Light&Salt Youth Advocacy Internship
I participated in the Youth Advocacy Internship Program, a training and outreach experience focused on health education and community leadership, from January to May 2025. The program consisted of two main components: weekly advocacy training sessions and a community outreach project.
Over the course of 13 one-hour sessions, some of which were virtual and others in person, I learned about mental health, cancer prevention, tobacco addiction, precision medicine, and healthy living. Each session provided me with practical tools for understanding complex health issues and helped me explain them in ways that I could use to educate others.
For my outreach project, I chose a deeply personal topic: “Obesity in Asian Populations: Cultural Contexts, Diet Shifts, and Health Implications.” Growing up, I struggled with being overweight. Learning to build healthier habits helped me regain confidence, and I wanted to use that experience to inspire others. I conducted extensive research into the cultural, dietary, and genetic factors behind obesity in Asian communities and created a project to raise awareness about the differences in healthy definitions for Asians and the importance of developing healthy habits in life.
Over several weeks, I produced a YouTube video, hosted Zoom workshops, and held one-on-one conversations, ultimately reaching 117 individuals. This turnout was more than double the program’s requirement, and it made the project especially rewarding, realizing how much I encouraged others to think differently about their health.
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Dragon Academy
Creative Writing Teacher
After receiving a National Gold Medal in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, many parents asked me how I learned to write stories that feel meaningful and memorable. My answer has always been simple: “Every seemingly insignificant little thing in life can become a valuable source of creative inspiration. It all depends on the way you express it.”
Because of these accolades and experiences, in the summer of 2022, Principal Wang invited and employed me to teach at Dragon Academy, where I led a creative writing class for young students. Though it was one of my first jobs involving writing, I had previously taught many similar classes as a volunteer. This time, my focus was helping them discover that storytelling doesn’t require extraordinary experiences and that it can begin with the everyday details of their lives. Through guided exercises, we explored how a favorite snack, a walk in the park, or a funny family moment could grow into a full story with characters, setting, and emotion.
I emphasized that writing is not about perfection, but about noticing, imagining, and expressing. Together, the students and I turned daily memories into narratives that carried humor, reflection, and heart. Watching them realize that their voices and experiences mattered was incredibly rewarding, and it reminded me why I love both writing and teaching.