As a CAUSE Leadership Academy Cohort, we were assigned to create a public service announcement video that encourages Asian Pacific Americans (APA) between the ages of 18-24 to turn out and vote. As with any group project, we went through some growing pains at the beginning. Even more so than usual because we have to figure out how we were going to accomplish this assignment, but we also had to get to know each other to effectively assign tasks and roles to complete the project as smoothly as possible.
Our first day of shooting scenes for the public service announcement project was Friday, July 13th, and would encompass the maneuvering of personnel from throughout the San Gabriel Valley and Orange County to converge onto our shooting locations of Echo Park, Unidad Park, Vista Hermosa Natural Park, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, and even the Observation Deck of the Los Angeles City Hall to capture panorama shots, interview scenes, and cut scenes. We improvised with the materials we had by shooting scenes with Jocelyn’s camera while using a phone with a set of headphones as our audio recording equipment. By working together and combining our talents, resources, and passion for the Asian Pacific American community, we were able to accomplish the goals we had set for ourselves.
Even though the day was designated for filming for our public service announcement project, it also served as an incredible opportunity to bond with fellow cohort members. Even with the delegation of assignments to help prevent everyone from showing up to help shoot scenes, we still had cohort members drive from Orange County to help provide support and encouragement. It has been a great feeling to see other cohort members take the time to get to know one another, teach others about our personal experiences and cultures, and give each other advice when needed. This sense of forming a bond was even more apparent today as we shared a meal in Chinatown, as we fanned each other to provide a brief escape from the midday heat, or even to hold hats at certain angles to give the perfect shading while shooting a scene. The journey on which the CAUSE Leadership Academy has taken us did not just mold us into individual APA leaders of the future but rather into a family from which we can grow and make an even broader impact on the community we all strive to serve.
