Dear Editor,
I understand that other essays written by the 2013 Summer Youth Leadership Program students all cannot be printed due to space issues with the newspaper. However, these SYLP students took the time to come up with a subject matter, and they took the time to write their personal essays. In the past years, the newspaper has been able to print several personal essays from the SYLP participants — way more than the four that were printed in the Sept. 7 – September 13 issue.
One of the main purposes of SYLP is to allow students of Asian descent to stand out through leadership and communication skills training. For the high school seniors, having a published essay listed on their college applications will make a big difference in making the student stand out from the rest of the applicants. My son participated in SYLP back in 2009. His personal essay was printed in the newspaper, and he included a link to it on his college applications. He received a full-tuition scholarship at Santa Clara University in California, where he is now a sophomore. A published work is significant in a student’s college application because it is an accomplishment that is unique.
If the newspaper’s lack of printed space is the case, then the students’ essays can, perhaps, be published online on the nwasianweekly.com website. Kindly reconsider publishing the students’ work in print, or at the least, online on the newspaper’s website.
Thank you so much for your kind consideration.
— Gayle Mayor
Seattle, WA
P.S. My son learned a lot from his participation in the 2009 SYLP. He has kept in touch with the friends that he made at SYLP. My daughter participated in the 2013 SYLP. She is currently a senior in high school. SYLP is a wonderful program — thank you.