The USC School of Social Work's Network for Korean-American Leaders (NetKAL) fellowship program was honored for promoting service and leadership among young professionals during a gala in New York.

NetKAL was among the honorees feted by the Korean American League for Civic Action (KALCA) during the organization's 10th anniversary gala on June 16.

The New York-based KALCA is a non-profit organization dedicated to developing second-generation Korean Americans into leaders mindful of the future of the Asian American community through mentorships, leadership development and political-action training.

KALCA's Executive Director Sandy Kim said her group included NetKAL in its anniversary celebration for its dedication to growing and supporting public service within the community.

"NetKAL has been a front runner in tapping and developing individual Korean-American public service leaders and creating a sustainable infrastructure for ongoing community support for public interest- driven projects," she said.

An initiative of the school's Center for Asian-Pacific Leadership, NetKAL connects young professionals of Korean heritage (second-generation) for leadership training, networking and community-empowerment projects in Los Angeles as a fresh approach to addressing the leadership gap in the largest ethnic Korean community outside of Korea.

Created at USC in 2006, NetKAL has since hosted fellowship programs in New York and Washington, D.C., and plans to continue expanding in major cities across the nation.

"This is completely unexpected, and we are happy to help celebrate an important milestone for a group whose mission clearly aligns with our own," said Jehoon Lee, NetKAL's executive director.