Boston, May 10, 2013, — The National Association of Asian American Professionals Boston chapter (NAAAP Boston) is proud to announce Dan Minh Chu, Tuan Ho and Kasey Shen as the three recipients of the 2013 NAAAP Boston Future Leader Award. The three exceptional students will receive $15,000 of scholarships at the NAAAP Boston’s Scholarship Gala on May 15 at Hilton Boston Back Bay.
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The NAAAP Boston Future Leader Award is the premier scholarship for Asian American high school students in the Greater Boston area. The purpose of the award is for aspiring leaders in the Asian American community. Candidates are evaluated on academic achievements, extracurricular involvement, community service, work experience, and financial circumstances. The award recipients are not necessarily the candidates who have received the highest academic scores but are those who exhibit the strongest leadership potential. |
The highlight of this year’s Scholarship Gala will be the key note speech from Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong, one of the youngest mayors to serve in Massachusetts and the first female Asian American Mayor in Massachusetts. Also, the three award recipients will give speeches during the event.
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Since the inception of the Future Leader Award in 1987, the NAAAP Boston has given over $140,000 to 77 high school seniors. While members of the community continue to support the scholarship, the donor pool has expanded and now includes corporations and other institutions, including Liberty Mutual Insurance, The Richard T. N. Lee Scholarship Fund, and PSG (Professional Staffing Group).
The Scholarship Gala will be host from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Hilton Boston Back Bay located at 40 Dalton St Boston. For more information about the event, please contact Yan Yu, the Director of Marketing and PR, at [email protected]. |
About the Three Award Recipients:
$5,000 Future Leader Award Winner: Dan Minh Chu
Dan Chu is a current senior at Boston Latin Academy. He comes from a Vietnamese family in Dorchester. Chu taught children with autism how to swim and tutored one of them in math. On Sundays, he helps educate second grade students in Vietnamese CCD classes. His greatest honor was sitting as the student representative on the Boston School Committee. Chu plans on attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he plans to major in computer science. In his free time, he enjoys playing games and talking with friends in addition to imagining grand, fantasy worlds and writing novels.
$5,000 Richard T.N. Lee Future Leader Award Winner: Tuan Ho
Tuan Ho is another winner from Dorchester. He is a Vietnamese student at Boston Latin Academy. Ho, a black belt second degree in Vovinam Martial Art, founded Self-Defense Club. He serves as President for the Asian Culture Club and planned a successful Asian Talent Night event that was able to fundraise over $500 towards Red Cross Asia. Outside of school, he volunteers at Boston Refugee Youth Enrichment Program as a teacher and works as a tutor and youth leader at Viet-AID After School Program. He will be attending Northeastern University in the fall of 2013.
$5,000 Liberty Mutual Insurance Future Leader Award Winner: Kasey Shen
Kasey Shen, a senior student at North Quincy High School, was President of MOON (Math Organization of North) for two years and Secretary as a sophomore. She was also Treasurer of the NQ Band Council, keeping track of fundraising and swear jar money. Kasey participated in the High School Quiz Show team, Academic Decathlon team and Science Olympiad team. She spent a lot time volunteering for Quincy Asian Resources, Inc. as well as for EQCC’s Uplift Afterschool Program. She was a summer intern in 2010 at the Chinese Progressive Association and has been Youth Staff for the past two years, planning, organizing and facilitating meetings to engage peers in community involvement. Shen will be continuing her education in the fall at Wellesley College. She plans to focus on the research aspect of chemistry along with studying tidbits of different areas including math, business and so on.
About the NAAAP Boston:
As a 501 (c) (3) non-profit professional organization, NAAAP Boston promotes the career advancement and leadership development of Asian American professionals in all fields through networking, Asian multiculturalism education and supporting diversity and community service. Our vision, “We Make Leaders” exemplifies the focus of our events – professional development programs to help advance their careers, public service opportunities to give back to the community, social events to promote networking and cultural awareness, and committee and program participation to develop leadership skills. NAAAP Boston also offers the vast resources of our corporate sponsors, who generously support the organization with funding and career opportunities.