The CCAD Lab Youth Advisory Board (YAB) consists of a group of high school and early college youth interested in research, action projects, and peer-led initiatives that advance our understanding of the experiences of Asian American and ally communities. We focus on topics such as family and peer relationships, mental health, identity development, and civic engagement.
1) YAB member: Kate Huang
About Me:
I am strongly passionate about racial and cultural advocacy. At my school, I lead the Asian Student Union, where I host cultural events to educate and immerse students in Asian culture. Aside from my cultural identity, I am the founder and leader of the Model United Nations club at my school, where I help club members prepare for competitive conferences. I also enjoy playing soccer, squash, lacrosse, and the piano! Above all, I strongly enjoy writing, and write both for fun, for competitions, and for my school’s newspaper.
Project Overview: My project is a self-built website that surrounds the topic of the Model Minority Myth, where pieces of mixed media are all displayed to educate audiences. On the Archive of the Month page, a selected topic is chosen with self-curated pieces of writing and artwork. Asian American youth, between the ages of 11-18, will be invited to submit to the website under the selected issue through forms of creative expression. Moreover, the website allows public submissions to be highlighted on the website’s monthly showcase.
The Asian American Archive
Website Link: https://readymag.website/u3957463196/5637450/5/
Archive your story, we’ll amplify your voice!
This project is created and led by our YAB member, Kate.
At the Asian American Archive, your voice matters. We deeply value Asian American voices and encourage them to not go unheard. Through creative expression, your voice will represent the Asian American experience.
Archive Our Voices. Shape the Future. Archive What Matters. Our archive is now.
Each month on the Archive, an issue that impacts Asian Americans will be selected. This month, the Model Minority Myth has been selected. Asian American youth, between the ages of 11-18, will be invited to submit to the website, under the selected issue, through forms of creative expression.
2) YAB member: Yamu Xi
About Me:
Ni howdy, I’m Yamu (Yǎ-mù), Beijing-born and Philly suburbs raised. I joined the YAB at the beginning of junior year of high school, and it has allowed me to meet a bunch of passionate people and grow my understanding of inclusivity and diversity. Some of my hobbies include volleyball, cello, and drinking tea. I plan to continue AAPI-focused research and to be active in Asian and cultural celebration organizations in college. A potential career path that I’m looking into is integrative medicine (allotropic medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine), which I believe is a really nice way for me to potentially integrate my interests in liberal arts and STEM fields.
Project Overview:
Hyphen-Nation: A Chinese-American Memoir in Essays and Poetry
“To be hyphenated is to be told you are both everything and nothing at all.”
In this piercing and lyrical debut, Yamu Xi unravels the paradox of belonging in America when your body is a battleground of cultures. Hyphen-Nation is a genre-defying exploration of identity, stitching together raw memoir, political critique, and breathtaking poetry to examine what it means to live in the hyphen between Chinese and American.
Research Project:
Yamu also completed a mixed-method research project surrounding the acculturation gap and family conflict in Chinese American parents and adolescents. He presented these findings at a Youth Public Health Symposium hosted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the Spring of 2026.
3) YAB member: Erin Dela Cruz
Erin Dela Cruz is a Filipino-American filmmaker based in Los Angeles and a second-year college student at El Camino College. She is currently majoring in Film. When she was 17 she co-directed a short film documentary called, “All You Need Is Less.” The short film documentary discusses the consequences of fast fashion and overconsumption, specifically the harms it has to women all over the world. “All You Need Is Less” recently got nominated for an Emmy award under the category, “Outstanding Short Form Life Action.” Along with her passion for filmmaking and spreading awareness about sustainable fashion, she is also passionate about spreading awareness about the importance of representation, specifically within the AAPI community. Growing up, it was rare for her to see Filipinos or Asians in general on television; as she further her career and education in film, she became more motivated to represent our community and hopefully serve as the representation for young Filipino Asian kids who are growing up just like she did.
Current YAB Members:
Kate Huang
Yamu Xi
Erin Dela Cruz
Topher Ko
JJ Hessler
Ella Wang
Veronica Park
Interested in joining the YAB?
Contact us:
cccadlab@umbc.edu
YAB coordinators:
Xue Fang Deng (xdeng2@umbc.edu)
Tala Barias (talabarias@gmail.com)