MD Programs December Recap

Written by: Paris Copeland, MD MS Program Coordinator
Images by: AALEAD Staff members

On December 10th, 2022 our MD AALEAD youth went ice skating at Rockville Town Square’s Outdoor Ice Rink. This was the start of the end-of-semester celebrations for the youth to uplift all their hard work in and outside the classroom. Later in the week, they would finish their celebrations with a winter holiday workshop that included board games, white elephant gift exchanges, bibimbap, and much more! Youth were also encouraged to lead their own activities, which included Just Dance songs, and brainstorming ideas for the next semester of AALEAD programs.

While they spent many sessions in programs discussing educational topics and growing their skills, this event was purely for the youth to enjoy each other’s company. There were many bonding moments between the slips on ice, yummy Filipino snacks from a previous workshop they remembered, and surprise figure skaters among our cohort! I even received requests to record and take pictures of youth since this was some of our students’ first-time ice skating.

This event was also an avenue for our staff to connect with parents. I had the opportunity to talk to many parents about the growth I’ve seen in their children during programs, and even plan for an upcoming workshop that would include the parent as a guest workshop presenter. I look forward to writing a blog post about this impactful workshop during Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. To end the event, our youth enjoyed a boba tea, specially ordered for each of them. The youth were thankful for the fun we provided them in the fall semester, but the true joy was watching them enjoying themselves while building community.