Happy New Year!! I can’t believe Aesthetic Distance is in its 5th year now! I hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing holiday. I know I did. And now I’m ready to get back in action! Here are a few events that I’ll be hosting or am involved in this month. I’m taking it slow because once February hits, IT GETS BUSY so get ready to hang out with me! I’ll be out and about a lot next month!
African American Student Leadership Experience (AASLE) Conference
I will be speaking and facilitating a workshop at the AASLE conference in Washington, D.C. on Friday, January 11th. This is my first conference and I couldn’t be more excited to speak to all the students!
The AASLE conference is an annual, weeklong event that is taking place this year from January 9-13 at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View hotel. It offers three experiences: African American Student Leadership Experience (AASLE), Asian American, Pacific Islander Leadership Experience (AAPILE) and the Chicano, Hispanic, Latino Leadership Experience.
At the conference, students will interact with prominent keynote speakers and facilitators in the area of leadership development. Students attending AASLE will be challenged to put theory into practice, thus having a leadership experience in real time.
This is my first time speaking at a conference so I’m super nervous!! I’m very grateful for this opportunity to work with and inspire college students and share my experiences and insights with them.
Katipunan High School Leadership Program
As you know, I’m one of the cofounders of the first Filipino Cultural School here in Maryland. Modeled after similar programs in Filipino communities in Southern California and New York City, we teach Filipino culture to kids between the ages of 4 and 12.
Because of the success of the program and due to high demand, we are launching a special program for teens. We will focus on leadership, mentorship, Filipino history and language, and self expression through the arts, and have partnerships set up with organizations such as the Baltimore Asian Pacific Arts Collective.
We will also emphasize community service, particularly within the Filipino community, locally and abroad.
Our first session is on January 27th at the Cockeysville branch of the Baltimore County Public Library. Future sessions will held in the education rooms at Baltimore Center Stage in downtown Baltimore.
Dooby’s
Remember when I blogged about being chosen as one of Baltimore’s most influential people by The Baltimore Creatives? Well, the gallery opening was postponed until this month and it’s finally happening this Thursday, January 10th at Dooby’s!
Come hang out with me and my family as we celebrate! It’ll be a great time with tons of great people and of course, some of the best Korean-inspired food in the city. The party starts at 6 pm.
The Aesthetic Distance Podcast
I can’t believe it but I’m already on episode 5 of my podcast! If you haven’t already, hit the Subscribe button on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. I hope you’re all watching the Golden Globes tonight (I’m actually watching them as I type up this blog post) because I’m recording my recap episode which will be released this Thursday morning, January 10th.
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I usually do a write up of the events I’ve organized or hosted and my most-read articles at the end of the year. This was an unusual year (obviously, there is no need to go into it here) so I didn’t bother. Instead I want to highlight a project of mine that I am particularly proud of — it’s my new podcast show, Unverified Accounts, that I cohost with my frequent collaborators, Chris Jesu Lee and Filip Guo. If you're a big movie/TV/book buff, have leftist sympathies, but can't stand 'wokeness' dumbing down our culture, then we're the podcast for you. So far in our 25 episodes, we’ve covered a range of contentious topics.