【华e生活青少年记者Phoebe Xu报道】2月20日，一个不起眼的周二下午，我走进北卡罗来纳州达勒姆研究三角公园(Research Triangle Park)的一栋会议大楼，准备听取亚裔政治传奇人物杨安泽(Andrew Yang)如何培养领导力的宝贵建议。
杨安泽是MOVENC举办的首次“青少年领导力研讨会”的主讲嘉宾。这次活动非常成功，来自北卡罗来纳三角地区的40多名中学生和高中生参加了这次活动。在2个小时的会议中，我们以对杨安泽的采访、问答环节、关于领导技能的辩论开始，并以杨安泽的励志演讲结束。
我一踏入会议室，就感受到了兴奋和期待的气氛。对于一个公众人物来到我们这个小社区宣扬领导力，这是一个难得的机会。杨安泽走向会议室中间的那一刻，我们都洗耳恭听。在接受主持人的采访中，杨安泽谈到了从移民父母身边长大到他的职业生涯和总统竞选的话题。听到一个与我拥有相同文化背景的公众人物讲述他的经历，让我感到欣慰，因为他能理解我们这些青少年在美国和中国文化中寻找自己道路的挣扎。
杨继续讲述他的职业生涯，以及他是如何从一名律师成为总统候选人的。他向我们解释，我们通常认为职业是固定的，比如消防员、宇航员或警察，但实际上，职业世界是流动的，充满了让个人找到自己真正热爱的机会。作为一名高中三年级学生，大学申请即将来临，我对于我想在大学和未来追求什么依然感到迷茫。我将把这些建议牢记在心，挑战自己去探索新的兴趣爱好。
第二部分是一个辩论活动，提出了一个很大，甚至有点模糊的问题：“领导者最重要的超能力/技能是什么？” 沟通、影响力、勇气、主动性，所有队伍都提出了伟大领导者应该具备的品质。我相信领导者不能由一个特质来定义，而是这四个技能以及许多其他技能的协同效应，激励他人采取行动。领导者是一个流动的词。领导者可以在任何地方找到，从在街上帮助你的谦逊过路人到工作中的团队领导者；我们都有成为领导者的力量。
杨以鼓舞人心的话语结束了研讨会。他鼓励我们成为更好的自己，并寻找成为领导者的机会。他给了我们一本签名的小日记，并鼓励我们在页面上写下我们的目标。他再次回顾了他从一个后来才起步的华裔男孩到总统候选人的不可思议的旅程。杨大声说，他是生活的证明，只要你下定决心，任何事情都是可能的。有一天，他在笔记本上写下了“我的目标是竞选总统”，这些话成为了现实。同样地，他鼓励我们所有人，在我们的笔记本上写下我们的目标，无论多么离奇，并朝着实现我们的梦想努力。
我感谢MOVENC给予我这个独特的机会。我不仅有机会见到安德鲁·杨，而且还受到了他的劝告的启发。我又遇到了一个将会在这个出乎意料的星期二下午之后深远影响我生活的榜样。
Andrew Yang visits Durham, NC for the first MOVENC Youth Leadership Workshop
By Phoebe Xu, Enloe High School
On February 20th, an unassuming Tuesday afternoon, I walked into a conference building in the Research Triangle Park in Durham, NC, ready to unlock valuable leadership advice from Asian political legend Andrew Yang.
Andrew Yang was the guest speaker for the first Youth Leadership Workshop hosted by MOVENC. The event was highly successful, with more than 40 middle and high school students from all across the North Carolina Triangle in attendance. During the 2-hour session, we commenced with an interview session with Andrew, a Q&A session, a debate about valuable leadership skills, and concluded with an inspirational statement from Andrew Yang.
I could feel the eagerness and buzz of excitement the moment I entered the conference room. It is a rare opportunity for a public figure to visit our small community to advocate for leadership, and we were all ears the moment Yang stepped toward the center stage. During the interview, Yang discussed topics from growing up with immigrant parents to his career and presidential campaign. It was gratifying to hear from a public figure who shares the same cultural background as me, since he related to our teenage struggles of finding our path through our American and Chinese cultures. Yang went on to discuss his professional journey and how he went from an attorney to a presidential candidate. He addressed us by explaining how we often think of careers as rigid occupations, such as being a firefighter, astronaut, or policeman, but in reality, the professional world is fluid and full of opportunities for individuals to find their true passions. As a high school junior with college applications right around the corner, I am as lost as ever about what I want to pursue in college and beyond. I will carry this advice with me as I challenge myself to explore new interests.
The second segment was a debate activity that asked a big, even a little ambiguous question: “What is the most important superpower/skill a leader can have?” Communication, influence, courage, initiative, all teams brought up qualities of great leaders. I believe a leader can’t be defined by one trait, instead the synergistic effect of these four skills, and many more, inspire others to take action. A leader is a fluid word. Leaders can be found everywhere, from the unassuming by passer who helps you on the street to a team leader at work; we all have the power to be a leader.
Yang closed the workshop with an inspirational thought. He encouraged us to become a better version of ourselves and find opportunities to be leaders. He gave us a small signed journal and encouraged us to all write our goals within the pages. Again he harkened back to his improbable journey from a late-blooming Chinese boy to a presidential candidate. Yang exclaimed that he was living proof that anything is possible if you set your mind to it. One fateful day he wrote “My goal is to run for president” in his notebook, and those words became a reality. Similarly, he encouraged all of us to write down our goals, no matter how fantastical, in our notebooks and work towards achieving our dreams.
I’m thankful to MOVENC for this unique opportunity. Not only was I able to meet Andrew Yang, but I was inspired by his words of advice. I have met one more role model who will influence my life far beyond this unexpected Tuesday afternoon.
