A note from Ariel

Hi, this is Ariel. I am so happy you are here. 👋

I want to share a part of me with you. I am so not used to getting personal in a public way. But here is to me in my high school years, and perhaps to you in yours.

I grew up in a fairly traditional family, probably your stereotypical Asian one. Born and raised in China, and as the only child in my family, the path that would live up to my parents’ expectations was more or less set: bankers, doctors (the right ones), lawyers, engineers. And, with some compromises from them, I followed my passion in education and teaching, and they were happy about it. I became a teacher, an educator, a researcher, for years, and worked close to my family for many, many years. And I never thought there could be more.

That held until I came back to my alma mater, Brown, to visit ten years later. I had a conversation with a friend (we studied together; the impression on me was much bigger) who had made the journey of starting her own business and becoming an entrepreneur. That was the first time it felt possible. Then an idea was sown in me. 🌱 And once you have the idea, the rest is history.

Well, not quite. It still took me ten years to even start thinking about it, let alone believe it. In the past months, I have worked so hard, and I made it. (At least you are reading this on our website!) Without my amazing students, the ones I meet with regularly who hold me accountable, I would have quit. And I was lucky enough to have the wholehearted support from Brown, and then to enter my second home, Columbia, where everybody seems to have a great idea and works so hard to realize it. And in New York, everybody is talking in a venture capital language that took me a while to get used to. And fatefully, luckily, I do have my mentors, my advisors, and people around me who have done it, and who supported me the moment this idea was lit. ✨

The thing is, that was ten years of waiting, and the journey starts only with an idea. I was lucky enough to have that support system. I was at Brown, and I am at Columbia now. What about so many others, who never had access to a founder, to an entrepreneur, to a role model who tells them that it is possible, who believes in them? So here I am, hoping to enlighten your big idea. Or at least, to be someone who understands you and who supports you along the journey. Or to prepare you to make the most of college from day one, so you get a quicker start. (I obviously did not do much in that regard, as someone who spent way too much time in the libraries, and only the libraries. There is nothing wrong with that in and of itself, but if you have other journeys in mind, you might want a head start.)

That idea, your idea, paired with mentorship and, hopefully, funding, is what I truly want to work on, no matter your background, no matter where you are. I want to bring you the spirit, the courage, the ideas, and the ecosystem of the universities that I love deeply. To empower a generation of young high school students to start early, to think incredibly big, to dare to dream. 💭

Whether you want to garden in your community 🌿, tutor the younger kids in your building, walk dogs and turn it into a real business 🐕, sell your art at a weekend market 🎨, build the next generation of robots 🤖, start the company that puts your hometown on the map, or have dinner with Elon Musk (well, I do not know him personally, yet, but with this wonderful universe and all these amazing degrees of connection, maybe one day we all end up at that dinner), we want to be part of your journey.

Here is to your big dream. 🌟 Think of me as your big sister, please be in touch, and please let me know what you think.

I look forward to seeing you and cheering you all on soon,

Ariel, Founder, YouthFund