FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Board of Directors at the Austin Chinese-American Network (ACAN) is thrilled to introduce the outstanding students who have claimed various medals across three distinct award categories. This celebration underscores the remarkable achievements of ACAN Youth and the unwavering dedication of our Board in supporting and nurturing the next generation as we continue to advance our mission of “Serving our community and Fostering our heritage.”
The ACAN Star Leadership Award (ASLA) stands as the premium recognition in the Greater Austin area for young individuals who have exhibited remarkable initiative, leadership, and a commitment to leveraging their talents and skills to make a positive impact on our community.
The ASLA review committee, comprising ACAN’s board of directors and dedicated parent volunteers, thoroughly assesses each application, analyzing their leadership qualities and community impact. We are pleased to announce the 2023 ACAN Star Leadership Award recipients:
Individual Award Category
Gold: Gloria Wu
Silver: Adriana Cheng, Eric Gong, Ryan Gu
Bronze: Claire Deng, Kalia Wang, Joshua Wu
Honorable Mention: Annie Zhu, Benjamin Li, Evelyn Liu, Qiyun Zhou, Sophia Tang
Team Award Category
Project Melody, Gold, led by Adriana Cheng, Evelyn Liu, Iris Chen, Lerchen Zhong, Alex Zhong, Annie Zhu, Jason Li and Dalton Ma.
Project Rise Together, Gold, led by Gloria Wu, Angela Yue, Matthew Rao and Benjamin Li
Austin Debate Institute, Bronze, led by Eric Gong, Ayush Tripathi, Kate Ren, Kate Peckham, Vince Pham, Tracy Li, Pranav Balakrishnan and Silas Ou
Our awardees will receive not only well-deserved trophies and certificates but also Amazon Gift Cards in the following amounts:
Individual Awards: Gold $1000; Silver $600; Bronze $300; Honorable Mention $50
Team Awards: Gold $1000; Silver $600; Bronze $400
The President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) is a prestigious accolade across the United States, recognizing the dedication and hours each volunteer devotes to positive causes. ACAN’s Youth Committee diligently verifies volunteer hours by cross-referencing claimed hours with records on GivePulse. We emphasize the importance of ACAN volunteers having their own GivePulse accounts to log hours for both ACAN and non-ACAN service projects.
Our PVSA medalists, categorized by age and hours of service, have collectively contributed a remarkable 5125 hours to our community this year. We congratulate them all!
Gold Category (23)
Aaron Gu, Adriana Cheng, Alexander Zhong, Annie Zhu, Ashley Xu, Benjamin Cai, Benjamin Li, Claire Deng, Evelyn Liu, Gloria Wu, Iris Chen, James He, Jasmine Sun, Jason Li, Jiatong Gao, Joshua Wu, Kalia Wang, Katherine Liu, Phylicia Ren, Qiyun Zhou, Ryan Gu, Vincent Cao, Yujie Zhang
Silver Category (3)
Andrew Han, Ava Gu, Eric Gong
Bronze Category (9)
Alissa Shen, David Gu, Derek Shen, Lerchen Zhong, Shannon Lin, Sophia Li, Sophia Tang, Tracy Li, Yincheng Qian
Each PVSA winner will be honored with a medallion, a personalized certificate of achievement, and a letter signed by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is a globally recognized program that equips young people with life and work skills. Since ACAN’s initiation of this program in 2021, dedicated youth have persevered in their pursuit of goals in service, physical fitness, skills, as well as adventurous journeys and Residential Projects for Gold participants. Their dedication has borne fruit, and we proudly present our first three students approved to receive Gold awards:
Gloria Wu, Gold
Jessica Li, Gold
Rihanna Lyu, Gold
As fall ushers in a bountiful season, we celebrate the multitude of young individuals who have enriched our community. Our heartfelt congratulations go out to these remarkable award winners. We extend our invitation to more youth to participate or initiate their own projects and express our gratitude to parents and mentors for their steadfast support.
Each award winner will soon receive an email detailing when and how they can collect their awards. ACAN will also host an award ceremony to publicly honor these exceptional young achievers!
If you are interested in applying for these awards next year, you will need to be an ACAN member. Please go to ACAN website to register: https://austinchineseamericannetwork.org/membership-account/membership-levels/
For inquiries or suggestions, please contact us at youth@acantx.org.