Bill’s work within the non-profit space has been one of his most memorable points of his high school experience. As a first-generation low-income Chinese American student, he’s directly witnessed the vicious cycle of poverty, inequality, and lack of opportunity many students from low-income families grapple with everyday. During high school, Bill served on the executive board of Give Youth, a high school student-run non-profit founded in 2010, aiming to provide free tutoring services and enrichment opportunities in order to empower the youth in the Northern Virginia region through education and mentorship. He also served on Fairfax County’s Student Human Rights Commission, starting a mental health initiative to consolidate county-wide mental health resources for students. These experiences played a pivotal part in Bill’s passions around educational accessibility, socioeconomic inequality, wellness, and social entrepreneurship.
At Penn, Bill is involved with the First Generation Low Income Dean’s Advisory Board and serves as a student coordinator for the Netter Centers Non-profit Connect Program, providing his experiences in educational equity work and civic engagement supporting SNF Paideia’s pillars of wellness and dialogue. Additionally, Bill is a photographer for the Daily Pennsylvanian and is part of the Institute of Contemporary Art’s Student Board, constantly excited to explore diverse dialogues of people from all backgrounds through the arts. Bill’s love for civic discourse and storytelling inspired him to apply to be a SNF Paideia Fellow as he looks forward to developing a greater understanding of dialogue, wellness, service, and citizenship through SNF Paideia courses.
Currently, Bill is a student in the College of Arts and Sciences planning to study Cognitive Science and Computer Science with a minor in Data Science and Economics. Interested in the intersection of data science, economics, and wellness, he hopes to integrate these disciplines to develop a more comprehensive understanding of socioeconomic issues and wellness through SNF Paideia’s four pillars. Bill is ecstatic to expand his dialogue skills and service learning through the SNF Paideia Fellows Program.