The most rewarding and taxing BUILD night

Tonight I facilitated a session with all of my juniors where they each (and all) shared their personal stories. They had been working on their personal stories as precursors to their personal statements for college applications. I kind of did not know what to expect from the evening, but I knew that I wanted it to be empowering–for them to see their strengths in each other, the beautiful and unique stories they each have, and the courageous support system that surrounds them.

Tonight was also the culmination of “The Bridge,” which is a program that I co-created to help bridge the priceless business lessons that they were learning with much-needed applications into their personal lives as well as the rigorous college application process. The 11-week “Bridge” ended tonight with each junior subsequently opening up and sharing their authentic and unique stories.

Some were tragic. Some were funny. And others were insightful and artistically written. They all grabbed my heart.

Each word spoke of courage, resilience, and strength, no matter if the story was about the trials of crossing the Rio Grande, the wonders of finding your own voice, or the dread of fearing abuse or discrimination.

Each progressive word tugged on my heartstrings, beckoning my eyes to let go of the well of tears that my eyelids had dammed. Each volunteering story showed me the depth and the strength of the students that I have been working with for the past two years. Tonight I feel like I did two years of work in less than two hours.

At the end of the night, one of my historically unruly students chose to speak and acknowledge her fellow students, unrehearsed. She had, in the past, been one of the most difficult students to try to crack and understand, but tonight she experienced some sort of growth, and maturely acknowledged her fellow students and thereby validated the entire 11-week process and all of the literal blood, sweat, and tears I had put into it to make it happen.

But alas, this is not about me. It’s about them. We all have our stories–our own unique, authentic, and beautiful stories. Sometimes I wish adults had to apply to more things JUST SO they would have to write another personal statement. The process is so reflective and healing at the same time. I hope this process will help to heal some of my students’ wounds. From the looks of it tonight, they will all help each other heal from their wounds. Lord knows they’re helping to heal mine.

Busy next few weeks

I am going to be having a crazy next few weeks with all sorts of traveling. Wish me luck as I try not to go insane while living out of a suitcase.

April 6-8 – Las Vegas for family Easter weekend
April 9-13 – San Diego for BUILD college tour
April 27-29 – Washington DC for College Summit core staff retreat
April 30 – Concert at Davies Symphony Hall
May 1-4 – Boston for Merrill Lynch’s Growing Up CEO (I’m chaperoning for 4 BUILD students)
May 12 – BUILD’s 8th Annual Business Plan Competition

God Daughter Bea and the de Leon Family

I spent the weekend with my Tita Badette and her family. They just arrived from the Philippines on Saturday and I picked them up from the airport. I had not seen them in a little over 2 years. Here are some quality pics from the weekend, and you can see more at my flickr page.

I want to take her home!
Bea is my god daughter, and she has grown so big since last I saw her!

Bea at the Beach
Bea at the beach

The De Leon Family
The De Leon Family at the Golden Gate

Jump!
Fun on the bridge

King and Bea at the Golden Gate Bridge
Bea and I posing

Rap Directing here I come

I got a pleasant acceptance email while I was away in Thailand (and by the way, I only checked my email three times in two weeks).

I recently applied for a volunteer position at College Summit for the summer workshops, and if you remember, I have been volunteering with CS since the summer of 2003 as a writing coach, and most recently last year as a writing coach coordinator. Both of the positions revolved around helping the students create strong personal statements for their college applications. The position that I recently applied for is kind of like the glue of the CS summer workshops. The rap directors (no affiliation to the musical genre) are the ones who empower the students, but rather than try to paraphrase, here is a sampling from the job description:

Rap Directors are trained youth facilitators who begin as trainees and commit to a three-year intensive professional and personal development training. During the training period, Rap Directors attend trainings and serve at workshops in tandem with another Rap Director. Upon completion of training, certification allows a Rap Director to act as a solo facilitator at College Summit workshops. The Rap Director facilitates group discussions (Rap Sessions) with the students during the four-day workshop. The goal of the sessions is for the students to see possibility in their lives and future through the world of higher education. Rap Directors introduce students to the 4 goals of the workshop and guide them as they work to reach their goals. Rap Directors also serve to remind the students that they are young and entitled to have fun!

I am extremely excited about the opportunity to change more students’ lives and about the three-year facilitation training!!!

Last night in Thailand

Here I am at Bangkok’s most luxurious and prestigious mall, Siam Paragon, doing some last minute shopping and eating before my early morning departure tomorrow.

I am tired!

Back before I left, I had visions of this vacation being relaxing and rejuvenating. While it has been LOTS of fun and really great to get out of the US, it also has been quite taxing on me physically (I haven’t slept in… about 36 hours). Needless to say I am eager to get back to American soil, to talk to American people, to eat American food, and to live my American life.

Key points: I am safe, I’ll be home soon, and I love how leaving the country reminds me of how grateful I am for being blessed with residency in America. More on Thailand when I get back… I have soooo many great pictures and stories!