Ten students from Southwest Career and Technical Academy attended the Asian Pacific American Youth Leadership Symposium (APAYLS) at University of Nevada, Las Vegas on March 26. UNLV students who are members of ROAR (Raising Our Asian Rights) along with representatives of Bamboo Bridges (a non-profit organization in Las Vegas), CCSD, and the UNLV Office for Diversity and Inclusion facilitated the event.

“I greatly admire the ROAR students because they show dedication in empowering students like me with the skills to voice my Asian heritage as well as skills to build leadership and character,” junior Justine Ipac said.

The workshops and lessons were developing according to the book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey.

“I noticed that the lessons were like puzzles, and in order to solve a puzzle with a group of people, a leader had to communicate with the group to participate. And if the leader’s plan [worked] and everyone contributed, the lesson was successful,” junior Billy Rom said.

Guest speakers, such as Channel 3’s anchor Marie Mortera and reporter Hetty Chang, were present to talk about their roles as “voices” for the Asian American community in Las Vegas.

“The reporters helped me realize that anything is possible as long as I follow my dreams,” sophomore Nicole Brigola said.

The convention concluded with stories about coordinators’ personal experiences and an open forum dedicated to questions from college bound students.

“The facilitators provided more in-depth and detailed information about what they had experienced in college, and their advice and answers helped because they are college students,” sophomore Jody Pham said.

ROAR strives to gather the student leaders of today in order to prepare them for the challenges of tomorrow. For more information and upcoming events, visit unlvroar.org.