Good evening ladies and gentlemen of the OCA community!
Our names are Austin Jia, Emily Wang, Chris Sun, Christine Yang and Arnold Jia, and we are the five members of the OCA New Jersey Junior Board. Our busy winter extracurricular activities may have prevented us from partaking in tonight’s festivities, but that won’t stop us from sharing with you a little about what we’ve been doing, about our future plan, and about how we, like the adults in the senior membership division, aspire to Asian-American excellence.
First, in the past one and a half years, the OCA junior board has stewarded a variety of public communication, leadership and advocacy programs for Asian-American youth of all ages. From elementary school public speaking presentations to the nationally-run APA-Y advocate high school program, our activities empower youth to represent the Asian-American population of the future. Some workshops, such as our college essay workshop, have tackled pervading Asian-American issues, in this case affirmative action. We never cease to be amazed by ordinary Asian American students who transform into models of extraordinary leaders that the OCA champions.
Second, moving forward, the junior board intends to expand its membership to encompass many more youth. Since the junior board’s original founding was an organizational prototype, there are many more bridges that we still need to cross. We’d like to expand membership, expand officer positions and open up merit-based positions. We’d like even more workshops for our community—not just in geographic areas where we’ve currently situated ourselves, but in others, as well.
Third, and most importantly, is how we, the Junior Board, have grown as both leaders and learners. Austin and Emily, the oldest members of the board, are high school seniors who will carry their experiences with them to college next year. Chris, Christine and Arnold will keep improving the board and offering opportunities to high school students all across New Jersey. Where our age separates, our takeaways unite us, for we will all become the vocal, strong adults that we have been nurtured to become. The OCA New Jersey junior board has been an environment that has allowed us to grow and our only wish is to share those experiences to all yet undiscovered leaders willing to lend their ears.
With that in mind, it is with the most profound sense of gratitude that we acknowledge that none of our accomplishments would be possible without the guidance of the Senior Board. We’d like to thank Ms. Gingee Moy and Ms. Alyson Lee for their passionate support. We’d also like to give especial thanks to Ms. Laura Lee for her unrivaled and tireless brand of leadership. Working with us through failure and through success, she has taught us to not only perseverance, but a lesson that playing our part in a team is necessary for meriting success. She has been our invaluable leader, supporter, and mentor. Without her firebrand motivation, our projects would not have been nearly as successful. For this reason, she has been awarded the Unsung Hero Award. For the opportunities offered us by the senior board and for the help of various adults, we send our message of thanks to all the adults of OCA New Jersey.
On that note, we leave you all to the festivities of tonight. Thank you all again for your undying support and for lending your efforts to our group activities.
