Wave Learning Festival

I’m applying for the Prize because we’re making a difference urgently needed in the world. We’ve already made good progress, but we have big dreams to fundamentally change the way students access education. The Elevate Prize will empower us to get there faster and better.

Our work perfectly aligns with the Prize’s goals. We’re elevating opportunities for underserved students neglected by our systems: low-income and first-generation youth. We’re elevating empathy by connecting students of different backgrounds globally, and educating thousands of college students/adults who work with us on real issues of inequity. We’re elevating awareness through our research, corporate campaigns, and media to drive change. We’re building not only for, but with, underserved communities, with a team of diverse gender, racial, economic, and geographic identities. 

Funding will allow us to hire in key roles, greatly accelerating product development and outreach efforts (a key bottleneck). Online amplification will help us get resources to new families and recruit always-needed new volunteers. Mentorship from the amazing experts, close relationships with other awardees, and mutual support with the Elevate community will be invaluable as we make key strategic decisions (especially at our current stage) to put us on a path for future success.

I’ve always wanted to dedicate my life to creating good in the world. 

 When the pandemic hit, I felt the obstacles facing students, families, and educators around me. It was a catalyst to take decisive action on something I’d always cared deeply about—the intersection of education and justice. Growing up, I tutored at school and volunteered with Sunday Friends, a nonprofit providing academic opportunities for youth in San Jose. It was there I began to truly understand the obstacles facing low-income families at every turn.

 At its core, education is about more than just school. The magic of education is to empower every student to understand the world, build the toolkits to support themselves and others, and to realize their own capacity for greatness. But on a greater level, the magic of education is to pull families out of poverty and violence, to uplift marginalized voices for a stronger democracy, to build solutions for every other issue facing us.

 What in the world could be more important? That’s where I’m going to put the work in. I just so happen to believe that I have the courage, conviction, and leadership to make a difference.

The pandemic shut down schools everywhere. Students struggled to adapt, and parents struggled to balance their jobs with keeping their kids engaged. Low-income families were especially hard hit. But these changes were only a symptom of greater long-standing educational inequities built into our systems.

 The funding gap between the richest and poorest 25% of US school districts has grown by 44% over the last decade. 39% of US children are low-income. These students, who often lack access to high-quality educational support, extracurricular opportunities, and personal mentorship, are being neglected and trapped in cycles of poverty.

 Wave is combatting long-standing educational inequities exacerbated by the pandemic by providing a central free online learning platform where students can access 24/7 tutoring, live diverse courses, college application help, career mentorship, and a global student community. In addition, we partner with underresourced schools to specifically provide after-school and in-classroom tutoring/extracurricular support. By combining an online one-stop-shop for help with close mentorship, we hope to serve as critical educational partners for the most in-need students. We envision a world where every student, regardless of financial, geographic, or personal background, has all the resources and support they need to excel.

Though online learning resources exist, Wave is unique through three critical aspects: live engagement, active outreach, and exploration. 

Live learning is critical for true engagement: our students participate in thoughtful discussions, collaborate on hands-on projects, receive real-time feedback, find mentorship, and make lifelong friends across the globe. With peers to challenge and support them, our students complete courses at much higher rates, are more inspired, and feel more belonging. 

In addition, research shows that the most at-risk students often do not independently seek out help or know where to find it. That’s why simply offering material is not enough. We proactively reach out to these youth through schools and serve as their partners in education, working around their unique needs and helping them discover their potential. Our tutors and instructors serve as big brothers and sisters, bringing higher education closer to marginalized and first-gen folks. 

Lastly, we empower self-driven learning through exploration. Through Wave, students can try subjects not found in school: filmmaking, investing, painting, sign language, quantum physics, machine learning, comedy writing, and so much more. We want to help students discover the joy in learning for its own sake, unhindered by grades, prices, and expectations.

In just one year, we’ve served 13,000+ students from all 50 US states and 62 countries, provided 400+ unique courses and 2,000+ hours of tutoring, and worked with 600+ schools, libraries, and organizations serving low-income youth to ensure our resources reach those most in need. We’re now partnering closely with Imhotep (African-centered Title I School), Lang School (special-needs students), and Wilson MS to provide tutoring and classroom assistance. This fall, we launch a nationwide network of university chapters that will carry over these partnerships and form more to support their local educational ecosystems.

 We’re quickly growing and constantly tuning our services to feedback from our students, parents, and teachers. Ultimately, our goal is to uplift marginalized students and empower every student to succeed regardless of background, specifically serving 1 million students by 2025. 

 We believe Wave will change the game for equitable education. Much inequality currently exists because low-income students cannot afford personal tutoring, extracurricular programs, expensive test preparation courses, and college counseling. Low-income and first-generation students often also lack the network to introduce new opportunities and serve as dedicated mentors. Wave is providing these same advantages to marginalized students for free to level the playing field.