2014-2015 ASPIRE YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROGRAM (YLP)
Mission Statement
Asian Sisters Participating in Reaching Excellence (ASPIRE) is a career and leadership development program
dedicated to providing the necessary resources for Asian American girls and women. ASPIRE’s mission is to
engage, educate, and empower Asian American girls and women to become effective life-long leaders. Founded in
2001, ASPIRE is Greater Boston's only Asian American women-specific program providing leadership and
professional development opportunities to women, from high school students to seasoned professionals. ASPIRE
aims to create a cross-generational community of AA girls and women that fosters dialogue, learning, support,
mentoring, self-exploration, and relationships beyond ASPIRE. Program Background
The ASPIRE Youth Leadership Program (YLP) is a year-long leadership program specifically tailored to the
cultural and developmental needs of Asian American (AA) high school girls in the greater Boston area.
During the 2014-2015 academic year, selected YLP Scholars will have an invaluable opportunity to gain and
develop strong leadership skills through the following programming opportunities:
Leadership Training – Customized training to develop leadership in areas such as communication skills,
organizational ability, strategic thinking, personal growth, and civic engagement. YLP Scholars will also choose to
develop their own cumulative project to implement at the end of the year.
Mentorship – Each YLP Scholar will connect to ASPIRE's network of Asian American women. The network is
made up of women with various experiences, careers, and backgrounds.
Sisterhood – YLP Scholars will be part of a group of other young YLP Scholars, made up of Asian American female
teens that are committed to being leaders in their community and in their own lives. In addition to exploring
leadership, YLP Scholars will explore the issues of identity, race, gender, and politics that will identify shared
experiences.
YLP Scholars will serve as “ASPIRE Ambassadors” to promote and raise awareness of ASPIRE programs in their
schools and communities. Through leadership training, leadership projects and the mentorship of AA women,
ASPIRE will help YLP Scholars develop a toolbox of leadership skills and experiences that will serve as a solid
foundation for their college and career years. YLP Scholars will be required to attend all leadership training
programs (approximately twice per month from November-May), and commit a minimum of 5-10 hours/month to
YLP activities. There may be occasional social outings in addition to these.
YLP Scholars must be able to attend leadership trainings which occur two Saturdays a month from 4-6pm in Boston.
All expenses (e.g., special events, meals, etc.) incurred during Youth Leadership Program activities will be covered
by ASPIRE. Travel to and from the biweekly leadership workshops are not covered and are the responsibility of the
scholar.
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Eligibility
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High school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors attending a Boston/Greater Boston area high school
Applicants must be Asian/Asian American and female
Applicants must demonstrate strong leadership capabilities and/or leadership potential
Preference will be given to students from underserved backgrounds
Application Guidelines
All applications must be complete. A complete application includes the following items:
● Completed application form
● Short essay responses
● One letter of recommendation to be submitted at the time of the interview or with the application (may
be completed by teacher, guidance counselor, community leader, etc.
● Official high school transcript (Optional)
● Resume (Optional)
Deadline
Completed applications for the 2014-2015 school year must be emailed or postmarked by 11:59 pm,
October 17th, 2014 and sent to:
Leila Zainab
38 Weld Hill St, apt #3
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
OR email to: [email protected]
All applicants will be notified when their application has been received. We will not return phone inquiries about
receipt of applications. Final round candidates will be contacted to arrange an interview, and YLP Scholars will be
chosen by late-October.
Please direct any questions to the YLP Director at [email protected].
ASPIRE Background
Asian Sisters Participating In Reaching Excellence (ASPIRE) is a career and leadership development program
focused on the specific developmental needs of Asian-American (AA) girls. In 2001, ASPIRE was founded by a
group of AA professional women with the mission of empowering AA high school and college girls with career
development and leadership skills through shared experiences and mentoring.
For more information on ASPIRE, please visit our website at www.girlsaspire.org or email: [email protected].
YLP APPLICATION FORM
Please fill in the required information below. Responses may be typed or neatly handwritten. Attach separate page
for responses if necessary with the question clearly labeled.
First Name _________________Middle_______________ Last__________________
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Address: _____________________________________________________________
City: _____________________________ State: _______ Zip Code: ______________
Home Telephone: ______________________________________________________
Cell Phone: ___________________________________________________________
Best way to reach you: ___cell phone ___text message ____email
___home phone
(rank from 1best way to 4 worst way to contact you)
Primary E-mail Address: _________________________________________________
Secondary E-mail Address: _______________________________________________
Date of Birth (month/day/year): ____________________________________________
Place of Birth: _________________________________________________________
Place(s) of Family Origin: ________________________________________________
First Language: _____________________ Second Language: ____________________
High School (do not use abbreviations) ______________________________________
School Address: ________________________________________________________
City: _____________________________ State: _______ Zip Code: ______________
Expected Graduation Date (month/year): ____________________________________
(Please note: Only high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are eligible for ASPIRE YLP)
Extracurricular Activities & Leadership Positions (attach additional pages if necessary):
Activity
Position
Information for Parent/Guardian 1
Name: _______________________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________________
Telephone: ___________________________________________________________
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Dates
Current Occupation: ____________________________________________________
Highest Completed Education Degree (please check one):
_____ Middle School
_____ High School
_____ Associate/Bachelor’s Degree
_____ Master’s
_____ Doctorate
_____ Other (please specify) ____________________________________________________________
Information for Parent/Guardian 2
Name: _______________________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________________
Telephone: ___________________________________________________________
Current Occupation: ____________________________________________________
Highest Completed Education Degree (please check one):
_____ Middle School
_____ High School
_____ Associate/Bachelor’s Degree
_____ Master’s
_____ Doctorate
_____ Other (please specify) ____________________________________________________________
How did you hear about the ASPIRE Youth Leadership Program?
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I certify that the information contained in this application is correct and true.
Applicant’s Signature: __________________________________ Date: ______________
YLP ESSAY QUESTIONS
Please answer the following short essay questions. Limit your responses to each essay question to 150 words, 12
point font. Attach your essays on a separate sheet of paper with the question number clearly labeled. Also, please
include your name and high school on the header of each page.
1. In your own words, what does it mean to be an Asian American girl?
2. What accomplishment of yours are you most proud of and why?
3. What has been most challenging for you as an Asian American female youth and why? How did you deal
with this challenge?
5. What are your goals for the future and how do you plan on achieving them?
6. How will ASPIRE’s Youth Leadership Program help you achieve your future goals?
7. What would you like to learn from being a part of ASPIRE? What topics would you like to explore?
YLP RECOMMENDATION LETTERS
To Applicant:
Please complete the top portion of the reference letters on the following pages and give the forms to your reference.
Be sure to give your reference enough time to complete the signed and sealed recommendation letter and return it to
you. Recommendations should be submitted at the interview or sent with your application.
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We strongly encourage you to give your references information on ASPIRE and YLP (Page 1 of this application),
along with the recommendation letter form. One recommendation can be from a family member-but it must still be
very thoughtful.
2014-2015 YLP APPLICATION CHECKLIST
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Completed application form
Short essays
One letter of recommendation (to be submitted at the interview)
Official high school transcript (Optional)
Resume (one page maximum) (Optional)
Completed applications for the 2014-2015 school year must be emailed or postmarked by 11:59 pm,
October 17th, 2014 and sent to:
Leila Zainab
38 Weld Hill St, apt #3
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
OR email to: [email protected]
All applicants will be notified when their application has been received. We will not return phone inquiries about
receipt of applications. Final round candidates will be contacted to arrange an interview, and YLP Scholars will be
chosen by late-October.
Please direct any questions to the YLP Director at [email protected].
YLP RECOMMENDATION FORM
Name ____________________________________________________________________
High school _______________________________________________________________
Name of reference ______________________________________________________
Reference’s relationship to you ____________________________________________
To Reference:
Thank you for taking the time to support this candidate’s application for ASPIRE’s Youth Leadership Program, a
competitive year-long leadership program specifically tailored to the cultural and developmental needs of Asian
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American high school girls in the Boston and Greater Boston area. Preference will be given to candidates from less
privileged backgrounds.
Please respond to the following five questions about the candidate in the space below (you are welcome to attach
additional pages if necessary). You are also welcome to write your own letter (however, please address questions
listed below in your letter). Upon completion, please sign your recommendation and return it to the applicant in a
sealed envelope with your signature across the seal. Applicants are required to submit completed application
packets postmarked by October 17th, 2014, with recommendation letters to be turned in at the interview or with the
application.
1. What is your relationship to the applicant, and how long have you known her?
2. What are the applicant’s strongest qualities and/or characteristics? What makes her stand out from her peers?
3. How has the applicant exemplified leadership capability or potential in your interactions with her?
4. In your opinion, why is this applicant a strong candidate for ASPIRE’s Youth Leadership
Program?
5. Preference will be given to candidates from underserved backgrounds. Please explain any extenuating
circumstances (that you know of) that this applicant faces.
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