2018-2019 Cohort

Hi! My name is Han Trinh, and I am currently a student at San Jose State University majoring in Kinesiology with concentration in Rehabilitation Science. I was born and raised in Vietnam. My family moved to the United States about 6 years ago so that I and my brother can have a better education. I love singing, playing badminton and hanging out with my friends. Being an immigrant and first generation college student, I understand how hard it is for students like me when we want to seek out help. Therefore, the reason why I joined Elevate is to encourage other students to pursue their dreams and let them know that they are not alone; there are still many people caring for them and who want them to be successful in their life. I also find myself very lucky to be a part of Elevate because I admire how Elevate aims to help low income middle school and high school students. Elevate gives me opportunities to give back to the community and help students coming from the same background as me, which I am truly thankful for.

Hi! My name is Lillian Truong and I am a sophomore at Santa Clara University. I hope to graduate after my third year with a B.S. in Commerce, concentrating in Accounting and Information Systems. As a child of immigrant parents and a first-generation college student, I struggled growing up in a society unfamiliar to anyone in my family. Since my parents were not able to pursue their education beyond their GED, they emphasized that a college education was essential for me and my brothers to achieve a life that they never had. Elevate helps me become that support system for students today in my local community that may be facing similar fears and struggles that I have. I want to not only help them with grasping math topics but also with internalizing the importance of a higher education and all of the ways it can open up more doors for them in the future.

Hi there! I’m Peter from San Jose, CA: born, raised, and lived since. Currently, I’m a student at De Anza College and Foothill College, where I hope to pursue mechanical engineering and anthropology at a four-year university once I transfer with the goal of being trained in how to study people and getting the technical knowledge essential to any engineer. With that, I’d like to combine those two skill sets to help people by better identifying the need and being able to develop something (either physical or policy) to answer that need in my professional life later on. That’s also why I joined Elevate. I admire the program’s sustainable and circular model. It “hits two birds with one stone” by financially supporting current college students with their education while giving back to the local community by tutoring students from under-served areas. That goes on to equip these students to succeed academically, which will allow them to avoid or get out of poverty, while building relationships between tutors, tutees, and the local schools/communities. BRILLIANT, right? That’s why I like Elevate, and I hope to do something like this too in my professional career.

Hello! My name is Sabrina Kwong and I am a Junior at San Jose State. I am a third-year transfer student to San Jose State University majoring in Digital Media Arts and minoring in music. I am the American-born Chinese child of an immigrant mother and a first-generation college student with the goals of completing higher education as well as helping others to achieve the same. I find education to be valuable and teaching a sacred place for both sides to grow and enhance their knowledge. I also teach affordable piano lessons to children on the weekends and enjoy teaching piano and singing. Additionally, Elevate has provided me the opportunity to continue tutoring in a subject that is challenging yet fun an I hope to learn more skills in teaching and guiding others.