MAASU LR 11/2-11/4: Denison University

One word: wow....

Denison University hosted this year's MAASU Leadership Retreat this past weekend and it was by far, one of the best experiences I have had in a long time. Besides the long 5+ hour drive to and from, it was an overall great time. Yellow Rage was the main act to perform on Friday night and their spoken word was amazing in that they conveyed so much passion and aggression in their words to greatly characterize their experiences and perception of the world. I loved it and definitely saw this as a great kickstart to the weekend ahead. Plus, their t-shirts were amazing...I love smell of free t-shirts (this is a joke...Im not trying to be creepy)....

The diversity of workshops on Saturday were amazing and from what I was able to gauge, were really able to enable students to learn more about their own leadership and what steps to take to actually improve it. Finishing it off was the Banquet that night with an amazing speaker, Northwestern's own Nitasha Sharma. I was definitely a fan of her knowledge of race relations and the utilization of hip hop into the Asian American community as an outlet to the tensions that individuals have been forced to confront in their lives due to their racial identities.

In my honest opinion, there is no such thing as natural-born leaders: I feel as though everyone has the potential to be a great leader in their own way. It is just a matter of finding your own strengths and following whatever it is you are passionate about. About a year and a half ago, I was the quietest kid you could find and now, most people around me would do anything to shut me up. Deep down, I know they love what I have to say (or at least that's what Im going to tell myself)....

Being a leader is a constant development with us learning so much along the way...it really is just about taking the first step and following your heart wherever it may lead. The Asian American community encompasses so much amazing things, but at the same time, we should never let it be sugarcoated and assume that the problems that are actually faced by Asian American individuals are not real or just a myth. The problems are there...it is up to us (those who want to develop a greater voice in this community) to stand up and shout out exactly why we are here. It is not always going to be an easy road but the beauty of this community is that there is always someone to help you with whatever idea or question you have....such as the current ECC (Executive Coordinating Committee) board and BOA (Board of Advisors). Don't ever hesitate to contact us about anything....you can find our information on www.maasu.org

Until next time...