From left: David Hinson, former National Director of Minority Business Development Agency, US Department of Commerce, Chiling Tong, ILF CEO; Sean Fisher, ILF Fellow; Congresswoman Amata Radewagen; Joel Szabat, ILF Founder; and Farook Sait, ILF Honorary National Advisor, pose for a photo at the ILF Civic Fellow graduation ceremony of 2016 in Washington last Friday. Photos provided to China Daily

As a small minority of the US population, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) have historically had a small voice in the country's government leadership. However, the next generation is working toward improving the community's standing.

"We need a greater representation of our community in government, and International Leadership Foundation's (ILF) goal is to train a new generation of successful leaders in their chosen fields and raise our community's profile as engaged American citizens who deserve to have our voices heard," said Chiling Tong, CEO of the ILF, a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington.

July 29 marked the ILF 2016 Civic Fellowship Graduation Ceremony, one of the nation's most prestigious civic leadership development programs, designed specifically to foster the next generation of AAPI leaders.

This year, the ILF accepted 26 undergraduates from across the nation into the civic fellowship program hosted in Washington. During their eight weeks with the foundation, the undergraduate students interned in various government agencies, being mentored by the nation's academic, community and political leaders.

This year's class is part of a 16-year history of ILF civic fellowships, consisting of over 400 undergraduate students mentored through this program. Each fellow is assigned an internship during his or her eight-week tenure, based on interests expressed in his or her application.

For example, Julia Duong, a Vietnamese student studying business at University of Michigan interned with the Minority Business Development Agency at the US Department of Commerce for eight weeks during her fellowship.

The ILF has matched students with positions in over 30 government agencies and departments, including the White House and US Senate.

The program has seen much success in grooming the next generation of business and community leaders. Jennifer Hsu, a 2005 ILF fellow, is the co-founder of Clairvoyant Technologies Inc, an innovative research company serving the federal government and commercial clients with a focus on systems engineering and design, scientific services, and information management solutions.

Congresswoman Amata Radewagen speaks to the ILF graduating fellows about staying passionate about one’s work and the importance of community in Washington last Friday.

"ILF's true value lies not simply in the internship that it provides, but also in the unique opportunities for each student to learn something new every day, have lunch with prominent officials and inspiring leaders, explore a city that is teeming with our country's history and culture, and make incredible friends for life," said Hsu. "Today, three years later, I have started my own company and continue to work very closely with the government, and am in contact with the network I built in 2005. Regardless of where you choose to live, I feel that ILF empowers you with transferable knowledge and skills you can leverage in any field. "

Aside from their internship, the group of ILF fellows attended conferences around Washington to gain a better understanding of the broader challenges and issues the AAPI community is facing.

Sean Fisher, an international studies major at Boston College, wrote about his experiences in a blog post to the ILF website after attending a conference on elections and the AAPI community, a theme that AAPI political leaders have stressed the importance of in recent months.

"While all this positive change gives hope to the AAPI community, we must realize that broad and diverse coalitions involving all minority groups are needed in order to advance real and meaningful change in today's world," wrote Fisher. "When minority groups are able to achieve such solidarity, then all the diverse ways in which one can provide public service are able to make the biggest impact possible."

After eight weeks of hard work and dedication, these ILF fellows were each rewarded with a $2,000 scholarship and an experience filled with life lessons to carry with them for the rest of their lives.

US Congresswoman Amata Radewagen attended the graduation ceremony and gave some wise words of departure to the bright-eyed futureleaders. After a touching anecdote about her journey into Congress, Radewagen reminded the fellows to "Make sure to stay in touch with the three most important things in life: love your God, love your work, and love your people."

The future is bright for these young individuals and their communities, as AAPIs continue to search for a greater voice and leadership for the future.