Service Work

I became the President of Tutors4Stars and the Bishop’s Chapter President when I was in ninth grade, and have since founded the ACT Mission, which stands for “Advocacy, Camps, and Training.” While I was passionate about providing educational opportunities, I soon grew to realize that my commitment to the neurodiverse community extended beyond tutoring and into spreading awareness, fostering community, and working to better the lives of neurodiverse individuals. As a sibling to an autistic brother, I have been surrounded by neurodiversity my whole life, giving me the experience needed to teach and work with neurodiverse individuals. I strive to spread that knowledge with my fellow tutors and peers, as well as raise neurodiversity awareness in my community. Via the ACT Mission, we do so by posting Advocacy Blog articles, hosting Camps for our students and families, and tutoring our students in diverse subjects. I also personally started a series of dance and singing tutorials to help autistic individuals with poor mind-body connection improve their body and speech control! See below!

As part of the ACT mission that I founded, Tutors4Stars hosts over-break camps that focus on arts & crafts, robotics, singing, dancing, and various other games and activities. We aim to provide quality care and education for neurodiverse individuals through our activities. One of my goals through these camps is creating an accepting community that doesn’t exist in our outside world, full of stigma and shame regarding autism. Families all come to this space as a source of comfort and joy -- seeing their children thriving at our camps!

At Tutors4Stars, we tutor students in a huge variety of subjects, from core classes like English and Math to wildly wacky hobbies like basketball, dance, and singing! When I became president of Tutors4Stars, I was careful to ensure that all tutors received a few rounds of training and debriefing, as well as constant check-ins, to provide top-notch mentorship with full understanding of challenges they need to navigate when working with different students.

I use my voice as an instrument for change by also regularly performing at fundraiser concerts, local senior living centers, hospitals, and more! I understand that music is a gift for enjoyment and fulfillment in my own life, but it can also bring that same happiness to other people’s lives!

I have been a Girl Scout since I was in kindergarten and have been actively selling nuts and cookies, donating to local charities and organizations, as well as guiding younger scouts in my community. Over the course of my Girl Scout career, I have sold approximately 2,500 boxes of cookies, contributing approximately $12,000, donated a estimated total of 5,000 pounds of canned food and $5,000 to the San Diego Food Bank by caroling for cans around Christmas time, given lectures on food sustainability and growing up (among other subjects), and more! My journey as a Girl Scout has been key to connecting with my community and shaping my character as I grew up!

I have been sponsoring an orphan from the Hunan countryside, Hong Yan, and her family, since I was five years old with my Chinese New Year red bag money and a percentage of my acting money! I pay for the majority of her school tuition and for gifts around the holidays. Since I was young, I’ve always loved helping others!