While orientation week in its entirety was of greatest fulfillment, I was deeply fascinated by the activities on Day 3 of the retreat. At the start of the day, we started with engaging in an activity conducted by Steve called “Root Cause Analysis.” This activity aimed to critically divide the symptoms and precursors of a particular issue/phenomenon actively occurring in society. For example, my group collectively focused on the situational circumstances and lingering effects of the inaccessibility to Asian American Studies in higher education. As an Asian American Studies major, I constantly pursue more courses that diversify my educational experience. Most of the courses taught at my school, Stanford University, focus on a deeper understanding of the basic introductory lessons tied to Asian American Studies. It was not until taking a course on the influence of Sexual Violence in Asian America during the Spring quarter of my sophomore year that I was able to recognize how Asian American experiences can be understood from a variety of perspectives, ones that often and purposefully, reject Asian Americans from the narrative. This toppled on the pre-existing issue of the lack of funding for the Ethnic Studies department inspired me to address the problem more directly. Essentially, it is my future; and that is on the line. The three parts of root-cause analysis are:
Leaves, which are the symptoms of the issue.
Trunk, which are the more policy-related and conceptual causes of the issue.
Root, which are the systemic-based causes of the issue.
CLA Interns Phong Nguyen, Olivia Sieve, Andrea Mac, and Naya Dukkipati during a root cause analysis activity.
The necessity and beauty of this activity was that it allowed us, the leaders in our communities, to recognize that most of our work cannot be done overnight. There is not an end-all solution, and there cannot be. I constantly imagine that to prevent the issues that impact me the most from becoming ongoing, I resort to confronting the ultimate solutions–the root causes. However, these root causes, racism, white supremacy, and/or colonialism, cannot be solved overnight. When young leaders rely on focusing on these problems to address the issues they are fighting for, there is a much greater likelihood that there will be intense burnout. As human beings, we are innately drawn to rewards. By concentrating on the trunk causes of the issue (e.g., bills that we can provide amendments to), we can find more rewarding avenues towards solving a problem. We can solve long-term matters by focusing on short-term ones. As a passionate advocate for centering advocacy around community-centered care, I find it necessary to ensure that the labor we expect ourselves, and others, to put out is treated with kindness and understanding. As Dr. May Lin had mentioned the day prior:
“Some of us get to the top by performing how we’re supposed to get there.”
Conceptualizations of “the top” do not involve definitions of community. Leadership, which has manifested into the singular, must expand outwards. “The top” can and should include the community. Sustaining communities goes a long way, but it must be invested from the beginning of a community’s formation. The intimate activity that was walking through the Japanese Gardens with a peer and getting to know them, outside of how they operate as a leader, but how they exist as a person, was something I greatly appreciated. While thinking about care and sustainability, there is immense pressure to dive head first into the intense work with those you do not know. However, I stress the importance of understanding and connecting with those working alongside you. Even by listening to a partner’s stories of upbringing and goals, you can witness firsthand the reasons for their gravitation towards a particular field. Not only this, but you can detonate the identity of “robotic” that you might have placed onto them. By seeing them as human, there is greater weight in your work with them. These are the activities that sustain communities.
Interns Phong Nguyen and Coby Nguyen bonding during a stroll in the Japanese Gardens at CSU Long Beach.
I had a great time getting to know my partner, Coby Nguyen, in contexts outside of the workplace environment. We connected over the tensions we claimed with Vietnamese affinity groups and our passions for utilizing entertainment as a mode of social justice advocacy. We talked about potentially working on our small project together outside of CAUSE. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to engage in such conversions with Coby and the rest of my peers throughout the week. I feel ready to tackle the project-based aspects of this program with them. What was once a nervous and anxiety-inducing environment has transformed into one of comfort.
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the views or positions of CAUSE or the CAUSE network.
Written by Phong Nguyen, Leadership Academy 2023 Intern.
The CAUSE Leadership Academy (CLA) for students is a nine-week, paid, internship program that prepares college undergraduates to lead and advocate for the Asian Pacific Islander community on their campuses and beyond.