Penn APALSA Conference 2012/13
Another unpublished / unfinished draft with meaning at this particular moment:
I didn't attend the APALSA Conference this year. However, I was more than pleased to learn that my sponsorship of one Temple APALSA student the last two years inspired two other APABA-PA members to split the sponsorship of FIVE students this year!!
Because the world has to be small, the first-come-first-served recipient of my direct funds was Victor, who studied in China with Alex and has been to dinner with us many times. When he (a 40-year-old Chinese attorney studying for a Doctor of Juridical Science degree at Temple) realized that it was l'il ol' me who was paying his way through the Conference, he admitted to being very embarrassed. I insisted on his accepting the gift and he thoroughly enjoyed the Conference.
I hope it inspired the five, as it did me the past two years. Moving to Philly to be at Cohen will enable me to have more face-time and true involvement in APABA-PA and explore what role, if any, I might have in the organization.
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(Originally drafted Feb 7, 2012)
I've been at my firm for 2 years in March. Not bad! Although I enjoy the school law and the one complex matter I'm working on, nothing as fulfilling and fun as the volunteer work I've been doing.
This past weekend, I attended Penn's Annual APALSA Conference. This was my second year attending this conference, and I always leave inspired.
The first session was an introduction to the One Love Movement by the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia, called A Comprehensive Analysis of Deportation in the Cambodian Refugee Community. After a very brief nuts-and-bolts of Cambodian-American relations, we learned about the CAGP's sadly common tragic story of emigration from wartorn Cambodia. The Honorable Steven Morley discussed the important role of immigration policy reform in creating the judicial discretion needed to reduce the recent wave of questionable expedited deportations.
Over lunch, Karen Narasaki of the Asian American Justice Center reminded the law students that they were "the future" of our country. It's amazing how our brains retain information - she pop-quizzed us on the Preamble to the Constitution and a lot of people were able to recite it!
My favorite panel was not law-related. The session, "The Evolving Landscape of Asian-American Entrepreneurship," featured entrepreneurship consultants, including J.D. Hokoyama (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc.) and Dilawar Syed (White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; Yonja Media Group). I recognized LEAP from the Paper Tiger article Alex recommended last year. The message was well-received by young, bright-eyed Asian Penn Law students. I could really see the gears turning as the panelists parsed out desirable business traits, and how many of those are contrary to traditional east Asian values. . . .
I didn't attend the APALSA Conference this year. However, I was more than pleased to learn that my sponsorship of one Temple APALSA student the last two years inspired two other APABA-PA members to split the sponsorship of FIVE students this year!!
Because the world has to be small, the first-come-first-served recipient of my direct funds was Victor, who studied in China with Alex and has been to dinner with us many times. When he (a 40-year-old Chinese attorney studying for a Doctor of Juridical Science degree at Temple) realized that it was l'il ol' me who was paying his way through the Conference, he admitted to being very embarrassed. I insisted on his accepting the gift and he thoroughly enjoyed the Conference.
I hope it inspired the five, as it did me the past two years. Moving to Philly to be at Cohen will enable me to have more face-time and true involvement in APABA-PA and explore what role, if any, I might have in the organization.
~~~~~~~~
(Originally drafted Feb 7, 2012)
I've been at my firm for 2 years in March. Not bad! Although I enjoy the school law and the one complex matter I'm working on, nothing as fulfilling and fun as the volunteer work I've been doing.
This past weekend, I attended Penn's Annual APALSA Conference. This was my second year attending this conference, and I always leave inspired.
The first session was an introduction to the One Love Movement by the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia, called A Comprehensive Analysis of Deportation in the Cambodian Refugee Community. After a very brief nuts-and-bolts of Cambodian-American relations, we learned about the CAGP's sadly common tragic story of emigration from wartorn Cambodia. The Honorable Steven Morley discussed the important role of immigration policy reform in creating the judicial discretion needed to reduce the recent wave of questionable expedited deportations.
Over lunch, Karen Narasaki of the Asian American Justice Center reminded the law students that they were "the future" of our country. It's amazing how our brains retain information - she pop-quizzed us on the Preamble to the Constitution and a lot of people were able to recite it!
My favorite panel was not law-related. The session, "The Evolving Landscape of Asian-American Entrepreneurship," featured entrepreneurship consultants, including J.D. Hokoyama (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc.) and Dilawar Syed (White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; Yonja Media Group). I recognized LEAP from the Paper Tiger article Alex recommended last year. The message was well-received by young, bright-eyed Asian Penn Law students. I could really see the gears turning as the panelists parsed out desirable business traits, and how many of those are contrary to traditional east Asian values. . . .
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