Intergenerational connection, Asian American history, and changemaking beyond LearnServe

In Conversation with LearnServe alum Ethan Huang (Fellows DC ‘24)

Ethan Huang is a junior at Sidwell Friends School and an alum of our Fellows DC ‘24 cohort. Over the summer of 2024, he, along with friends and peers, launched an intergenerational initiative called the Inkstone Project. The project connects youth with elders to interview them and learn about their personal histories. The project, which began at the Chinese Cultural and Community Center, is now expanding to other senior centers and states. We sat down with Ethan to revisit his Fellows experience and explore how the skills he developed then have flourished into this impactful new venture.

How did you learn about LearnServe, and what drew you to it?

My older brother participated in LearnServe and recommended it to me. A lot of after-school programs are about community service, but with LearnServe, you do even more. LearnServe teaches you skills you wouldn’t learn elsewhere, like budgeting and managing a project.

Could you tell me about your Fellows venture with LearnServe?

When we began our venture, we wrote down a bunch of different ideas that we were passionate about, then narrowed it down to one. For me, that was Asian American advocacy. In my conversations with Scott, LearnServe’s CEO, I was led towards this idea that there wasn’t much Asian American history in our school curriculums.

This led me to delve deeply into research about the importance of Asian American history and begin conversations with my school about the curriculum. There was a 2016 study from Stanford University that indicated ethnic studies programs improved attendance by 21 percentage points, GPA by 1.4 grade points and credits earned by 23. I spent a lot of time doing a deep dive into my issue, reading studies, newspaper articles, and op-eds about Asian American history curriculum. Then, I started researching and reaching out to other organizations like Asian American Lead, the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) DC chapter, and the Chinese Cultural and Community Service Center (CCACC). From there, I started learning about how to testify for bills related to Asian American history, which I’m hoping to do this year.

However, the venture that I’m more focused on right now is an intergenerational project called the Inkstone Project. Having made connections with organizations like the CCACC was really impactful because I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing now.

Tell me more about the Inkstone Project! We’ve heard you’ve really invested your time into this project over the summer.

I think I used all the skills I learned during LearnServe to start and launch my project over the summer, including keeping in touch with my background. I realized that there weren’t many intergenerational opportunities to connect with elders.

So, with my younger brother and a couple of friends, we ran a program at the CCACC where we interviewed around 100 seniors. We invited students to come and learn from the seniors and their personal histories. It was great for the seniors to see the enthusiasm of the youth.

We’re hoping to expand this to other senior centers, as this was a pilot project at the CCACC. We are developing a website to share these interviews as well as beginning social media accounts. However, a lot of these interviews are meant to be just about intergenerational connections.

I’ve recruited a lot of people from my own school to run DC programs and conduct interviews in DC.? We’ve also tried to expand to different areas in New Jersey and also have someone writing from West Virginia.

I’m still interested in Asian American history, as I explored during the Fellows program. But now, I’m more interested in interpersonal Asian American history, such as connecting with seniors who tell their histories. I’m trying to work with the Organization of Chinese Americans to write/testify for a bill about Asian American history in Maryland public schools.

That’s so wonderful. Could you expand a bit more on your experience in the Fellows program and how that might have influenced what you do now?

The Fellows program taught me a lot of skills and to reflect on my past. What really inspired my Fellows venture was my grandparents who helped raise me. Growing up, they would tell me folktales, and we just spent a lot of time together.?

My grandparents left the US to go to China, and when they wanted to come back, COVID-19 hit. So, there was this period of time when I didn’t have connection to my grandparents, and I was really reminiscing on time spent with them.

When I think back to my Fellows journey, a large part of the experience was just learning a lot of skills. I remember my first conversation with Scott (LearnServe’s CEO) was that at the end of the day, even if my venture doesn’t go super far, the skills are more important. I can use them for the rest of my life, and start future ventures like the Inkstone Project.

With the Fellows program, you’re on a tighter deadline because you only have a year to complete it. I think the most important part of the experience was the skills I learned and the ways to start a venture step-by-step.

LearnServe offers a lot of events including the elevator pitch event and the gala at the end of the year. Those were great opportunities to express my venture to other people. One of the most impactful parts of the experience was being able to express ideas to leaders in your community, get feedback, and hear what people think about your project. You pitch in front of reviewers but also in front of a large audience. I think LearnServe really covered each part of a venture process, from pitching, to how to start a venture, and all the parts in between.

That’s wonderful! You shared so much about taking the skills you’ve learned at LearnServe into future projects. Did you feel like you also developed personally in some ways, such as in your confidence and leadership skills?

Definitely. I would say LearnServe definitely increased my confidence. A lot of the time you have ideas, but you’re not sure what people think about them. LearnServe really puts your ideas out there. If you have to give an elevator pitch in front of 100 people, or you go to a gala or pitch in front of judges, you really get feedback from them. A lot of them affirm your ideas and believe it’s an important issue. I think having their affirmation from others and hearing their support from the LearnServe community boosts your confidence and makes you more confident about what you’re advocating for.

I think a lot of times when you’re passionate about something, it can be easy to worry about whether it’s a real issue or not. Having the affirmation from all your friends, peers, and LearnServe leaders makes you feel more confident in yourself and your ideas.

The other skill I learned was being proactive and taking initiative. Since you have a deadline and a year to launch your project, you have to push and push. LearnServe sets these deadlines for you throughout the program, and that helps you to be proactive about your project.

Do you think any of this work with Fellows or the Inkstone Project has informed or refined what you want to do in the future?

My college major is still undecided, but I plan to major or minor in Asian American studies in some way. Throughout this process, I’ve learned so much more about Asian American history and advocacy and also the Asian American experience in the US among peers, locals, and Chinese immigrants.