Teen Leadership Program

This Fall 2021, ASIA Families is offering a Teen Leadership Program for rising 9th through 12th graders. The candidates are adoptees, teens of adult adoptees, and siblings of adoptees.  The program will be led by ASIA Families’ teen program director, Ms. Bona Sherman, and adult adoptee counselors and presenters.    The goal of the Teen Leadership Program is to help participants define their own leadership style inwardly and outwardly.  After attending all four sessions, participants will receive a certificate of leadership training by ASIA Families.

 This program is supported by the Korea Overseas Foundation.  

* The dates and location for the Teen Leadership Program are the same as Korean Culture School
** Parents of teens are welcome to register for Korean Culture School, registration is here

Program Details

Leadership Workshop 1: Definition of Leadership

  • Team building Activity:

    • Post discussion: What type of leadership skills were involved in the activity

  • What is a leader and what does it mean to be a good leader

    • Brainstorm ideas/characteristics of a good leader that will be discussed in future workshops

  • Ted Talk: What it takes to be a great leader

  • Future of Leadership: Change happening

    • Compare and contrast the meaning of leadership from 1950 vs 2010s

  • Learning of habits/doings of a leader

    • Change one behavior/one action for future discussion

Leadership Workshop 2: Discovering Me

  • Understanding of individual identity

    • Spider Web exercise in small groups

    • Presentation of group identity chart

  • Discovering the definition of who we are

  • Learning of how to develop and defend ourselves

    • Lecturer: Kimm Moore on Defense Mechanism on Racism (FITS) and Mary Woodward (two Korean adult adoptees)

    • Role play

    • Discussion: why do we need to defend ourselves and others, what does it mean to be prepared to defend, how does that impact our self-worth


Leadership Workshop 3: Communication

  • Discussion of characteristics as a leader: focusing on communication

  • Human Scavenger Hunt: How quickly communicate to get as much information as possible

  • Activity: Peanut Butter & Jelly

    • Group work in successfully providing communication for instruction

    • Lessons learned review – importance of proper communication


Leadership Workshop 4: Career Development

  • Adult Adoptee Panelists: Alison Morgan, Aimee Mui

  •  Personality Test

  • Discussion on college essay, college majors

  • What job prospects there are: Panelist

    • What type of jobs are there?

    • Can we identify our strength and weakness: interior and exterior

  • Panelist

  • Mock Interview

Post Program Follow-up:

In order to be certified in Asia Families Leadership Workshop, you must attend and participate in all 4 of the workshops.

Upon completing the leadership workshops, the participating teens shall take the opportunities to serve the Korean adoptee community through Asia Families programs. The certificate candidate will be required to write a short summary of the experience on community service and meaning of being a role model.  

ASIA Families