Every Saturday, high school students from across Orange County meet at Pomona College to discuss various ways of promoting civic participation in the Korean American community. Sponsored by the Korean Resource Center (KRC), the Civic Leadership Program (CLP) is a 12 week course that invites students that are eager to learn about numerous ways to empower the Korean American community and the importance of civic engagement, or collective efforts to address public concerns.
The topics covered during the session include how to register to vote, analyze voter data, and develop an outreach plan to engage those who do not normally vote. In addition, the CLP explores different ways to enhance the student’s teamwork and leadership skills in the context of civic engagement.
“The Civic Leadership Program is designed to empower the Korean American community through its high school leaders,” said Dayne Lee, the civic participation coordinator of the KRC. “In Orange County, there are fewer community leadership opportunities for Korean American students than in Los Angeles or other major cities.”
Students also gain access to the myriad of resources at Pomona College, including the college’s Asian Resource Center (ARC). College interns at the ARC help to educate these students by talking about key issues related to civic leadership, including forms of prejudice and discrimination that Korean Americans face today, and methods to overcome such hardships.
“It was really surprising to see the various statistics of the Korean American community, especially the number of people uninsured and living in poverty,” said Jung Kim, junior at Serrano High School and participant of the CLP, as she reflected on one of the activities done in class. “It really helps me realize why Koreans need to become involved in community affairs.”
CLP not only focuses on educating students about civic engagement, but also stresses the need to apply this newly gained knowledge to promote change in the Korean American community. The final two weeks of the course involves students participating in a voter engagement project, which will aid Korean Americans in overcoming many of the difficulties they face in becoming active civic participants.
Students have become cognizant of the true importance of civic participation and the empowerment of the Korean American community.
“KRC wants to promote civic leadership and community empowerment from a young age, because the young people are our community’s future leaders,” said Lee. As students are becoming more aware of the changes that they can personally make, the CLP is transforming students to become true Korean American leaders of tomorrow.
