By EMI FONG, RISING STARS 20 PARTICIPANT

The Rising Stars Youth Leadership Program is a five-month leadership program with the focus of enabling Asian American high school students to develop lifetime skills, establish a deeper sense of cultural awareness, and better their community. Through workshops ranging from “Team Dynamics” to “Speaking with Purpose,’’ the Rising Stars 20 participants have developed a multitude of leadership skills.

As a test of these skills, the RS20 group was tasked with organizing a miniature golf tournament to raise funds for the next generation of the program.

The predicted rain for Saturday, March 2 at Camelot Golfland in Anaheim did not deter the supporters of the Rising Stars program. Despite the stormy weather, attendees of the golf tournament were in great spirits, and the tournament continued.

After a thrilling game, six winners were crowned. Rising Stars extends their congratulations
to the champion of the adult competition, Justin Sato. Hiroyaki Sato and Maya Kashiwamura tied for second, and Kevin Endow placed third. Catherine T. came in first in
the youth category, followed by second and third-place winners Selah Shimazaki and
So Hart.

After the golfing ended, guests were moved inside, where they enjoyed an all-you-can-eat pizza lunch. emcees Audrey Nishida and Mason Oku presented their thoughts about their experiences in the program and what they learned in the past five months.

Nishida shared, “Rising Stars has taught me invaluable lessons about how to network, how to speak with purpose, and how to identify my cultural values. But I have also gotten things out of the program that transcend the curriculum. Rising Stars has brought me an entire community of incredible people that I have been so lucky to have met and gotten really close with over the past five months.”

Oku expressed his passion for the program saying, “I really like the workshops that we do each session. I look forward to seeing all the friends that I have made and improving myself. I feel like I grow as a person every time I walk out of the program.”To make the tournament possible, Rising Stars 20 members joined sub-committees that were each in charge of organizing various aspects of the event. Spokespersons from each committee spoke about what they learned from the program and what their committee did to make the tournament happen. Kalea of the Logistics and Scheduling Committee said, “The role of our committee was to plan out the tournament, and in the process, we have learned a very important lesson: how to coordinate with our peers.” Madison Fujioka, spokesperson of the

Publicity Committee, said, “I really learned about communication since it is so important, especially when everyone has such a large part to play, and you have to communicate in order for events to run smoothly.”

With the help of Rising Stars alumni parent and board member Atsuko Fisher, Rising Stars was able to host golfers from the JSPACC, the Japanese Speaking Parents Association of Children with Challenges, to share a day of fun through the Rising Stars alumni buddy program with the children in their program.

Following lunch, the Rising Stars 20 members conducted the raffle, another part of the fundraiser. The Raffle Committee, led by Julia Wong, prepared the prizes and announced the winners. Among the top prize winners were Nancy Ota, Joshua Belda, and Linda Niizawa. Nancy Ota won the first-place prize, a fifty-five-inch smart TV. The second-place prize of two Disneyland tickets went to Joshua Belda, and Linda Niizawa won a beautiful gift card basket as the third-place prize.

With enthusiasm, Yoshiko Mendoza, a member of RS20, said, “The golf tournament was so much fun! I wish I could relive it. Despite the rain, we still made the most out of the golf tournament! In fact, even though it rained, it only served as a small inconvenience. I made so many fun memories with the other RS20 people. It was one of my highlights of 2024 and I hope I can return next year with my RS20 friends and golf.”

Members of RS20 showed resilience and determination despite the challenging weather and made use of their teamwork and assertiveness throughout the planning and conducting of the fundraiser event. The golf tournament was a terrific way for the Rising Stars 20 participants to both showcase the skills they acquired because of the program and to share their appreciation by fundraising for the future participants of the Rising Stars 21 Youth Leadership Program.

Here’s to the next generation of young Japanese American leaders!

For more information, contact Gail Matsui at matsui.risingstars@gmail. com or visit the Rising Stars Program website: www.risingstarsylp.org.

Emi Fong is in the 10th grade at South Pasadena High School.

The Rising Stars Leadership Program, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is open to high school students interested in learning leadership skills and about the Japanese American community. The program started in October 2023 and ends in April 2024.

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