A new school year begins. Students are fumbling in the halls, searching for their classrooms and meeting new teachers and classmates. However, one thing remains unchanged: advisories.

Advisories are a place to develop long-lasting relationships with peers. For the Asian American community, this is where the AAPI Leadership and Affinity Program (LEAP) comes in.

LEAP is a pilot affinity advisory that provides a space for Asian American students to explore their identity. The program allows Asian American students to have conversations surrounding race, careers and academics with Asian peers.

Sydney Hou, a freshman history teacher and one of the LEAP advisers, welcomed members to brainstorm ways to utilize the affinity space.

“Students really wanted to share their own stories which I think is important to a lot of Asian Americans, since we don’t always have the space to do that,” Hou said. “Students also really wanted to talk about what Asian American activism can look like at Brookline High.”

Hou said students who identify as a minority may struggle with addressing serious topics in their normal advisory. Therefore, she hopes that LEAP creates an environment for Asian Americans to comfortably engage in these conversations.

“It can be hard for some students, when they are the minority in advisory, to have to feel like they have to share their experience,” Hou said. “This advisory is so important because it sends a message and carves out a space for Asian American students to feel like they have a space to go to when they need it. They have specific adults in the building who are there to support them, who share their racial identity and who can understand their backgrounds.”

Senior Angela Hughes, a student in LEAP, said the program is important as it provides a space for Asian students born outside of the United States to find people they can relate to.

“There were at least two students in my advisory who both had previously been in school in China that got to discuss with us how school was there,” Hughes said. “When you’re in a new place it’s nice to have people that know your language and probably relate to a lot of the things you’ve done.”

Sophomore Navya Bhimani said she was happy to see the diverse representation of Asians in LEAP, especially South Asians, who she could relate with.

“South Asian – that’s not what people think of when they think of Asians. So a lot of times we’re kind of swept under the rug and forgotten about. When I heard [the program was] designed for Asian students, one of my first thoughts was: they don’t mean me,” Bhimani said. “I was pleasantly surprised when I came to LEAP to see that there were other South Asians, actually a pretty good number of them.”

Senior Michael Ye, another member of LEAP, said the advisory is important because it gives Asian Americans a voice outside of the Asian oriented clubs at the high school.

“Before, other than some clubs, we weren’t able to vocalize ourselves other than through social media where you’re not guaranteed a community,” Ye said. “But with this advisory, everyone’s able to speak their mind, and they have an audience who can talk and reflect with them which I think is super powerful.”

Hou said that the BHS community may often forget that 20 percent of the high school student population identifies as Asian American. Therefore having an affinity program like LEAP is incredibly important for not just the students, but for teachers like her as well.

“It’s incredible to be able to walk into a room of students who identify as Asian American or Asian and to just have comfort knowing we all share something,” Hou said. “We all share something that’s so important to us, whether that’s our culture, our racial identity or our language, that brings us together. It’s the most amazing thing.”

While LEAP is a pilot program with limited capacity, if students are interested in what LEAP is and are seeking AAPI affinity spaces and opportunities, feel free to contact Sydney Hou at [email protected].