MEET US
Meet The Team
And Find Out Their Motives
Dyllan Liu
(Founder/CEO)
Hi, my name is Dyllan Liu, and I am currently a senior at Northwood High School in Irvine, CA. In the summer of 2018, I attended the Ningxia summer program designated to give out microloans as well as student scholarships for villagers and successful students at the DaGouYan village. Despite having a packed schedule every day, I spent much of my free time interacting with the local children and the school teachers. Every time I talked with the school teachers, they always emphasized students’ incredible passion and desire for learning new things. When the teachers expressed her agony about not being able to provide an adequate education, it provoked my curiosity about the school she works at. The next day, a group and I went to the school to interact with and teach the children there. Walking into the worn-out buildings, I soon realized the harsh conditions these students are studying under. Two hours of teaching later, walking out of the classroom, I was quite impressed by the attitude of the students. Just like the teachers had mentioned, at such a young age - 9 or 10 years old - they had the enthusiasm and eagerness for learning. However, despite their passion for learning, there was no English teacher at their school could teach the material. That was the time when I was once again reminded that these children have just as much potential and motivation as us if not more; all they lack is resources and environment. With that in mind, I decided the help these students learn English by gathering high school bilinguals who could volunteer to teach them. However, I realized that just a short amount of time during summers is not nearly enough to truly help these students who lack resources. Therefore, I founded the club E.F.A (Education For All) to help students from undeveloped areas to learn the subjects that are not available to them. For now, our team - a group of high schoolers who are fluent in both Chinese and English - use the Zoom app to video call the children from Da Gou Yan elementary school to teach them English. Not only does program fulfill the students’ desire to learn English, I believe that a group of American teenagers communicating with them can open up their perspectives. They will look at the world around them differently, realizing that more than the village they live in, there's a bigger world out there and that their existence can be an impacting force. People are born into different classes, into different environments, but their origin should not limit their volition to achieve a better life, to pursue their happiness. I hope that Ningxia will be our first stop on our mission to help more students from all over the world who have a passion for learning but lack an adequate environment. These children deserve nothing less than us!
Victor Li
(CMO)
I am Victor Li and currently a Senior from Irvington High School in Fremont, California. Not only am I a hardworking student in school, but I am also a dedicated worker who want to contribute more to the community and others. Although it was my first visit to Ningxia, a relatively poor and unknown region of China, during August 2018 with Ivymax August Global Philanthropy Program, I became infatuated with the villagers and wanted to help them more, even after the trip. In the village school, I learned that the students there are very eager to learn the English language from us American visitors; therefore, I joined the EFA (Education for All) Club to tutor them online. With my proficiency in both Mandarin and English, I believe that I would be an excellent asset to the EFA team. Moreover, my previous experience as a volunteer tutor for math and biology also is a valuable skill for me to help out the club even more. I firmly believe that our club will leave a tremendous positive impact in the village school and deliver fun yet educational classes to those children.
Alex Hu
(CCO)
Hello, my name is Alex Hu. I am a sophomore currently attending Appleby College. Some of my hobbies are chess, reading and art. During the August 2018 IvyMax Global Philanthropy Program, I travelled to Ningxia, China and gained insight in regards to the economic adversities faced by the locals as well as the advantages we possess which they lack. By assisting many students to receive loans to attend higher education, I recognized the demand for a tutoring service in DaGouYan village, as the education in the local school is limited and will never satisfy the students’ eagerness to learn. By joining EFA, I hope to help as many children as possible achieve their goals and learn important skills which will be vital in their lives.
Shawn Chen
(COO)
Hi, I am Shawn Chen and currently a junior attending St. Margaret’s Episcopal School in Orange County, California. My first visit to DGY village in Ningxia in August 2018 has forced me to realize the lack of educational resources and opportunities in the economically backward village. While the village students were eager to learn more about the outside world, their pursuit of knowledge was often limited by their family’s financial circumstances. I joined the EFA Program with the goal of alleviating the village’s educational disparity by providing remote English tutoring services to village children. Furthermore, I believe that it is vital for them not just to learn, but to understand why they must learn. I believe my tutoring classes will help them understand what they are working towards, thereby motivating them to work even harder to change their lives. I am a stock investor, and this time I am investing education on the village youth, hoping for a profitable return that they can transform their own lives and the life of the entire village in the future.
Laura Pei
Hi! My name is Laura Pei, and I am currently a junior at Arcadia High School in Arcadia, California. Ever since I visited Ningxia through a P2P Microfinance program in the summer, I’ve realized how many struggles these families had to face by living in a rural village. The microfinance program made a big step towards the improvement of their limited lifestyle, but education is something that many families couldn’t afford for their children. Through my personal experiences with these kids, I could see an immense thirst for learning that they didn’t have the luxury to satiate. I decided to join EFA to help the program work towards their goal of providing education to children who genuinely needed it. I hope to make significant contributions to this program and make an impact on these children’s lives.
Jasmine Wang (CHRO)
Hi, my name is Jasmine Wang, and I am a current sophomore at Harvard Westlake School in Los Angeles, California. I went to DaGouYan village in the summer of 2018 with the Ivymax Global Philanthropy project, where I worked on providing low-interest microloans in addition to awarding student loans and scholarships. My time spent there is incredibly meaningful to me, and many of my most cherished memories were interacting with the people of the village, especially the kids and teenagers. I remember one specific moment when a six-year-old girl told me of her desire to learn English and her dream to go to college in America. Unfortunately, due to the impoverished nature of the village, most families are unable to fund their children’s education beyond middle school or high school, even if they have the academic capabilities to get into college. All of the students I got to know strove to work pass the limitations their financial situations placed on their pursuit of education, carrying with them inspiring amounts of ambition, the curiosity of the world around them, and eagerness to learn. I believe that if they are provided with the right resources and opportunities, combined with the work ethic and capabilities they already possess, all of these kids have the potential to transcend poverty’s constraints. This motivated me to join EFA because we can provide for the children an educational resource unavailable in their current community. I hope that through our efforts, we will gift them valuable tools that can bring them one step closer to a promising future.
Melissa
(CMO)
My name is Melissa Qian, and I am currently a junior from Northwood High. I have never realized how fortunate I was to be in such a learning environment until I heard of a friend’s experience with the local students in Ningxia, China. From his blogs, I learned that due to the poverty of their village, these students only have very limited educational resources; instead of being filled with courses they are interested in, their schedules only include two classes: literature and math; yet their positive attitude toward everything shocked me. I saw two girls sitting next to one decrepit desk, smiling innocently and splendidly; I saw a boy holding a pinky-long pencil, trying not to miss a single word from the lecture on the blackboard… So I decided to do something. Believing that nothing should limit these students’ potential, I brainstormed with my friend about some possible steps we can take to help them and, as a result, we created EFA, a student-run non-profit club aiming to inspire students with limited educational resources. We will achieve our goal by organizing a group of volunteers who have the same objective as us and teaching students in need together through the internet.