Project Illumna

Under-resourced students lack mentorship and role models, and we need your support to help their education and success!

We are:
Sean Kwon (Vanderbilt, '20)
Nick Sepulveda (Cornell, '20)
Ivy Xue (Princeton, '20)
Kira Hassett (Columbia, '20) 
Sooyong Kwon (Yale, '21)
Kai Zhao (UMich, '21)
Victor Hua (Princeton, '21)
Minju Kang (Cornell, '21)
Mohammedali Roowala (Northeastern, '22)
Ashley Sidoryk (NYU, '21)
Sean Kim (Princeton, '21)
Seyong Park (Yale, '20)
Kyungmin Cho (Temple, '20)
Tom Ha (Cooper Union, '21)
Brian Yeo (Yale, '20)
Sophia Baek (Northeastern, '20)
Chelsie Park (Boston College, '20)
Leia Chung (Cornell, '20)
David Hidalgo-Gato (Yale, '21)

Hello! We are first-year and second-year college students, and... 
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO SUPPORT OUR MISSION!
https://illumna.org/

We are all recent graduates of high schools who had struggled to get to where we are. The project started last year, when Sean Kwon realized that so many underprivileged students from Fort Lee, NJ, were struggling because they lacked appropriate guidance. As a low-income immigrant himself, Sean wanted to create a program where successful college students from humble backgrounds help high school students from the same high school they graduated from. He recruited other mentors who are passionate to serve the community, and together they created a mentorship organization called Illumna. The team developed a curriculum, designed activities, advertised their services, and rented a classroom. It culminated in a program that met for three hours a day, three days a week for four weeks during July to mentor and teach success strategies to underpriviledged high school students.

Here is a picture from last year!

This past summer, we had ten students receive mentorship. Here is a video testimonial from our amazing mentees!


After last summer's operation, we again realized how necessary mentorship is, and how impactful our mentorships were. We didn't want the program to be just a one-time thing.
Here's where we need your help. Last summer, we partly covered the operational costs from the tuition of the mentees. The rest came out of our own pockets.

Last year's expenses were:
Classroom rent: $500
Insurance for classroom: $346
Sum of unaccounted miscellaneous expenses.

This year, we are expanding our program to students in four neighboring towns: Fort Lee, Palisades Park, Ridgefield Park, and Demarest. Moreover, we want to plan fieldtrips for  mentees, whom we expect will be around 55. Here is the rundown of costs for this year:

Classroom rent: $1500
Insurance for classrooms: $1050
Field Trip Costs: $1000
T-Shirts (For 73 People): $720
Non-Profit Filing Fees: $250
Background Checks for Mentors: $180
                                                                                      =$4700
We need your generous help to keep our program alive for our mentees! 


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Stake of the mentors

Sooyong

I immigrated to the United States in sixth grade, and the transition was tough. From learning a completely new language to adjusting to a completely new culture, I needed help and support from others. Luckily, I had amazing people who guided my steps, and I attribute my high school success to the different positive influences my mentors had on me. This is my stake.
Unfortunately, not many people in my community are as lucky as me. There are recent immigrants who are stuck in their ESL (English as Second Language) classes. There are students who do not dream big because they weren't told that it is possible. We want to help these students discover their goals and guide them to achieving them.

Seyong

Being a first generation student in America has taught me invaluable lessons that only life can teach. While most students have the luxury of having members in their family attend college, I was the first to attend college therefore my scope of resources was limited. Through my bumpy journey filled with adverse challenges, I learned how to adapt and grow in critical situations. Not having resources was one of the hardest challenges that I faced and being able to be a resource to those who are currently in my shoes would be a fulfilling experience. This is my stake.

Victor
Low-income and first-generation are two terms that describe not only me, but a significant proportion of high school students looking to succeed. Traditional schooling may no longer be sufficient in preparing students for success in college and beyond, and this resonates especially with disadvantaged students. Having recently undergone the tough transition to college, I want to do everything I can to prepare the next generation of underprivileged but talented individuals with success skills I had to learn on my own. There's more to life than high school and college; students need to be ready to embrace everything life has to offer. Some individuals are given a lot to work with—others, not so much, me included. If I can make a difference to close that gap, I will. This is my stake.