Youth4AM Leadership Program 2025

At Youth4AM, we are committed to offering our Teaching Assistants (TAs) the best opportunities for growth, learning, and skill development. We hope this program serves as a gateway to many exciting future opportunities. Spots are limited, and we’re accepting applications on a rolling basis, so be sure to apply soon!  Email youth4am@gmail.com after submitting your application if you apply after May 31, 2025. 

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Youth4AM is a five-year leadership development program aimed at nurturing future leaders, offered by the New York Residents Alliance (NYRA), a federally registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Our program not only equips high school students with essential soft and hard skills for college and career readiness, but also emphasizes the importance of community service, encouraging students to uphold integrity and contribute to the well-being of future generations. We inspire youth to embrace their dual identities, express their voices in American democracy, and take pride in promoting diligence, progress, and familial harmony. In our commitment to making high-quality test prep accessible, our SHSAT summer camp is offered at a rate significantly lower than other comparable programs.

We not only teach forward-looking soft and hard skills to prepare high school students for college and careers, but we also advocate for community service so students can uphold integrity and benefit our community for future generations to come. We inspire youth to promote their dual identities, to voice their opinions in American democracy, and display their pride by promoting diligence, progress, and familial harmony. In an effort to offer affordable high quality test prep to all, our SHSAT summer camp is at a rate significantly lower than other comparable programs on the market. 

Watch Youth4AM’s Mission Statement!

  1. Youth4AM is the only FREE five-year, high-quality youth leadership development program.
  2. We teach both tangible and soft skills such as writing, public speaking, social media marketing, data analysis, project management, teamwork, and leadership, all aimed at ensuring long-term success in college and future careers.
  3. Participating in Youth4AM enhances students’ college applications through valuable community-based extracurricular activities, real-life experience-inspired content for essays and resumes, as well as opportunities for recommendations, PVSA (Presidential Volunteer Service Award), senator certifications, awards, and more.
  4. We also provide paid opportunities for high school and college students, or recent graduates under 24, in fields such as digital marketing, IT, project management, and tutoring through SYEP, Ladders for Leaders, and NYRA.

Our members are admitted to prestigious colleges such as Harvard University, Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Michigan, New York University, SUNY, etc. Youth4AM has been recognized and/or certified by many local elected officials including Mayor Eric Adams, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, New York City Council Member Linda Lee, Sandra Ung, Congresswoman Grace Meng, State Senator John Liu, State Senator Toby Ann Starviski, State Senator Andrew Gounardes, State Assemblyman William Colton, State Assemblyman Edward Braunstein, State Assemblyman Ron Kim, etc.

There are 30 classes in total. Youth4AM’s classes will take place VIRTUALLY over Zoom.

The Zoom link will be posted on Google Classroom and in the Youth4AM Discord server.

WARMUP SESSIONS: Saturday, May 31, 2025, to Saturday, June 28, 2025, Five Saturdays, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

DAILY SESSIONS: Monday, July 7, 2025, to Friday, August 8, 2025, Five weeks, Mondays through Fridays, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM 

VIRTUAL OPENING CEREMONY on Monday, July 7, 2025 

VIRTUAL CLOSING CEREMONY on Saturday, August 9, 2025

PAID 1-ON-1 TUTOR:

  • After the summer camp ends for the year, TAs exemplifying excellent behavior have the opportunity to get paid through providing one-on-one tutoring to students whose parents are requesting extra help. 
  • TAs who received a score of excellent in their evaluations (AFTER/NEAR THE END of the summer program)
  • When the application comes out later in the program, you will indicate your hours and days of availability for tutoring between the end of Youth4AM’s sessions on 8/10/2025 to before the start of the SHSAT test.

SYEP:

  • Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) connects NYC youth between the ages of 14 and 24 with career exploration opportunities and paid work experiences each summer. SYEP allows you to be paid for the work you do for Youth4AM.
  • You must submit ANOTHER application, not just through Youth4AM, but through SYEP too: https://application.nycsyep.com/. Apply before February 28, 2025.
  • Prospective TAs from 14 up to the age of 24
  • When applying to SYEP, select Chinese American Planning Council – Manhattan and Chinese American Planning Council – Queens as your top two providers, no matter where you reside. Order doesn’t matter.
  • SYEP chooses participants by lottery.

SPREAD THE WORD!

We would like to reach as many people as possible. Please encourage your friends to apply and have your referrals list your name in the  “How did you learn about our program?” field in the application. We will take that into account as part of your evaluation.

Additionally, if you would like to be in the same group as a friend, put each other’s name in the “TA Group Preferences” field. We will do our best to honor your request.

We welcome everyone to join the parents’ WeChat group to ask questions to previous year’s parents. Scan the QR code below, and our WeChat administrator will add you to the group.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at youth4am@gmail.com.

POSITIONREQUIREMENTSDESCRIPTIONSKILLS LEARNED (CUMULATIVE)
TAHigh School Freshman and Sophomores
  • Assist instructors during live sessions and manage students’ attendance and class behavior
  • Tutor students in ELA and/or Math and evaluate their performances before providing feedback for improvements weekly
  • Create weekly score reports for parent
  • Time Management (Learn to adjust to increased responsibilities and how to prioritize tasks)
  • Communication (Learn business etiquette and writing in emails, letters, etc.)
  • Interpersonal (Learn to develop listening skills and work in a team setting)
  • Public Speaking (Classes with experienced professors and presentation assignments)
  • Organization (Creating presentations, lesson plans, and homework plans)
  • Hard Skills (Excel, Google Sheet, data analysis)
TA LeaderHigh School Sophomores (if they performed well previously) and Juniors

Assume responsibility for two roles: TA Leader and Project Team Member

TA Leader

  • Allocate and oversee the work of a group of 5-10 TAs and their students
  • Responsible for keeping their group on task and evaluating and providing feedback for TAs and students weekly

Project Team Member

  • Collaborate with project team members to complete team deliverables
  • Leadership (Combination of being responsible and having organization skills and interpersonal skills)
  • Conducting Meetings (Learn to create meeting agendas and hold efficient and effective meetings)
  • Conflict Management (Understand how to resolve issues between students, TAs, and parents in their group. 
  • Feedback (Learn to review and critique content)
  • Organization (Including working with spreadsheets)
TA ManagerHigh School Juniors (if they performed well previously) and Seniors
  • Includes: Academic Team Manager, Marketing Team Manager, IT Team Manager. Funding Team Manager, and Future Team Manager
  • Lead project team with TA Leaders as team members
  • Train and guide TA Leaders in their responsibilities
  • Leadership (Expand on leadership experience as a TA Leader)
  • Strategical Thinking (Learn to think ahead, manage deadlines, and keep track of team progress)
  • Project Management (Learn to organize, communicate, and execute projects with a team efficiently)
  • Program Logistics (Begin working with program leaders in planning for overall administration)
TA DirectorHigh School Seniors, College Students
  • Oversee all TAs, TA Leaders, and TA Managers for all program logistics 
  • Manages team projects
  • Report to Project Directors
  • Leadership (Expand on leadership experience as TA Director)
  • Program Logistics (Take a bigger part in program planning and execution, including events, recruitment, etc)
  • Communication (Greater degree of communication with all positions)
  • Taking Initiatives (Learn to make appropriate decisions, oversee projects, and ensure the program runs smoothly)
Program DirectorCollege Students
  • Oversee program logistics by collaborating across teams and NYRA staff to ensure consistent communication and maximize efficiency
  • Manage TA Leadership Team and Project Teams by delegating responsibilities and providing feedback to successfully run Youth4AM
  • Leadership (Expand on leadership experience as Program Director)
  • Program Logistics (Take a bigger part in program planning and execution, including events, recruitment, etc)
  • Communication (Greater degree of communication with all positions)
  • Taking Initiatives (Learn to make appropriate decisions, oversee projects, and ensure the program runs smoothly)

Testimonials

"It’s rare to see many like-minded driven individual working together, but I was able to experience this through Youth4AM. It was extremely rewarding to work with Youth4AM tutors and supervisors who work to positively impact the Asian American community and support the culture of paying it forward!"
Kristie
Program Director / Cornell University
“As I read more about [Youth4AM’s] history and their mission, I realized that our values of diligence and self-improvement align. I saw myself thriving in a meritocratic environment where I could assist students and grow as an individual. Over the past 6 weeks, I learned many applicable soft skills, namely leadership and teamwork… I have felt myself gain confidence and grow into a leader.”
Jacky
IT Manager / Stuyvesant High School
“At the time, there was much controversy surrounding legislation to ban the SHSAT. As an Asian American student at a specialized high school, I’ve been looking for ways to help my community. Throughout the course of the program, my responsibilities included moderating the morning teaching sessions with Mr. Gregory and working with my fellow TAs to help students review homework and mock tests.”
Kira
Teacher Assistant / Queens High School for the Science at York College
"In these last 6 weeks, I experienced how it feels to be a teacher and I realized why teachers like teaching in general. It’s because seeing someone’s growth is a feeling unmatched by any other. Students may have initial struggles with solving certain questions and, as their TA, it’s my duty to teach them a strategy so that next time they would be able to do it by themselves. Seeing this idea come to reality through my students’ improvements in their homework and mock tests makes me feel extremely proud.”
Nicholas
Teacher Assistant / Hunter College High School
“Seeing how much effort the students have put to improve their SHSAT score, it has inspired me to work hard this summer as well. It was through this program that I have once again learned the balance between work and break and the power of time management. These 6 weeks have been an enjoyable opportunity and I will miss this experience once the school year starts again.”
Kevin
Teacher Assistant / Bronx High School of Science

Past Leadership

  • TA Directors: Erica Liu(New York University)
  • Admin and Marketing Director: Andre Wang (Stuyvesant High School)
  • IT Director: Jennifer Chen (Bronx High Shcool of Science)
  • Academic Director: Wendy Wang (Stony Brook University)
  • Academic Manager: Jeremy Shiu (Great Neck North High School),Vicky Lin (University of Rochester), Yvonne Fong (University of Rochester)
  • TA Directors: Jefford Shau (Stuyvesant High School)
  • Admin Manager: Emily Tong (Manhattan School of Music)
  • IT Manager: Jennifer Chen (Bronx High School of Science)
  • Academic Manager: Adrian Shin (Great Neck North High School), Chehui (Carol) Xu (Stuyvesant High School)
  • Marketing Manager: Erica Liu (Stuyvesant High School), Shiqi Chen (Stuyvesant High School)
  • Program Manager: Edward Wu (Stuyvesant High School)
  • TA Directors: Jefford Shau (Stuyvesant High School), Ethan Lam (Stuyvesant High School), Anna Fang (Stuyvesant High School), Eric Shau (Carnegie Mellon University)
  • Admin Manager: Stanley Zheng (Stuyvesant High School)
  • IT Manager: Shanell Zou (Stuyvesant High School), Christopher Chin (Stuyvesant High School)
  • Academic Manager: Zihan (Max) Zeng (Stuyvesant High School), Emily Hsu (Bronx High School of Science), Sabrina Chen (Stuyvesant High School)
  • Marketing Manager: Priscilla Xu (Bronx High School of Science), Katherine Zhao (Stuyvesant High School)
  • Program Directors: Kristie Chu (Cornell University), Clara Lam (Carnegie Mellon University)
  • TA Directors: Matthew Hui (Cornell University), Edward Wu (Stuyvesant High School), Ethan Lam (Stuyvesant High School)
  • Admin Manager: Jefford Shau (Stuyvesant High School)
  • IT Manager: Jacky Chen (Stuyvesant High School), Eric Shau (Carnegie Mellon University)
  • Academic Manager: Matthew Hui (Cornell University), Edward Wu (Stuyvesant High School)
  • Marketing Manager: Vicky Liu (Stuyvesant High School), Priscilla Xu (Bronx High School of Science), Katherine Zhao (Stuyvesant High School)
  • College and Career Development: Ethan Lam (Stuyvesant High School)
  • TA Directors: Matthew Hui (Cornell University), Edward Wu (Stuyvesant High School), Ethan Lam (Stuyvesant High School)
  • Admin Manager: Jefford Shau (Stuyvesant High School)
  • IT Manager: Jacky Chen (Stuyvesant High School), Eric Shau (Carnegie Mellon University)
  • Academic Manager: Matthew Hui (Cornell University), Edward Wu (Stuyvesant High School)
  • Marketing Manager: Vicky Liu (Stuyvesant High School), Priscilla Xu (Bronx High School of Science) 
  • Future Conference: Ethan Lam (Stuyvesant High School)
  • TA Directors: Clara Lam (Carnegie Mellon University), Kristie Chu (Cornell University)
  • Academic Managers: Matthew Hui (Stuyvesant High School), Edward Wu (Stuyvesant High School)
  • Marketing Managers: Melanie Ng (Harvard University), Vicky Liu (Stuyvesant High School)
  • Future Conference: Ethan Lam (Stuyvesant High School)
  • IT Manager: Jacky Chen (Stuyvesant High School), Jeanna Chen (Brooklyn Tech), Eric Shau (Carnegie Mellon University)
  • TA Director: Kevin Chen (Cornell University)