Inspiring the youth

In July of 2020, Choy and Liu, both rising sophomores at that time, launched Project One Education. Their collaboration with Peninsula Bridge and girlStem, both nonprofits focusing on improving the inequalities in education, allowed them to market and expand their company. Now, as juniors at Crystal Springs Uplands School, Project One Education has gained a team of staff and reached an international audience. 

“We are a tutoring nonprofit that provides one-on-one tutoring, elective webinars and community events. Technically, we are based in the Bay Area, but we do pride ourselves on having such a large outreach. We have tutors located in Taiwan, Los Angeles and Boston,” Choy said. 

As a group, Project One Education strived to create a community where students could build social connections with individuals internationally during times of isolation. Simultaneously, students increased their intellectual vitality through various types of classes such as cooking, Japanese language and computer science. 

“Adolescent mental health is not really mentioned much, whether that be in the U.S. or internationally, and it worsened during COVID because of the isolation. Seeing these tutors form connections with their students during our classes, serving as friends and mentors, helping each other build confidence no matter where they are in the world, and the exchange of cultures is really great,” Choy said. 

Alice Finkelstein, a junior at Carlmont High School, is the recruitment officer and a tutor at Project One Education. The one-on-one tutoring services aim to improve a student’s performance in school. 

“The pandemic has limited strong connections with peers and teachers. It may also be a bit hard to learn during the pandemic since some teachers are not necessarily teaching material well,” Finkelstein said. “Our tutors address all the needs that students have, and they work with them individually to figure out what their problems are and how they came about. They also built plans, like long term how they get proven like a certain subject.” 

When receiving feedback from students and parents, both the electives and one-on-one tutoring curriculums have been proven effective educationally and socially. 

“Many of our students started with us when they were in preschool or kindergarten, so they had only been with their classmates for a few months making it difficult to build social interactions. Parents have thanked us for taking the time to talk to their child because, especially with the younger ones, they aren’t used to seeing people in person,” Choy said. 

Beyond the classes and one-on-one tutoring, Project One Education has encouraged civic engagement into its curriculum. This upcoming February, Project One will be launching its CAD initiative. 

“We’re planning to teach kids how to CAD, which stands for computer-aided design. We plan to teach them the basics of designing something 3D to design a toy, 3D print them, and ultimately distribute it to people in need. It’s something that they can do where they can witness a direct impact on other people,” Finkelstein said. 

It is inspiring to witness the educational opportunities that Project One Education has provided globally. Not only are they providing youth around the world with accessible educational opportunities in countless subjects, but they are emphasizing the importance of utilizing one’s knowledge to improve one’s community. For Finkelstein, passing the knowledge and fulfillment is critical in her work. 

“Education is transformative, especially in times like these. It has the power to shape your future, career, one’s ability to think reasonably, and to connect different people as we’ve seen, from different areas of the world. I think it’s important to share what I have with other people so that as much knowledge gets passed along as possible,” Finkelstein said.

Visit projectoneeducation.org to learn more about their organization. 

Amber Chia is a senior at Carlmont High School in Belmont. Student News appears in the weekend edition. You can email Student News at news@smdailyjournal.com.