Student Projects – AASuccess

Healthcare Symposium

The pandemic has highlighted the hardships and struggles of healthcare and its toll on healthcare professionals. In addition to the increased pressures for healthcare professionals, students are also faced with their own struggles in their pursuit of a healthcare career. The AASuccess Heathcare Symposium was therefore created with the purpose of providing insight into some of the present day challenges of healthcare and bridging the gap between an idealized career and its realities.

Timeline: June 3, 2023 from 10 AM to 3 PM

Key leads: Angela Le, Grace Tonnu, Vivian Cao-Dao (Read more >>)

Program Description

During the symposium, our program will be focusing on two topics that are prevalent in the current healthcare field:

Expectations vs. Realities

The goal of many students entering the healthcare profession is making a difference in society by helping others. However, the challenges healthcare professionals and trainees face in the field have important implications on their health and wellbeing. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the extreme fatigue and burnout faced by providers. Burnout is characterized by a high degree of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization with a low sense of personal accomplishment at work, leading to a strain in mental health. The symposium aims to address some of the workfield challenges and structural issues that typically contribute to burnout, while highlighting the experiences of a diverse panel of healthcare professionals. By addressing the contributors of burnout, we hope to equip students with strategies to handle common stressors in the healthcare field.

Potential Consequences of Failure

The status quo of successfully entering professional school and financing the costs are daunting. In addition, the pressure placed on students to positively distinguish themselves among a competitive pool of extremely qualified applicants takes a toll on mental health. Self image can easily be based on the ‘need to succeed’, regardless of how unhealthy it may be. These expectations can lead to cognitive distortions (e.g. ‘imposter syndrome’) and constant comparisons to others that can lead to the fear of failure and ‘not having what it takes’ These issues are universal and shared among students, trainees, and providers alike. We aim to break down specific negative cognitive distortions and the complexity surrounding a ‘failed experience’.

What to Expect

Program
- Work directly with panelists and students in facilitated, small groups.
- Share insight, experiences, and opinions with fellow attendees and panelists.
- Respectfully listen to the backgrounds and experiences of panelists and students.
Food Accommodations
- Catered breakfast provided at the event (coffee, bagels, etc.).
- Catered lunch provided at the event, including gluten free and vegetarian options.
Networking
- Opportunity to network with healthcare professionals and panelists.
- Attendees have the option to explore and network with booths set up from various companies and representatives.

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Scholarship Program

The AI&ML Scholarship program hopes to teach high school students AI&ML learning through an exciting platform that encourages learning through modules and friendly competitions.

Timeline:
- Preseason: 4/1 – 5/31/23
- Application starts: 6/1/23
- Application ends: 9/20/23
Key Members: Rashi Adhikari
Goal: Teaching underrepresented and underprivileged high schoolers about Machine Learning through AWS DeepRacer and allowing them to apply for an AWS scholarship.
How: Student will (1) finish prerequisite courses before the application starts; (2) Apply to the AI&ML Scholarship between June and September; and (3) Explore a new STEM field and potential career opportunity
- The sign-up form is linked here: https://student.deepracer.com/signUp
- Learn more about the scholarship here: https://aws.amazon.com/machine-learning/scholarship/
Result-To-Date: Finish the prep work to launch the program on March 9, 2023.
How to Help: We need your help to gather volunteers interested in Python and Machine learning who are willing to go through the DeepRacer course with the students and help them complete the pre-scholarship tasks needed to apply for the scholarship. Volunteers will need to create a free account on the website and be expected to complete certain lessons before each workshop meeting. After the scholarship application opens, volunteers will help students apply and complete any necessary steps to learning more about AI&ML!

2023 YouthCon Scholarship

The 2023 YouthCon Scholarship allows innovative high school students living in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area with ideas to be actively involved with philanthropic work to make a difference in neighborhoods, with the support of AASuccess. We award innovative and driven students with the mindsets of giving back, and those seeking to strengthen their skills such as writing, presentation, and leadership.

Timeline: November 2022 – February 2023
Key Leads: Kingston Ho, Nathan Le, Leo Lue, Aashee Balani, Nathan Nguyen
Goal: Encourage high school students to create a unique project based on an issue that is important to them. We also want them to take physical actions to solve their desired issue along with bringing awareness.
How: Submit a 500-650 word essay in response to the following prompt: “At AASuccess, We find it meaningful for students to understand personal and societal adversities in order to discover their passion to give back to their community. This year’s theme, “Igniting the Spark”, symbolizes a journey initiated by a spark of aspiration to create an impact. With $300, how will you utilize your passion to develop a project that has the ability to serve your community while igniting the sparks of others?”
Result-To-Date: The YouthCon Scholarship has been officially launched on October 27, 2022. 41 applicants have applied, 10 of whom were selected to go to the next Oral Presentation Round. The Presentation took place on February 19, 2023 at our office. Top ideas include:
- Purchasing supplies to enhance the Fort Belvoir’s Intrepid Spirit Center’s Garden which helps physical and mental relief for their patients.
- Start a club at school that is devoted to help this crisis of menstrual product cost and connect with others in the area to solve this problem.
- Create gift packages for the homeless or elderly people who may be isolated due to COVID-19.
- Utilize the $300 to develop a project that aims to educate and inspire community to act in protecting and preserving our natural resources.
2023 YouthCon Scholarship recipients:
- First place: Leilani Co, Senior, Robinson Secondary School. Idea: Reach out to high school girls in her community to join her in leading STEM workshops at community centers and schools.
- Second place: Sofia M’mari, Senior, Sidwell Friends School. Idea: Purchase hair products to help people braid their hair and build confidence.
- Third place: Bhargav Garre Venkata, Senior, Westfield High School. Idea: Start a certification program to give to restaurants that are based on multiple criteria, the certification would drive sales for that restaurant.

2023 Go Green – Trash Rehash

The Go-Green Team announced our new Trash Rehash Event! The event aims to repurpose plastic and other recyclable materials by making eco-bricks and crocheting using plarn. If you don’t know what eco-bricking and plarn are, don’t worry, during the event, you’ll have the opportunity to learn about them and create them while socializing and watching movies.

Timeline: February 2023 – June 2023
Key Members: Aashee Balani, Leo Lue, Derica Dang, Marvin Pham, Nathan Le, Kaila Le
Goal: Inspire people to recycle via fun & creative to repurpose plastic, e.g. making eco-bricks and plarn
How: Organize the Trash Rehash event, where people can come to learn how to make an eco-brick and crochet plarn, while having a fun time bonding with each other. The plan is to collect enough materials to host an event for at least 25-30 participants.
Result-To-Date: So far, the team has successfully launch the program and appeal our members to bringing plastic bags, water bottles, wrappers, and other recyclable materials.

We need your help to supply the recyclables! We are collecting materials such as plastic bags, water bottles, wrappers, and more! There will be a drop-off box in the AASuccess office to store the materials until enough has been collected to begin the event.

Here is the list of items we’re looking for you to drop off. Note: All materials must be dried and cleaned (no food residue, dirt, and bacterial growth)

Cylinder plastic water bottles
Plastic bags
Photo paper
Food containers
Straws
Plastic cutlery
Cling film
Plastic fruit and vegetable packaging
Polystyrene (or Styrofoam)
Wrappers

We don’t collect:

PAPER
Metal
Glass
Biodegradables (leaves, food, etc.)

Material for plarn crocheting:

Plastic bags
Dry bags only
Any shape or size
Can be ripped

More information about the event will be sent out over the next few weeks. Feel free to let us know if you have any questions or concern (aashee.balani@aasuccess.org and leo.lue@aasuccess.org)

2022 Go Green

The Go Green Project aims to raise awareness of the feasibility and the growing need for home gardening. We plan to do this by selling plants to every willing individual, especially those who have no experience in gardening before. Information on the plant, the project, and a community tracking page will be given supplementary to the plant itself. By doing this we hope to spread awareness about the problem of climate change and how the growth of plants can help our community.

Timeline: July 2021 – present
Key Members: Aashee Balani, Leo Lue
Goal: Spread awareness of climate change through an educational and hands-on experience. One thing people could connect to easily was growing plants and developing a connection with nature. Our goal was to establish this connection naturally, by making the whole process of gathering plants, materials, and need-to-know information free and accessible. With this, we hope the simple act of starting a home garden will get more plants off the shelves and into people’s homes.
How: Creating fun, hands-on activities to educate people about gardening and encouraging them to grow plants on their own, Currently, the team is organizing the “Plate Your Plant” Competition, in which participants are required to make a dish using one of the main ingredients from the plant they grow.
Result-To-Date: So far, the team has successfully organized 2 events that attracted more than 60 people to participate in gardening and growing their first plant!
Resources:
Updates on Plate Your Plant Competition
- Event Date & Time: Sunday, September 18, 2022, 11 AM – 2 PM
- Location: AASucces Office, 6521 Arlington Blvd., Ste 502, Falls Church, VA 22042
- Requirements for participants:
  - Bring a dish with at least 3 servings (Everyone is welcome to bring extra)
  - An ingredient list including main dish ingredients
  - A short 1-2 sentence description of the finished dish
- Grand prize: $100 & an AASuccess T-shirt

2022 Summer Mental Health Conference

The 2022 Summer Mental Health Conference is a one day 4 hour long event meant to bring both understanding and awareness to teen mental health. Organized by a senior high school student, Liem Nguyen, this event highlights the experiences and struggles of young adults with mental health through a student focused program, via which the community can gain a better understanding of mental health. In addition, it promotes mental health resources available for those who would like to be more informed on a sense of self.

Timeline: March – July 2022
Key Members: Liem Nguyen
Goal: This event is meant to bring both understanding and awareness to teen mental health. By highlighting the experiences and struggles of young adults with mental health through a student-focused program, the community can gain a better understanding of mental health. It will serve as a promotional event for the 2022 Gala and will promote mental health resources available for those who are struggling and those who want to help.
Result-To-Date: A proposal is being created and waiting for approval from the AASuccess Board of Directors.

Roversity Project

Creating programs to engage the future generation into STEM in underserved communities can have successful impacts and help grow these smaller communities into larger and more advanced developments. In this project, Nicole Ortuno intends to create a robotics introduction program that actively involves and excites underrepresented students within homeless shelters.

Via bi-weekly lessons, she hopes to introduce these students to the robotics kits and teach them different aspects of creating robots: programming, electrical, and mechanical. Using robotic kits from education equipment companies, we provide a hands-on approach to let the students try many different creative ideas on their own. On the final day of the program, we will hold a fun competition in which a team of students will create their own robots in order to truly showcase what they have learned.

Timeline: April – August 2022
Key Members: Nicole Ortuno, Nico Cardenas
Goal: Have a larger impact within the CornerStones club and local homeless shelters to create a solid group of competition kids who have passions in learning about robotic engineering and automation. By providing resources such as educational tools and free lessons, this committed group of children students will gain knowledge and leadership skills within STEM.
Result-To-Date: On July 31st, 2022, we hosted a fun competition, the “RoVersity Roboball” event, in which a team of students created their own robots to truly showcase what they have learned during the program. Nine children aged 7-11 participated in this competition with more than 60 parents, social service staff, college student club members, and young professionals cheering on their success.

Winter Mental Health Retreat

Since school started, a lot of problems have been arising within the student community. Some are dealing with a rigorous school curriculum while others are stressed about college applications. The Winter Mental Health Retreat was organized with the purpose of creating a chance for participants to bond with each other and refresh their minds from the mental health issues stemming from their past and daily lives.

Timeline: November 2021 – December 2021
Key Leads: Erica Shin, Liem Nguyen, and Nathan Le
Goal: This retreat empowers participants to focus more on the relationships they have with themselves and others, while also allowing opportunities for all the members to build new connections and reinforce current ones. It will also give the participants a chance to talk about their struggles and past experiences with obstacles.
How: Via activities such as group discussion, letter burning, spa/self-care session, positive affirmations notes, hiking, bonfire & s’mores, cooking contest, game night, and white elephant, participants will have a relaxed, fun time while bonding with others.
Result-To-Date: The 12 participants came back from the retreat with more understanding about their mental health status and what to do with it. They felt really happy for having the opportunities to listen and open up to each other at the retreat.

Student’s Blog: https://blog.aasuccess.org/erica-shin-and-the-winter-mental-health-retreat/

All Hands In Community Project

Di Linh town, Vietnam is a rural community in the mountainous area in Central Highland Vietnam. The community here was heavily affected by the Coronavirus pandemic that swept through Vietnam in mid-year 2021, leaving thousands of people jobless. Encouraged by the DELTA Success program, three Vietnamese students decided to do something to reach out to them. They planned to buy gifts and necessaries to give out to these people on a small charity trip.

Timeline: November 2021 – December 2021
Key Leads: Vy Tran, Tram Nguyen, and Thang Nguyen
Goal: Support the poor children by giving them small gifts and necessaries. Via the project, we want to spread joy and hope for these children, letting them know that there are still a lot of people who care about them.
Result-To-Date: 30 gift packages were distributed to neighbors and children in need. The kids were really happy when receiving the presents and so were their parents. They felt really thankful for organizing this project and helping the children.

Student’s Blog: https://blog.aasuccess.org/all-hands-in-community-project-by-delta-students/

2022 YouthCon Scholarship

The 2022 YouthCon Scholarship allows innovative high school students living in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area with ideas to be actively involved with philanthropic work to make a difference in neighborhoods, with the support of AASuccess. We award innovative and driven students with the mindsets of giving back, and those seeking to strengthen their skills such as writing, presentation, and leadership.

Timeline: November 2021 – September 2022
Key Leads: Colby Pham and Nathan Nguyen
Goal: Encourage high school students to create a unique project based on an issue that is important to them. We also want them to take physical actions to solve their desired issue along with bringing awareness.
How: Applicants will submit their essays for review by a panel of judges, and 25% of the applicants with the highest scores will move on to the oral presentation, planned to be hosted on February 20th, 2022. Chosen applicants will be allotted time slots throughout the day to present their proposals and topics. Once the top three winners are announced, the first prize winner will be given $3,000 and have access to AASuccess resources to ensure that their idea will create the greatest impact possible during their seven-week internship. They will receive $200 to begin their project when results are announced, and they will receive the $3,000 scholarship prize when they complete their internship. All three finalists will then be invited to the annual YouthCon Awards Ceremony, celebrating their accomplishments among AASuccess donors and supporters. There, the first prize winner will briefly present their project when they receive their award on stage.
Result-To-Date: The YouthCon Scholarship has been officially launched on November 7, 2021. We are currently accepting all applications until the end of January 9, 2022.