Last November, former AAFE youth program participant, Yuan “Julie” Jin, was invited to the annual Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) gala as their grantee partner speaker. The event, held at the Waldorf Astoria, brought together leaders, philanthropists and supporters of the Korean American community, and celebrated KACF’s work. In her speech, Julie acknowledged the mentorship and support she received from AAFE’s Program Manager of Youth and Family Development, Diana Yi, and Douglas Nam Le, the former Director of Policy and Leadership Development.
During her speech, Ms. Jin recalled her experience in AAFE’s Youth Development program: “In my senior year, I was selected to be a Youth Leader to help my classmates makes their college choices and complete their applications. I was motivated to help them, because my own road to college acceptance was not easy. For the past 4 years, I felt reassured that I had someone and a place to go when I needed help. Diana helped me a lot, not only on school issues, but also with my personal problems. She became my second mom. My parents were also relieved because they wanted to guide me but didn’t know where to start,” she said.
View Ms. Jin’s speech in full:
