungry -by Lisa Nguyen (UVA)
Hey everyone-
I was assigned to be an observer for this project and to give feedback on my experience and the experiences of others. After having breakfast at McDonald’s, all of the AAS members took several cars to the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland. We then all followed the organizers to the harvesting fields nearby. Today, we were asked to harvest potatoes , which were to be sent to a warehouse in Fairfax, VA, then distributed to needy families. I found this activity to not only be rewarding, but a fun experience for the AAS members. We were able to get our task done while getting to know one another in a more informal environment.
As a fairly new member to AAS, I was able to talk to other members in a one-on-one basis. By the end of the harvesting session, we were all tired and hungry, but had a truck-full of potatoes to show for our hard work. I believe that this project was organized and carried out very well. Jay collected and made sure everyone had their waiver forms at the beginning and Tien printed extra directions to the harvesting site.
When I asked for other volunteers’ feedback, the car that I was in (containing Michael, Jay, and Byron) believed that this project turned out much better than they expected it to be. They thought that it was fun, a kind and helpful act towards others, and a nice day to pick potatoes in.
Thanks to Tien and Kelly, our professionals, we kept on task. And thanks to all of our members (Michael, Jay, Byron, Minh Ha, Amy, Dell, Bao, Judy, the person who arrived with Dell [I’m sorry I forgot your name!] and myself) for participating and being a tremendous help in this community service activity.
I believe that we should try to do this activity more often because of the satisfaction of helping others in need and the unity that it brings to our group. My only suggestions for next time are to have more people participate and to remember to wear comfortable clothing and SNEAKERS (some of us got poked unfortunately).
ps: sorry this was a little long...thanks to all of you who read about my input =] enjoy the rest of summer guys! As for me, I will be moving in in less than a week so I probably won't be able to see you guys until Thanksgiving or Winter Break. So GOOD LUCK to everyone!
pps: here are some photos that me and michael took...there will be more on my facebook within the next couple of hours!
CHILDRENN INN's PROJECT
Personal Reflection by Bao Nguyen (George Mason): Thank you everyone who made it out to the Children's Inn event at NIH. We all worked really hard and pushed to beat the clock, but we did it. The food was amazing and we all had a fun time mixing this, tossing that, chopping this, rolling that....ahh w/e you get the point. The families had smiles on their faces when walking in to get food. This was a truly unforgettable event. It being my first year participating, this is a must-do-again experience.
P.S. Good job team Doan, Bao, Phuong, Chau, Lisa (who couldn't make it)!.......haha and everyone else too! =P
There will be a full written Report on this event soon. For everyone who missed the opportunity to join us, the report will hopefully give you incite into what we did.
Personal Reflection by Ngoc (Vee) Vu (George Mason): We had more food than last time because of our preparations and resources contributed by both professionals (Doan Nguyen, Tam Tran, Chau Nguyen, Irina Nguyen, Tien Le and Dan Ye) and students (Bao Nguyen, Ngoc Vee, Phuong Nguyen, Vu Huynh, Long Hua, Chau Vu, Allyson Nguyen). In fact, we planned ahead and have our people divided into 3 teams and each team had their own menu to make/ Everybody did a great job. They all know their roles, what they supposed to do, and we made delicious food ever! YaY!! Go AAS!!!!!! However, I think it would be more fun and better if we tried to help each other more at the cleaning phase after we finished our meal preparations. By doing so, we could all share a fellow-feeling and nourish our team work and team spirit.
PROPOSED FLOW PROCESS OF OUR FUTURE WEBSITE:Dave: Hats off to Bao Nguyen and Minh Ha Do because they are two of our hardest workers. Both spent the entire Friday night and morning of Sat to brainstorm and complete the flow chart, which was sent to Mimi and Sumesh for review.
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Random Thoughts (Monique Huynh, JMU)
Bao Nguyen (George Mason): Last Sunday we went to the Harvest for the Hungry event. We all met up at Dave's house around 8:30 and departed to the USDA around 9:20. Upon arrival, we immediately went to the farm to pick potatos. The board members were Tien and Kelly, and the students were, BAO, Michael, Jay, Byron, Dell, Julia (dells friend), Mandy, Minh Ha, Lisa, and Amy. The weather was perfect and the surrouding was peaceful, but kinda smelly. We all had a lot of fun working/hanging out with each other. Afterwards we went to Eden to eat.
Minh Ha Do (George Mason):
Like Bao said, I was part of the Havesting activity. I will go back to school on the 27th!!! nothing is really exciting yet, but i'll give u more updates if there's any!!!
Jay Pham (UVA):
My move-in day to UVA is the 25th, along with Lisa Nguyen, Byron Cheon, and Nicole Poltash :)
NgocVee Vu (George Mason):
Hi,My school starts on August 27th.
i have not done any activities lately-just stay home, read books, and study/review some materials to get ready for the school....
Robert Yang (Delaware University):
Well, I'm off to Delaware on the 25th. I really haven't done much at all either
Khoa Tran (Geore Mason):
I've been very busy with work and getting ready for my first year at GMU..quite excited..a little bit..I am starting on the 27th with Vee and Phuong.
Dan Huynh (Virgina Tech):
I moved down to Blacksburg on the 16th. I basically settled in before classes began on the 20th. Nothing too upbeat has happened so far, I'm just getting to know the campus and the people around here. Qi has invited me to join the service Fraternity here lol, I might join and see what its like. I've met Nam a couple times, he helped me setup my new Tablet PC, kudos to Nam! I met up with some people in my school like James and classes have been okay, besides that, that's about it.
Monique Huynh (James Madison University):
And as for myself, I've been back at JMU for a week now. I'm all moved in to my itty bitty little townhouse with my 2 roommates and things haven't been pretty smooth so far. Classes start on the 27th and Rush Week for Pi Sigma Epsilon is coming up so things are about to get busy. On a side note, I was sent a link to a You Tube video about the U.S. Ambassador event that some people from AAS went to. There's a small part near the end, at about 6 minutes, where I'm answering a question haha so I thought you might want to check it out. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqn_OJYiJtQ
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A Thank You Note from Bao Nguyen (George Mason U)
To Dan Ye,
Thank you for having the Housewarming party and inviting us to your apartment. The food was perfect for a social event and everyone was into talking and just hanging out (Dave especially.....he's so passionate about AAS haha). I had a great time and I'm sure everyone else did also. It was also thoughtful of you to invite AAS students to such a highclass area and party surrounded by professionals and adults. Though I must say that the pizza would not have been served if we weren't there =] haha. This party was just right for building and strengthening distant relationships. Again, it was very considerate and thoughtful of you to have the party and make it open to anyone who wished to join. I hope we can work together more in the future!
Sincerely,
Bao Nguyen
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Volunteers contributed to this past week's activities:
Interview Panel: Jay Pham (UVA), Qi Bin (VATech), Nguyen Nguyen (JHU), Bao Nguyen (GMU).
Emails sent to Applicants: Minh Ha Do (GMU)
Children Inn's Project: 1) Students: Vu Huynh, Bao Nguyen, Chau Vu (Woodson HS), Ngoc Vu (GMU), Long Hua (NoVa), Phuong Vu Nguyen (GMU); 2) Professionals: Doan Nguyen, Tam Tran, Chau Nguyen, Irina Nguyen, Tien Le and Dan Ye
"Harvest for the Hungry": Lisa Nguyen (UVA), Dell C. (Jeb Stuart HS), Amy Tran (Falls Church HS), Julie Kerdell (Jeb Stuart HS); Michael Nguyen (Robert Lee HS), Byron Cheon (UVA); Jay Pham (UVA), Minh Ha Do (GMU), Mandy Lin (GMU), Bao Nguyen (GMU), Tien Le (Exxon/Mobil), Kelly Li (Exxon/Mobil)
ReMax/Welty Schedule: Bao Nguyen (GMU)
Website: Lauren Lin (Woodson HS), Jay Pham, MinhHa Do, Bao Nguyen, Sumesh Kaushal, Mimi Luu, Jim Alstrum
Weekly News: Monique Huynh (JMU), Minh Ha Do
Treasury Update: Minh Ha Do
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AASuccess Weekly News is designed to communicate items of interest to student members and professionals. You will find announcements about upcoming events, student organizations, individual accomplishments, project news, and activities to enhance bonding and and team spirit. Feedbacks and Suggestions are welcome. Please submite your news by September 2, 2007
Have a great week!
