What an incredible day of community, teamwork, and youth leadership at this year’s Taste of Asia festival in Raleigh!

Four outstanding students came together to manage our booth, handling setup from the ground up and running the table with remarkable energy and professionalism. To draw visitors in, they offered free food samples and brainstormed creative sales strategies on the spot. Instead of just selling treats, they shared their authentic stories—talking with community members about their personal journeys with our exchange program, what they learned, and why cross-cultural connection matters. Visitors loved hearing directly from our youth ambassadors and generously bought food to show their support for our mission.

The volunteer crew featured members of our experienced student leadership team – Jake Xu and Nathaniel Ye – alongside Xuanze Fan and Vanderbilt Wang (an enthusiastic new student who is eager to join our upcoming 2027 delegation), making it a wonderful blend of mentorship and new beginnings.

Even when rain moved in during the afternoon, it did not dampen anyone’s spirits. The team kept the energy high, shared plenty of laughs, and had a fantastic time working side by side.

Every dollar raised through their hard work will go directly toward supporting our future student exchange programs, currently in active planning. A huge thank-you to our student leaders, our supportive parents, and everyone who stopped by our booth to back our young ambassadors!