Every 3 years, AAM hosts a conference for staff who are Asian American and/or serve Asian American chapters or chapters that are predominantly Asian American students. I've only been to one other AAM staff conference, but I've learned that this conference holds value for these AAM staff in many different ways. For some, it's a helpful context to gain vision and tools for reaching Asian American students. For others, it's a helpful just to be among a community - a family - of people who understand your culture, your work, and how those tend to intersect. And for others, it does both.
For me, I find the conference to be a helpful space and community to help me further explore my ethnic identity with Jesus and how this ethnic identity affects my staff work and my life in general. I've found that there a lot to learn from the ways I do connect and the ways I don't connect with my fellow colleagues, but it is very much like family - you many not know each other well, you may not connect over everything, but we care about each other and challenge each other to grow.
This year's theme was called, "Flourish," to help us as staff expand our reach and extend our influence. There are many things I could share from this conference, but if I could only choose one, it is this: an invitation I sensed from the Lord was to consider how I could reach and empower the Asian American students all over the upstate part of NY to flourish. I am currently the only Asian American woman InterVarsity staff in upstate NY, and while I don't feel like I have a ton of experience, wisdom, or influence right now, I firmly believe that just being on staff can be a huge beginning factor. God can use my five loaves and two fish to multiply His work.
Now, as for what this would all look like, I have no idea. But the Lord is with me, and I am confident in Him.
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