During high school:

• I competed in art competitions and was offered an art scholarship.

• I cleaned my homeroom teacher’s classroom after school.

• I fed animals in the science lab and took on small daily maintenance tasks no one asked me to do.

• I logged hundreds of volunteer hours through school programs and museums.

• I indexed biological specimens at the Ohio Museum of Natural History with my science teacher.

• I wrote and illustrated a children’s book as part of a school program and read it to younger classrooms.

 

At  the same time, I began quietly supporting a younger boy in my neighborhood, one of six siblings, living in an abusive home with a drug-addicted parent. I taught him speech. Fed him. Took him and his brothers to the park. Helped them avoid fights. I’ve stayed in touch even after he became an adult. He’s now a father himself.

 

In my 20s:

• I was bilingual in Spanish and began offering impromptu ESL lessons at the laundromat to people in the community. It kept my skills sharp and helped others feel less alone navigating systems. I also worked with entrepreneurs in a small rural community I lived in. 

• I helped people build resumes, trained others in jobs, and facilitated driving lessons through my own family support system.

 

•  I entered the K-pop market. I created the first fan-made K-pop clothing line in America. Selling tens of thousands of products globally. Amplifying overlooked influencers and talent. I sponsored their events, helped plan multi-state meet-and-greets, dance nights, and club events across the tri-state area. I helped write blogs, raise funds for mental health awareness, promote cultural festivals, coordinate talent performances, and co-sponsor dance competitions. I worked with the Korean Cultural Center in DC and pillars of the local Asian community. I developed social media and street marketing campaigns for cultural and community events for free. Several people I worked with are now nationally recognized artists and actors. I taught others how to scale in the same space without fear of competition.

• I served as hospitality team lead  at my church amongst other volunteer initiatives for years and quietly fed unhoused individuals under the radar.

 

Since 2020:

• I’ve helped patients recover from Long COVID, identify their diagnoses, and access rare care resources. 

• I’ve written plain-language care guides and stabilized people in real-time, during ER visits and hospitalizations.

• I’ve intercepted active infections before they progressed.

• Doctors have consulted me about their own patients.