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<div><strong>IN A NUTSHELL: </strong>
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<div>Second Chance does something that no one else does.
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<div>We seat talentd students at the last minute, with a full scholarship. 
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<div>Every year, many exceptional international students apply to US universities and apply for financial aid.
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<div>And many of these students get offers they cannot afford. There are financial gaps. As a result, they simply can't go.
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<div>Second Chance helps these students to get a full scholarship, AFTER the US admissions cycle has finished.
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<div>In the past four years, we’ve helped 168 high achieving, low income (HALI) international students get a second chance at higher education.
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<div>In the past two years, we have turned what was a volunteer initiative into a non-profit organization. We are on Year 3 now. 
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<div>Your support and help make this initiative possible.
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<div><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>
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<div>Four years ago, in 2018, 60 students in Nepal lost their full scholarships from University of Texas at Tyler (US), due to a budgetary error on the part of the university.
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<div>These students had dreamed of studying in the US until their scholarships were revoked. This incident occurred so late in the admissions cycle that students had no options in the US, never mind any options in Nepal.
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<div>I stepped forward to galvanize a movement for these 60 students. With a wonderful team, <a href="https://www.nepaljusticeleague.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the Nepal Justice League</a>, we found and re-seated 56 of these students at new universities in the US, Canada, Middle East, and East Asia, with 10+ million in financial aid and scholarships. We then fundraised 180K to fill the financial gaps.
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<div>In the years that followed, I began a volunteer access initiative called Second Chance, to support international students who were unable to get access to US higher ed due to finances. I began assembling and leading pro bono counseling teams to support these students.
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<div>My teams and I place students with full scholarships, in the space following the US admissions cycle - April, May, and June. (If you work in admissions, you will know how impossible this is.)
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<div>At the time of this post, Second Chance has seated 168 international students with full or nearly full scholarships - and all after the US cycle has finished - at universities in the US, Canada, Qatar, Hong Kong, S Korea, Italy, Germany, Mauritius, Ghana, and Turkey. 
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<div>Second Chance is free to students. We do not want a lack of finances to stand in the way of gaining access to higher education.
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<div><strong>TRACK RECORD: </strong>
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<ul>
<li>The case of 60 Nepali students whose scholarships were lost in 2018. Read more <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Xu7S8e5g0GvgHDUEudeATumPr6JH6D46/view" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.
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<li>Pratima Thami, nationally-recognized student from Nepal who had no offers of admission after applying in the 2019-2020 admissions cycle. I helped her get to the Watson Institute at Lynn University. Read more <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/package/nepali-students-tough-road-to-america/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.
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<li>Nhial Deng, a refugee from Kakuma Refugee Camp, admitted to UC Berkeley in 2021, with no financial aid. We helped him find a new university with a full scholarship after the admissions cycle was over. He's now at Huron University in Canada. See video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPdPYGOOcEY&amp;t=1s&amp;ab_channel=huronatwestern" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.
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<div><strong>WHY WE DO THIS: </strong>
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<li>Because access to higher education is critical for social and economic opportunity, and global mobility.
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<li>Because tertiary education empowers students, giving them the tools they need to make a more significant impact and contribution to their communities.
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<li>Because every year, thousands of students are rejected from US universities simply because they are from low-income backgrounds. Trying to get a full scholarship is insanely competitive.
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<div><strong>THE GOAL: </strong>
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<div>Our aspiration is to raise 35-45K.
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<div>Your support helps provide for  budget items such as legal support, incorporation, marketing, and support with indirect costs (visa costs, healthcare, flight, books) for students going overseas for university. 
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<div>We would love your support. Help us build something that has never been built before. <span style="font-family:inherit;font-size:1rem;color:inherit;">Together, we can ultimately support exceptionally talented, low income students access higher education.</span>
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<div><strong>ABOUT ME: </strong>
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<div>After 22 years working as a counselor in secondary schools, I left my college counseling role  at United World College in SE Asia to launch a non-profit called Second Chance. I exited Singapore and have been living mostly as a global nomad - to lower my living costs to launch this non-profit.
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<div>For the entirety of my career, I have felt called to support high achieving, low income international students in their endeavors to access higher education in various parts of the world. This is my passion.
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<div>Thank you for listening.
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<div>With deep appreciation,
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<div>Joan Liu
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<div><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanliu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LinkedIn</a>
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