Category: Alumni Stories
Alumni Spotlight: Ally Li ALP ‘22 Seizes Opportunities as a First-Generation College Student
Ally Li is a Business Administration and Management student at Boston University's Questrom School of Business. In a meeting with Aspire Institute's Team, she described how her background and experiences as the daughter of Chinese immigrants and a first-in-family college student have driven her to pursue valuable opportunities.
Alumni Spotlight: Akbar Kurniawan ALP ‘22 Expands His Worldview and Seeks to Reduce Inequalities in Indonesia
Kurniawan, a recent college graduate and 2022 Aspire Community Action Award (CAA) winner, seeks opportunities for global exposure and community impact. His initiative, The Mula Sasmita Project, provides sign language training to the entire community to support the Deaf community.
Alumni Spotlight: Diana Citlali Avila Padilla ALP ‘22 Paves The Way for Women in STEAM
Diana Avila, alumna from Mexico, already co-founded a nonprofit and now won a Community Action Award for her initiative, SisterSTEAM. She aims to provide a community for women in STEAM to support each other’s goals and wellbeing through this initiative.
Hein Oo ALP ‘22, Refugee from Myanmar, Found a Community at Aspire
Hein Oo fled Myanmar in 2021 and settled in the U.S. As he works to find community here, he continues to support his home community and the planet as a young leader and environmental advocate.
2022 Community Action Awards: Alumni-Led Social Impact
18 Aspire Leaders Program alumni pitched their social impact projects to a panel of entrepreneurs. Ten projects across nine countries will receive this award of up to $10,000 and begin their social impact journey. Projects solve problems from preserving post-harvest crops to providing awareness and greater service to those with disabilities.
Jameson Pierre-Louis ALP ’21 from Haiti Feels Sense of Belonging after Aspire Leaders Program
Jameson Pierre-Louis learned that he is not alone in the difficulties he faces as a low-income student after the Aspire Leaders Program in 2021. Today, he works to make an impact and inspire other young leaders.
Şeyma Kara ALP ‘20 from Turkey Values Cross-Cultural Collaboration in Solving Community Problems
Turkish Aspire alumna and Aspire Alumni Ambassador values cross-cultural collaboration and research-backed solutions to community problems.
Shushanna Arakelyan ALP ’21 from Armenia Perseveres to Gain Valuable Experiences
With her zest for knowledge and desire to impact her community, ALP alumna from Armenia exemplifies the impact of perseverance.
Mariam Mohammad ALP ’20 Impacts Refugees and Street Children
Mariam Mohammad, a graduate student and Palestinian refugee living in Lebanon, gained the ability to think outside the box through ALP. This drives her success in mentoring youth and impacting the field of public health among low-income communities.
Ronaldo Raposo ALP ’21 Gains Confidence in Becoming a Change Agent
Ronaldo Raposo ALP '21, a university student from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil pursuing a degree in international relations with a focus on finance, credits the Aspire Leaders Program as the catalyst for his confidence in leading the change he wants to see in Latin America.
Lebanese and Nigerian Aspire Alumni Receive the Diana Award for Youth Driving Social Change
The Diana Award, given to 9-25 year olds, recognizes that youth have the ability to drive social change around the world. This year, the Aspire Institute proudly congratulates two alumni who have received this honor, Mariam Mohammad from Lebanon and Goodness Odey from Nigeria.
Alumni Spotlight: Zarek Martínez Learns to Love Learning and Provides Training to the Teachers of the Next Generation in Mexico
Zarek Martínez is a university student from Nuevo León, Mexico and alumnus of the Aspire Leaders Program 2021. After being awarded a Community Action Award grant from Aspire to train public school teachers in relevant digital tools, he feels like anything is possible if he believes in his talent and potential.
Alumni Spotlight: Faith Nchotu Ndinyanka Shares Her Experience as a Female Leader in Cameroon
Faith grew up learning that "the backbone of the Cameroon economy is agriculture." With funding from the Aspire Community Action Award grant, Faith, as a young woman, is spearheading a project that brings experiential learning of agriculture to youth across Cameroon.
Alumni Spotlight: Abdallah Elsheikh Elmagzob
Abdallah is passionate about opening his mind to new cultures and not feeling constrained by his geography. The Aspire Leaders Program allowed him to understand the quality of education he can pursue and the dreams he can achieve. He was recently awarded an Extended Leadership Opportunity grant to pay for an English proficiency exam.
Alumni Spotlight: Maria Gorret Nabuwembo ’21
Through our Community Action Award, Maria Gorret Nabuwembo '21 is gathering Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to determine neighborhoods in her home city of Kampala where new water and sanitation facilities need to be constructed.
