Online Educational Talks
Chinese American Parent Association of Howard County (CAPA-HC) has been holding zoom online talks for school age children since April 9, 2020. We want to thank Howard County Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) for sponsoring this activity.
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 919 2484 9263 Passcode: 319498
Weekly Talks 2020
Topic: Know the Risks: Electronic Smoking Devices (ESDs) & Vaping
Time: December 16, 2020 12:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Speaker: Kristen Minor
Ms. Kirsten Minor graduated with her Masters of Public Health (MPH) from Boston University with a concentration in social and behavioral sciences. Her background consists of working with youth and young adults with co-occurring substance use/mental health disorders. She currently serve as a Community Health Educator for the Howard County Health Department within the Bureau of Population Health, and she is passionate about educating communities about holistic health and wellness.
Video: https://youtu.be/tC5OA83u8o8
Topic: Environmental and Climate Justice – What is it and what you can do about it?
Time: December 4, 2020 8 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Speaker: Janssen Evelyn
Janssen E. Evelyn is a Board Member for the Howard County Conservancy, which seeks to educate children and adults about our natural world, preserve the land and model responsible stewardship of our environment and the Co-Chair of the Howard County NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Committee, where he helped spearhead a community garden effort based at the Community Ecological Institute to educate the local community about the importance of nutrient dense foods. He also helps run his church’s garden ministry – which was expanded this year to ensure more veggies could be provided to residents impacted by the pandemic.
Video: https://youtu.be/s0Eda0pZKuk
Topic: Becoming College and Career Ready
Time: November 20, 2020 8 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Speaker: Rachel Lin
Rachel is a recent graduate from the University of California, Berkeley, where she double majored in Cognitive Science and Legal Studies. Rachel currently works full-time at a national intellectual property law firm in their Washington DC office. Having grown up in HCPSS, Rachel is a Howard County native, where she served as the Student Member of the Howard County Board of Education (SMOB) from 2015-2016. In her free time, Rachel builds her college advice and lifestyle personal brand on YouTube, where she has gained over 5,000 subscribers. Additionally, Rachel founded a college application advice and consulting firm called Study Hall College Consulting (www.shcollegeconsulting.com). Rachel and her team of UC Berkeley Consultants review college application essays and consult one-on-one with students and parents who may have questions about the college application process.
Video: https://youtu.be/P9jwLwEiEfg
Topic: Let’s Make a Bouncing Ball!
Time: October 21, 2020 12:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Speaker: Jodie Wang
Suggested Audience: K-6th Graders
Materials needed for the talk: 10 pages of print paper, a pencil, a scissor, a binder clip.
Ms. Jodie Wang is the founder of Wang Art Studio. Born in an artist family, Jodie studied under her father and famous Chinese painter— Zhaoqing Wang. Jodie is also a guest artist of Howard County Library System. Her artwork was chosen for the 2020 HoCo Visionary Woman Exhibition. Her students’ artworks have won county, state and international awards and some of her masterpieces are collected by artistic connoisseurs. Jodie can be reached at jodiewang2002@gmail.com
Video: https://youtu.be/8swx9DyxVKs
Topic: The Ins and Outs of Voting in the General Election 2020
Time: October 9, 2020 08:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Speaker: Cynthia Williams
Suggested Audience: All are welcome
Ms. Cynthia Williams is the President of the Howard County League of Women Voters, where her goal is to get people out and voting. She has a teenaged son attending Glenelg High School. Prior to her role as President, she was a campaign manager, worked as a Legacy Leader in Annapolis, and also volunteered with environmental groups such as Safe Skies and Sierra Club. Before her son was born, she worked as a Technical Writer at Citibank.
Video: https://youtu.be/mGsC_HNrOtc
Topic: Remote Volunteering During COVID
Time: October 2, 2020 08:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Speaker: Sonia Su
Suggested Audience: 6-12th Graders and Parents
Sonia Su is a three-time cancer survivor. She founded the Clarksville-based nonprofit Kits to Heart in May 2020, after she graduated with a Master’s degree from Georgetown University. Sonia helps to distribute cancer kits for patients and their caregivers at hospitals in the Baltimore/Washington Metro Area and nationwide. Sonia is a 2020-21 Ulman Foundation GameChanger honoree and serves as a First Connection volunteer for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Topic: Working with Police 101
Time: September 24, 2020 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: PFC Stella Dieu and CPL Marc Lay
Suggested Audience:: 6-12th graders, adults are welcome too
Cpl Marc Lay has been with Howard County Police Department (HCPD) for almost 21 years. He has worked in Patrol, Special Assignment Section, Executive Protection Unit, Warrant/Fugitive Unit, and is currently in the Community Outreach Section. Pfc Stella Dieu has been with HCPD for over 8 years. She worked dayshift and night shift Patrol and is currently Asian Liaison Officer in the Community Outreach Section. We appreciate the service and dedication of our police officers. We will learn about how police officers handle various situations and how residents can cooperate with police officers to make HoCo a better home for all of us.
Video: https://youtu.be/XD69qfp0PwM
Topic: College Applications During COVID
Time: September 18, 2020 08:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Julia Yang
Suggested Audience:: 9-12th Graders and Parents
Not able to do community service? Extracurricular activities on holding patterns? Can’t visit college campus? Exams have been postponed? Concerned about the effect of last spring’s Pass/Fall grading system? Do not let the pandemic derail your dreams of maximizing your potential and getting a great college education.
In this session, we will explore ways for Howard County high school students to leverage the new block schedule and online resources. We will unpack ways for seniors to stand out and for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors to prepare for academic achievements.
The guest speaker, Julie Yang, is a certified College Admission Specialist by American School Counselor Association. With a Master Degree in Education, Ms. Yang has been in Education for more than 20 years. She is dedicated to helping youth prepare for success and community services.
Topic: AST Series #3 Showcase
Time: September 3, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Isabelle Schwartz, Viola Yu, Maggie Wang, Maggie Ju, Maggie Fan
Suggested Audience:: All are welcome
To Celebrate the hard work of our students this summer in our Virtual Showcase! AST is a student led education program https://www.achievesuccesstogether.org/. It is committed to enriching fellow students’ academic career and offering free classes and tutoring to FARM and ESOL students.
Classes for September 3:
Greek Mythology (Instructor present: Isabelle Schwartz)
Baking (Instructor present: Viola Yu)
Crochet (Instructor present: Maggie Wang)
Creative Writing (Instructor present: Maggie Ju)
Public Speaking (Instructor present: Maggie Fan)
All are 10 mins
Video: https://youtu.be/vOi0l4fQQbE
Topic: AST Series #2 Showcase
Time: August 27, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Richard Zhou, Maggie Wang, David Huang, Peter Wang, Jack Shi
Suggested Audience:: All are welcome
To Celebrate the hard work of our students this summer in our Virtual Showcase! AST is a student led education program https://www.achievesuccesstogether.org/. It is committed to enriching fellow students’ academic career and offering free classes and tutoring to FARM and ESOL students.
Classes for August 27th: Community Service (Instructor present: Richard Zhou) Crochet (Instructor present: Maggie Wang) Movie Editing (Instructor present: David Huang and Peter Wang) Math Competition (Instructor present: Jack Shi) All are 15 mins
Video: https://youtu.be/Hx3CKaz3U6U
Topic: AST Seris #1 Read Along
Time: August 20, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Tia Yu
Suggested Audience:: K-3rd Graders with parents
AST is a student led educational program https://www.achievesuccesstogether.org/. It offers a variety of classes during school year and summer time. It has served more than 80 HCPSS FARM and ESOL students in 8 schools for free in the past three years. After pandemic, it launched AST on-line and AST virtual summer camp. In the next several weeks, the instructors will demonstrate some of their classes.
AST series #1 Read Along This class is taught by Tia Yu, a rising junior at Howard High school. Each week she will check out several books from the Howard County Library System to read with your children. Kids at a more advanced level are welcome to read several pages as well while those who are beginners are able to just listen along. The class is tailored to your children specifically and their interests. She tries her best to check out books they express interest in reading or believes they will like. This is a great way to not only maintain the reading skills learned in the previous year, but to enhance and improve them to stay ahead in the following year as well! Tia loves teaching this class and is very excited to work with you soon!
Video: https://youtu.be/WnjHqCl7zeI
Topic: AST Series #2 Showcase
Time: August 27, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Richard Zhou, Maggie Wang, David Huang, Peter Wang, Jack Shi
Suggested Audience:: All are welcome
To Celebrate the hard work of our students this summer in our Virtual Showcase! AST is a student led education program https://www.achievesuccesstogether.org/. It is committed to enriching fellow students’ academic career and offering free classes and tutoring to FARM and ESOL students.
Classes for August 27th: Community Service (Instructor present: Richard Zhou) Crochet (Instructor present: Maggie Wang) Movie Editing (Instructor present: David Huang and Peter Wang) Math Competition (Instructor present: Jack Shi) All are 15 mins
Video: https://youtu.be/Hx3CKaz3U6U
Topic: Starting your own coding project this summer
Time: August 13, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Theo Goetemann
Suggested Audience:: 6-12th Graders, adults are welcome too
Mr. Goetemann is the Founder of Basil Labs, a consumer intelligence startup that helps organizations quantify in store consumer experience to design stronger brands. With a background in open data policy and data science, Mr. Goetemann’s work often joins narrative inquiry with network science and natural language processing and explores the intersection of virtual communities and the physical world. Originally from Boston, MA, Mr. Goetemann graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Government. A cofounder of City78 – an urban analytics startup, Mr. Goetemann has worked in the open data and data journalism fields before starting Basil Labs. He was selected as a Fulbright research scholar in 2019 and was most recently a member of the Dubai Smart City Accelerator program.
Video: https://youtu.be/GMgOtzgMNX0
Topic: Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation
Time: August 6, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Dennis Courtney
Suggested Audience:: 6-12th graders, adults are welcome too
Mr. Dennis Courtney teaches Yoga and Meditation at Yoga Revelation Studio in Ellicott City (www.yogarev.com). For his “day” job, he is a program manager at Northrop Grumman. Mr. Courney believes that meditation has given him the transformative ability to find joy and peace in the present moment. His life-goal is to show students the way to develop this ability within themselves and learn compassion for oneself, and others. As a martial artist, athlete, outdoorsman and Yoga Alliance certified teacher, Mr. Courtney brings a unique teaching style to those looking for compassion-inspired self-development. His practice will challenge you to find your true Self physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Video: https://youtu.be/QczhSzv_oS0
Topic: Seeing Tomorrow: A talk on the field of Planning
Time: July 30, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Chris Davis
Suggested Audience:: Anyone who is interested in learning about how we envision great communities
As a lifelong Howard County resident, Mr. Davis grew up in Columbia and attended Howard County Public Schools, eventually graduating from Hammond High School. He then attended the University of Maryland College Park, where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Metropolitan History, and then later his Master of Community Planning from the same university. Since graduation, Mr. Davis has worked as a Planner in various Maryland Counties such as Prince George’s and Baltimore Counties. When not working as a planner, Mr. Davis enjoys concerts and exploring Howard County’s many beautiful parks and nature trails.
Video: https://youtu.be/52FHzmAar1c
Topic: Starting your own coding project this summer
Time: July 23, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Theo Goetemann
Suggested Audience:: 6-12th Graders, adults are welcome too
Mr. Goetemann is the Founder of Basil Labs, a consumer intelligence startup that helps organizations quantify in store consumer experience to design stronger brands. With a background in open data policy and data science, Mr. Goetemann’s work often joins narrative inquiry with network science and natural language processing and explores the intersection of virtual communities and the physical world. Originally from Boston, MA, Mr. Goetemann graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Government. A cofounder of City78 – an urban analytics startup, Mr. Goetemann has worked in the open data and data journalism fields before starting Basil Labs. He was selected as a Fulbright research scholar in 2019 and was most recently a member of the Dubai Smart City Accelerator program.
Topic: Pancake Party
Time: June 25, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Charmaine Yuan
Suggested Audience:: 6-12th Graders, adults are welcome too
Ms. Yuan is a recent graduate of the University of Maryland College Park and will begin medical school this fall. In her free time, she enjoys cooking for her family and friends.
Pancake recipe is here. Video: https://youtu.be/faPIJZmDXd8
Topic: Cybersecurity: Lessons & Careers
Time: June 18, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Lee Hencshel
Suggested Audience:: 6-12th Graders, adults are welcome too
Mr. Hencshel is the Director of 5G Operations at Pentagon in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, former senior advisor to Department of Defense, Homeland Security, National Security Council, and White House Staff.
Video: https://youtu.be/CGLKztMGdok
Topic: Tiny but Mighty: The Powerful Pollinator
Time: June 11, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Amanda Sullivan
Suggested Audience:: k -5th Graders
Ms. Amanda Sullivan is an environmental educators from Howard County Conservancy. Howard County Conservancy has designed several programs for ages 5 to 8 and 9 to 12. Please check out their website at https://www.howardnature.org.
Video: https://youtu.be/A4ajg_UyNdI
Topic: Frogs in our Watershed
Time: June 4, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Janice Winter and Amanda Sullivan
Suggested Audience:: k -5th Graders
Both Ms. Janice Winter and Ms. Amanda Sullivan are environmental educators from Howard County Conservancy. Howard County Conservancy has designed several programs for ages 5 to 8 and 9 to 12. Please check out their website at https://www.howardnature.org.
Video: https://youtu.be/x1j2lj7DyB8
Topic: Automobile Service & Maintenance
Time: May 28, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Gary Clark
Suggested Audience:: 9 -12th Graders, adults are welcome
Mr. Gary Clark is a long time resident of Howard County. He purchased his first gas station with service in 1980 and has owned his own business ever since then. Mr. Clark has been professionally repairing cars for 48 years and he is the owner of Cloverly Automative. https://www.facebook.com/cloverlyautomotive/
Video: https://youtu.be/AqXjFXmdgj8
Topic: 0s, 1s, and Hidden Pictures
Time: May 21, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Dr. Min Wu
Suggested Audience:: 6 -12th Graders
Dr. Min Wu is a mother of two children who are studying in HCPSS. Her several other hats include an educator, inventor, author, editor, and EE/CS researcher (a short name for electrical engineering and computer science). At work, she is a Professor and Associate Dean of the Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. https://user.eng.umd.edu/~minwu/bio.html.
Video: https://youtu.be/kbKb60eBhTo
Topic: The Magic Kingdom of 1s and 0s
Time: May 14, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Dr. Min Wu
Suggested Audience:: 1st-5th Graders
Dr. Min Wu is a mother of two children who are studying in HCPSS. Her several other hats include an educator, inventor, author, editor, and EE/CS researcher (a short name for electrical engineering and computer science). At work, she is a Professor and Associate Dean of the Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. https://user.eng.umd.edu/~minwu/bio.html.
Video: https://youtu.be/3ByHzamoHyg
Topic: Our Court System: Justice for All
Time: May 7, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: John Kuchno
Suggested Audience:: 6-12th Graders (Adults are welcome too)
Judge Kuchno serves as a judge on the Circuit Court for Howard County. He was appointed to the bench by Governor Hogan following a 30-plus year distinguished career as an Assistant Attorney General and a private practice attorney. He has served in leadership positions in local Bar associations, and for more than 25 years, was a member of panels responsible for investigating ethical complaints against attorneys. Judge Kuchno graduated summa cum laude from the University of Maryland and from the University of Maryland School of Law. Judge Kuchno has lived in Howard County for 35 years and has been active in the community, including as a coach for youth sports.
Video: https://youtu.be/FaXqyImLn5I
Topic: Capital Markets: Crashes and Recoveries
Time: Apr 30, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Vipin Sahijwani
Suggested Audience:: 6-12th Graders
Mr. Vipin Sahijwani is a fellow resident of HoCo who in his spare time is a President and CEO of an investment consulting firm and a committed member of FEI.
Video: https://youtu.be/0xdBMXiANZw
Topic: Magic Show
Time: Apr 23, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Mr. Pravin Ponnuri
Suggested Audience:: PreK-5th graders
Magician Pravin has performed over a thousand shows all over MD, DC, & Northern VA (http://www.magicianpravin.com).
Video: https://youtu.be/JJ0NPOI8zU8
Topic: Pandemics
Time: Apr 16, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Dr. Yun Lu
Suggested Audience:: 6-12th Graders
Dr. Yun Lu is a devoted mother of two school-age children, a passionate community service volunteer, a weekend math teacher, and a full-time statistician working for a federal public health agency.
Video: https://youtu.be/vOuJYzUXiLw
Topic: Coronavirus
Time: Apr 9, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
presenters: Dr. Yun Lu
Suggested Audience:: 6-12th Graders
Dr. Yun Lu is a devoted mother of two school-age children, a passionate community service volunteer, a weekend math teacher, and a full-time statistician working for a federal public health agency.
Video: https://youtu.be/hIMoFywAPPE