2023 Year in Review
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2023 Year in Review January 1, 2023 - December 31, 2023
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“We spun out of Harvard to become an independent non-profit, impacting over 16,000 low-income youth globally in our first year. It was a pivotal moment, signaling the beginning of a movement that will reshape the future for talented young minds.” - Meena Sonea, Executive Director of Aspire Institute
Inside 07 08 09 11 13
25
Reaching the Last Mile to Identify Talent
Who We Are
26
Foundries
Origins of Aspire
28 32
Letter from the Directors
Aspirations
Program Impact Evaluation
Financials
By The Numbers
People Involved
16
35
Our Work
Gratitude
18
39
Highlights
40
Spotlights
21
About the Aspire Leaders Program
43
Ways to Give
23
About the Extended Leadership Program
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Tarun Khanna Co-Founder, Aspire Institute Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor, Harvard Business School
Karim Lakhani Co-Founder, Aspire Institute Dorothy and Michael Hintze Professor, Harvard Business School
Meena Sonea Executive Director, Aspire Institute
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As we wrap up another transformative year, we’re thrilled to share the impactful strides of the Aspire Institute – made possible by the global efforts of many. This first Year-inReview publication celebrates our mission to provide equitable opportunities for aspiring low-income youth globally, driven by the belief that talent knows no borders. With a modest investment, we’ve elevated the aspirations of over 100,000 participants from 180 countries. We have boosted their confidence, expanded their perspectives, and created an online global community for meaningful engagement. The Aspire Leaders Program curriculum, centered around peer-centric learning and a bias for action, has proven to be a potent force in cultivating global citizenship and nurturing dynamic changemakers. We have expanded the program across diverse technology platforms, providing an exceptional online experience. Our journey has involved the active participation of Harvard and peer institution faculty who generously volunteer their time, underscoring the strength of our community. While celebrating our achievements, we acknowledge the ongoing challenge of building an economically sustainable model. Looking ahead, our refined vision focuses on driving down the cost of changing lives, fostering a borderless community, and equipping youth for the future. We continue to invest in our team and infrastructure to keep growing the scale and quality of the reach of the Aspire community. We aim to introduce cutting-edge knowledge in domains like Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, climate change, and more, preparing the next generation for the evolving workforce. Thank you for being an integral part of our journey! Together, we will continue to drive positive change in the lives of youth and prepare them to be leaders of tomorrow. With Gratitude, Karim Lakhani Co-founder, Aspire Institute; Dorothy & Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration; Chair, Digital, Data & Design (D^3) Institute at Harvard; Founder, Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard Tarun Khanna Co-founder, Aspire Institute; Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor; Director, Lakshmi Mittal & Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University
Letter from the Directors
Dear Friends,
Who We Are Mission Aspire Institute’s mission is to prepare low-income, first-generation college students worldwide to be leaders in their communities and reach their full potential academically and professionally through a fully-funded leadership development program.
Vision A future where every young person achieves their full potential and contributes their leadership and talents to build thriving communities.
Co-Founders of Aspire Professors Karim Lakhani and Tarun Khanna
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Origins of Aspire 2017-2020: In-Person Aspire in Africa, Middle East & South Asia
2021: Aspire Goes Global, Reaching 90 Countries
2022 - Present Aspire Reaches 180+ Countries
2017
2021
2022
Founded as Crossroads Emering Leaders Program by two Harvard Business School faculty at the Mittal South Asia Institute at Harvard University in partnership with the Harvard Business School Club of the GCC.
Spun out of Harvard as an independent non-profit organization, Aspire Institute, headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with outposts in Delhi, India; Islamabad, Pakistan; and São Paulo, Brazil.
Established a virtual Aspire Leaders Program that offers a free leadership development program to low-income college students globally. In 2022, we had 7 full time staff and 3 Foundry representatives.
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Karim Lakhani, Aspire Institute Co-Founder, and Carrie Elkins, Aspire Institute Faculty Advisor
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Aspirations Reach the Last Mile
Facilitate Peer-to-Peer Learning
Encourage Continuous Alumni Engagement
Utilize Technology to Scale
To reach
1,000,000
low-income college youth globally each year by
2027
Engage Volunteers Worldwide
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MIT
Boston College
Virginia Tech
The Aspire Team California Institute of Technology
Harvard University
30
Faculty Volunteers
University of New South Wales
Cal Polytech
INSEAD, Singapore
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INSPER
53+45+1
By the Numbers Number of Applications
51,703
46% women
0.3% non-binary 0.2% do not wish to disclose
54% men
$100K $9.5K Community Action Awards (2023) to 12 alumni across 12 countries
(2017 - 2023)
37,135
Total Number of Alums
43
Cost Per Student
(2023) mini-grants for academic and professional development to 59 alumni across 30 countries
175
Countries Represented
Africa Asia Oceania Europe North America South America
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“Right from the get go, peer learning has been a powerful catalyst for enthusiastic learning. Our program has fostered connections among individuals with diverse interests from around the globe.” - Tarun Khanna Co-Founder of Aspire Institute and HBS Professor
Aspire Institute Co-Founder, Tarun Khanna, speaking to Aspire alumni and partners in India
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Online Aspire Leaders Program (ALP) •
•
•
Faculty volunteer their time to lead online synchronous and asynchronous seminars across disciplines and a leadership course. An integrated technology platform offers Aspire’s curriculum at scale and allows participants to engage with each other in small groups. Aspire participants exchange ideas and learn from their global peers throughout the program and as alums.
Online and In-person Extended Leadership Program (ELP) •
• •
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As alums of the program, Aspire leaders continue to engage with their peers through Aspire’s Extended Leadership Program. Supports alums in-country to make a local impact through action-oriented projects. Encourages collaborations across alums globally through an online platform.
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Global Outreach Through Collaborations • •
Through our global collaborators, we reach the last mile to identify talented low-income youth. Aspire alums serve as program ambassadors to reach their peers.
International Aspire Foundries •
•
A low-cost, high-value outreach across a region. Aspire Foundry representatives frequently communicate with Aspire’s prospective applicants, current participants, and alumni in real time, providing continuity to their leadership journey. Aspire alums serve as program ambassadors to reach their peers.
Program Evaluation •
• •
Growth-mindset questions measure the shift in mindset before and after the ALP in Entity Beliefs, Incremental Beliefs, and Risk-taking Behaviors. Research surveys measure the impact of content provided by Aspire at different stages of the ALP. Research led by Professor Asim Ijaz Khwaja, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and Professor Aditi Bhutoria, Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata, India.
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•
Global Outreach Through Partnerships •
•
Nepal Leadership Academy and Center for Leadership Education co-hosted an event on April 7, 2023, with 175 prospective applicants and speakers, including alumnus Rupesh Shrestha and CoFounder of Teach for Nepal, Anil Keshary Shah. Resulted in 4X more applicants from Nepal in 2023 than 2022 due to continuing partnerships and facilitating in-country partner ecosystems.
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•
Soul Bilíngue, one of Aspire Institute’s global partners, provides English language learning programs to underprivileged youth in Brazil. By focusing on English language learning organizations, Aspire recieved 1.5X more applications from Brazil in 2023 compared to 2022.
e alumni visit KHUSHII Aspir
Distinguished Speaker Series
In-person Aspire Community Gatherings •
Field visit by 30 Aspire alums to KHUSHII, a non-profit organization working toward human development, especially for women and children across Delhi, India.
•
19 alumni gathered in Lilongwe, Malawi, to converse with Boston’s Orthopedic Surgeon and Founder of SONA Global, Dr. Kiran Agarwal-Harding. SONA Global supports surgeons, traumatologists, engineers, global health specialists, students, and innovators who believe that safe and high-quality trauma and orthopedic surgery should be available to all people worldwide, regardless of country or context.
Leymah Gbowee (top) 2011 Nobel Laureate • Giving a Voice to Youth. • March 2023. • “Celebrate little moments and write your own story — don’t let anyone write it for you.” Stéphane Bancel (bottom) CEO, Moderna • Journey to Global Impact: Moderna CEO’s Lessons on Leadership. • October 2023. • “It might seem crazy but don’t be shy of thinking big, and you can really change the world; it’s only people who think big who do big things.”
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“I learned a lot about leadership and got to see how some of my own practices as a student leader were effective or weren’t effective.” - Andrew Marvin Kanyike ALP ‘22, CAA Winner ‘22, Uganda
About the Aspire Leaders Program
Criteria for Acceptance:
lowincome family
firstgeneration college student or recent graduate
18-26 years old
Program Goals:
Self Awareness and Self Confidence
Critical Thinking
Time Commitment:
self-paced
Communication Skills
Cultural Competency
5
14 weeks
hours per week
Leadership Skills to Make a Social Impact
Curriculum • • •
Self-assessment of individual strengths. Soft skills development and seminars across multiple disciplines led by Harvard and peer institution faculty. Six-week leadership course led by Harvard faculty.
Leveraging Technology to Scale the Program • • •
Full Fabric, a CRM platform, houses the program application and key data. HarvardX, SHL, and YouTube house educational content for the program. Zoom and Slack allow the community to network and share opportunities.
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“I was inspired to create SisterSTEAM, because I believe that things will be different for girls suffering socio-economically and personally - but having a community, a support system to help them through is something I didn’t have but I wish I did.” - Diana Citlali Avila Padilla ALP ‘22, CAA Winner ‘22, Mexico
About the Extended Leadership Program
Criteria for Acceptance:
Alumni who complete one or more stages of the program qualify for ELP
Alumni who complete all stages of the ALP qualify for ELP and financial awards
Program Offerings:
Community Building: Online community and in-person gatherings around the world.
Career Readiness: Monthly Mentorship Sessions and alumni networking and resource portal.
Opportunities to Give Back: Outreach Ambassador Program and in-person visits to local nonprofits.
Financial Awards: Community Action Awards and Mini-Grants for professional and academic growth.
Local Social Impact Through Community Action Awards Community Action Awards allow alumni to address local problems with local solutions.
Community Action Award Winners Spotlights Akbar Kurniawan ALP ‘22, Indonesia The MulaSusmita project supports the hard-of-hearing community with accessibility maps and sign language courses. Award: $9,974 Andrew Marvin Kanyike ALP ‘22, Uganda Community Health Workers awareness, screening, and early detection of hypertension in Eastern Uganda. Award: $9,500 Luy Dao ALP ‘22 Bangladesh (originally from Vietnam) The Orchid Project supports a community of women in the Rohyngya camps to make menstrual pads. Award: $2,500 Diana Citlali Avila Padilla ALP ‘22 Mexico SisterSTEAM supports women in STEAM. They are sisters in STEAM and a sister’s team. Award: $9,000
(Left): Aspire mentor, Jonathan Kempner, meeting with students as a scholar in residence at Harvard University (Right): Isabela Sanchez, Aspire alumna from Peru, visits with Aspire Alumni Programs Manager, Amy Rasmussen
Global Reach 2023 “It’s inspiring to work with local partners worldwide and witness both the shared passion for supporting first-generation college students and the excitement of the alumni in sharing their story to others.”
Engagement/Reach
- Jenna Maurer, Aspire Institute Communications and Outreach Manager
Social Media 2022 vs 2023 275.8% increase - 9,864 New Followers
45% increase - 11,569 New Followers
23,898 New Followers
Reaching the Last Mile to Identify Talent Local Partners
Social Media Influencers
We collaborate with universities and organizations supporting young leaders around the world to offer culturally informed communications and inspire firstgen students to join the ALP.
We partner with social media content creators worldwide who share our mission to inspire young leaders to take advantage of opportunities to reach their full potential.
Organic and Paid Social Media
Alumni
We curate social media content and advertisements to raise awareness about Aspire and inspire firstgeneration university students to join our community.
We collaborate with our alumni to empower them to share their inspirational stories and use various communications and outreach tools to support their network through the ALP application process.
Iraq outreach event in partnership with MakersIQ
Aspire’s communications and outreach team speaking at a conference with educators working with first-gen students through TRiO programs
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Meena Sonea, Aspire Institute Executive Director, speaking with youth about Aspire while visiting the Brazil Foundry
Foundries Role of the Foundries • •
•
•
Help reach the last mile to identify the untapped potential of low-income youth. Develop an ecosystem of local collaborators and academic and private institutions to engage with talent discovered through Aspire. Support prospective applicants, current participants, and alums through their leadership journeys. Connect globally with other Aspire Institute Foundries.
Pakistan Foundry Members
Haleema Abbasi, Pakistan Country Representative
Nishat Maryam, Communications and Outreach Representative
Adnan Ali, Alumni Engagement Representative
Mariana Izagawa, Country Representative 2022-2023
Aline Santos, Country Representative 2023-Present
Impact of the Foundries • • •
Three-fold increase in applications to the Aspire Leaders Program. In-person networking events with Aspire participants and alums. Mentorship talks and industry visits organized for the alums.
Brazil Foundry Members
India Foundry •
Anil Nair, Country Representative 2023
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“It’s about bringing new references for them. Not just the path they can currently envision, but also other possibilities.” - Ariane Noronha Founder of Soul Bilíngue, Aspire Global Partner in Brazil
Program Impact Evaluation Conducted by Professor Asim Kwaja, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and Professor Aditi Bhutoria, IIM, Kolkata, and Aspire staff, Jonathan Chu and Yilun Xi. Students were asked to complete feedback surveys after three of the five stages.
Two types of questions: provide a rating on a numeric scale (1-10) or provide a written text response. N= 2,950 responses after Stage 3 Cycle 2 of the 2023 program.
Areas of Impact MENTIONED BY % OF RESPONDENTS 7.0%
6.0%
5.0%
4.0%
3.0%
2.0%
1.0%
0.0%
LEADERSHIP SKILLS
CRITICAL THINKING
PROBLEM SOLVING
PERSONAL/PROFESSIONAL GROWTH
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
SELF CONFIDENCE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
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Aspire alumni meeting for the first time at a gathering in São Paulo, Brazil
79+3+18
SIGNIFICANT IMPACT (78.44%)
LIT TLE OR NO IMPACT (2.75%)
Impact of Program on Participants
87+211
MODERATE IMPACT (18.81%)
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT (86.68%)
MODERATE EFFECT (11.56%)
Program Effect on Participants’ Leadership Aspirations
LIT TLE OR NO EFFECT (1.76%)
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80%
Sentiment of Program Impact on Participants
% OF RESPONDENTS
60%
% Change in GrowthOriented Mindsets (N=105 Finalists)
LEADERSHIP ASPIRATIONS ACHIEVEMENT ASPIRATIONS EDUCATIONAL ASPIRATIONS RISK-TAKING APPETITE
20%
0%
POSITIVE
NEUTRAL
NEGATIVE
12%
10%
MENTIONED BY % OF RESPONDENTS
BELIEFS ABOUT INTELLIGENCE
40%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0.0% FINALISTS EXHIBIT SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN GROWTH-ORIENTED MINDSETS AFTER COMPLETING THE ASPIRE LEADERS PROGRAM
Karim Lakhani, Aspire Institute Co-Founder, discussing Artificial Intelligence with Aspire alumni in São Paulo, Brazil
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“We want to show young people how to manufacture their own opportunities. It will be the youth of today that solve the world’s pressing problems.” - Karim Lakhani Co-Founder of Aspire Institute and HBS Professor
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Applicants by Year
1,000,000
APPLICANTS
Financials
1,250,000
750,000
500,000
250,000
0 2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
Annual Budget 1,250,000
BUDGET
1,000,000
750,000
500,000
250,000
0 2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
2025
2026
2027
Awards and Grants 1,500,000
BUDGET
1,000,000
500,000
2022
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2023
2024
Donation Sources $9,000,000
$8,000,000
DONATION SOURCES
$6,000,000
$5,000,000
Other Donor Sources
$4,000,000
$3,000,000
$2,000,000
$1,000,000
Angel Donors
$0 2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
Cost per Enrollee $80
$70
COST PER ENROLLEE
Financials
$7,000,000
$60
$50
$40
$30
$20
$10
$0 2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
Applications and Cost/Applicant Year
2017
2018
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
Applications
252
500
2,817
3,800
16,563
51,703
120K
270K
608K
1M
Cost/Applicant
$400
N/A
N/A
$135
$79
$43
$29
$178
$12
$10
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Tarun Khanna Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor, Harvard Business School Karim Lakhhani Dorothy and Michael Hintze Professor, Harvard Business School
Staff Administrative Team Meena Sonea, Executive Director; Art Hunt, Finance Director; Whitney Kavanaugh, Office Manager Outreach and Communications Team Jenna Maurer, Manager; Hannah Roza, Coordinator; Jake Elkins, Intern Technology Team Tom Brown, Tech Officer; Jonathan Chu, Associate; Simone Abegurin, Associate; Yilun Xi, Volunteer Programs Team Erika Solloguren, Manager (January-June) Jenny Mooney, Manager, Chané Vanes, Coordinator; Hamza Javed, Intern Alumni Programs Team Amy Rasmussen, Manager; Grace Manning, Coordinator; Alyana Satchu, Intern; Ananyaa Nair, Intern; Siena Claure, Intern Interns Development Team: Laurie Kennedy (August - November) Foundry representatives: Mariana Midori (January - September) and Aline Santos, Brazil; Anil Nair, India; Haleema Abassi, Adnan Ali, and Nishat Maryam, Pakistan Faculty Advisors Aditi Bhutoria, IIM, Kolkata Asim Khwaja, Harvard University Can Erbil, Boston College Jasjit Singh, INSEAD, Singapore Mariam Chughtai, LUMS, Pakistan Patricio del Sol G., Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
The Aspire Team
People Involved
Co-Founders
People Involved
Donors Founding Donors Aahan Bhojani, Founder & CEO, Silkhaus Chris Torto, Founder & CEO, Ascenty Marcelo Claure, Founder & CEO, Claure Group Oliver Haarmann, Founding Partner, Searchlight Poonam Bhojani, CEO, Innoventures Education Reza Satchu, Founder & Managing Partner, Alignvest Management Corp. Thierry Porte, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC Foundry Supporters Chris Torto, São Paulo, Brazil Osman Waheed, CEO, Ferozsons Laboratories Limited, Lahore, Pakistan Mohammed Khaishgi and Faheen Allibhoy, Washington D.C. Naveen Tewari, InMobi, Bangalore, India Aspire Program Supporters Sunil Hirani, CEO, truEX Group LLC Cambridge Trust Foundation
Program Partners Content (Faculty) Caroline Elkins, Professor, Harvard Business School Karim Lakhani, Professor, Harvard Business School Kristin Fabbe, Professor, European University Institute, Florence Tarun Khanna, Professor, Harvard Business School Technology Full Fabric, Zoom, HarvardX, Google, Slack, YouTube Global Outreach Collaborators by Region U.S. and North America Boston University Newbury Center (U.S.) BlackNorth Initiative (Canada) CodeHouse (U.S.) Hispanic Scholarship Fund (U.S.) Close the Gap Foundation (U.S.) Miami Dade Honors College (U.S.) Ashoka U.S. (U.S.) CU Boulder CISC (U.S.) Sonoma State (U.S.) Futuremap (U.S.) Fair Opportunity Project (U.S.) Coalition for College Success (U.S.) Access Opportunity (U.S.) Braven (U.S.) Bottom Line (U.S.) University of Cincinnati TriO (U.S.) America Needs You (U.S.) St. John’s University (U.S.) South Asia Advaith Foundation (India) Apeejay Education (India) APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (India) Azim Premji University (India) Buddy4Study (India) Care India (India) Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurship at the Academy of
Culinary Arts (Nepal) CMR University (India) College Dakhla (India) College of Engineering Trivandrum (India) G L Bajaja Institute of Technology and Management (India) GD Goenka (India) Give.Do (India) Karm Trust (India) Karnataka Colleges of Management and Science (India) Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (India) Learning Links Foundation (India) LedBy (India) Make A Difference (India) Nepal Leadership Academy (Nepal) NIIT Foundation (India) Raj Kumar Goel Institute of Technology (India) RV College (India) Sharing Opportunities (Nepal) STEP North East (India) Teerthanker Mahaveer University (India) Udayan Care (India) United World Schools Nepal (Nepal) Vidyadhan (India) Wadhwani Foundation (India) We Live Foundation (India) University of Education Lahore (Pakistan) University of Swabi (Pakistan) Dow University (Pakistan) University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (Pakistan) Iqra National University Peshawar (Pakistan) Rawalpindi Medical University (Pakistan) University of Sufism and Modern Sciences (Pakistan) University of Technology Nawshera (Pakistan) University of Home Economics Lahore (Pakistan) Indus University (Pakistan) Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur (Pakistan) University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar (Pakistan)
Air University Islamabad (Pakistan) Abasyn University (Pakistan) Jinnah University for Women (Pakistan) Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University (Pakistan) Sarhad University of Science & Information Technology, (SUIT) (Pakistan) Muhammad Institute of Medical and Allied Sciences Multan (Pakistan) Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (Pakistan) Nazeer Hussain University (Pakistan) Government College University Lahore (Pakistan) Government College University Hyderabad (Pakistan) Malir University of Science and Technology (Pakistan) Rawalpindi Women University (Pakistan) University of Chitral (Pakistan) University Of South Asia (Pakistan) Punjab Tianjin University of Technology (Pakistan) Karakoram International University (Pakistan) Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Medical University (Pakistan) Aror University Sindh (Pakistan) Sindh Madressatul Islam University (Pakistan) Capital University of Science and Technology (CUST) (Pakistan) FAST-NUCES- Peshawar (Pakistan) The Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) (Pakistan) Women University of AJ&K Bagh (Pakistan) Alhamd Islamic University (Pakistan) University of Chitral (Pakistan) University of Swat (Pakistan) Islamic International University Islamabad (Pakistan) Comsats (Pakistan) The Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University of Technology and Skill Development, Khairpur Mirs, Sindh (Pakistan)
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Program Partners Middle East
Latin America and Caribbean
Association for Supporting Contemporary Life (Turkey) Crown Prince Foundation (Jordan) Jusoor (Syrian Arab Republic) ROTA Consulting (Turkey) YGA (Turkey)
Alumna (Brazil) Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (Mexico) Centro Paula Souza (Brazil) Centro Universitário Facens (Brazil) Cidadão Pró-Mundo (Brazil) CONIF (Brazil) David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University (Chile and Brazil) FAMEMA (Brazil) Fundação Estudar (Brazil) Fundación Reynera (Mexico) Insper (Brazil) Inteli (Brazil) ISMART (Brazil) Latin American Leadership Academy (Brazil) Pontifícia Universidade Católica (PUC) - RS (Brazil) Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Chile) Projeto Speaking (Brazil) São Camilo (Brazil) Science Clubs International (Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Paraguay)
Africa Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia) Ashesi University (Ghana) Babban Gona (Nigeria) Chiyambi Centre for Energy Transitions (Zambia) Egyptian Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (Egypt) Egypt Scholars (Egypt) Etisal Assiut (Egypt) Innobel (Egypt) LEAP Africa (Nigeria) Misale Initiative (Ethiopia) SisterlyHQ (Nigeria) Today for Tomorrow Foundation (Nigeria) University of Ghana (Ghana) Pan African Business Women’s Association
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SEDUC (RS) (Brazil) Soul Bilingue (Brazil) Tecnologicó de Monterrey (Mexico) TechnoPUC (Brazil) Unievangélica (GO) (Brazil) Unisinos (Brazil) Universidad Adolfo Ibañez (Chile) Universidad Mayor (Chile) Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo Leon (Mexico) University of the West Indies (Jamaica) Vulva Negra (Brazil) East and Southeast Asia Angat Buhay (Phillipines) Chiang Mai University (Thailand) Pfizer (Malaysia) United in Diversity (Indonesia) VietHope (Vietnam) International Islamic University Malaysia (Malaysia)
We recognize the unwavering support of our alumni, donors, global collaborators, and individual and faculty volunteers who make the Aspire Insitute’s work possible.
Founding Donor: Thierry Porte
Spotlights
I was born and raised in New York City to French immigrant parents who came to America as a butler and a cook in the 1950s. Education was important to them, and I was fortunate to gain admission to Harvard College. I was a first-generation college student and was the only student at Harvard from my Jesuit high school. I had little network and frankly found the experience of building one a bit daunting. Note that this was well before the arrival of social networks! My most impactful experiences were the time and attention which I received from my Harvard professors. In my field of study, economics. I had access to teachers who listened to my questions, offered ideas and suggestions, and provided access to academic and professional experiences. These encounters carried me forward in my undergraduate and graduate work and to my professional life. As I reflect on those experiences, what I was missing was more interaction with my peers. Undergraduate study was a solitary experience and what I would tell my younger self is to find ways to share experience with and learn more from others. My commitment to Aspire is motivated by a desire to see generations of students from across the globe have access to world-class faculty in a substantive and engaging manner. Aspire offers the opportunity for students to interact with each other, thus enhancing the learning experience. Through technology, Aspire is able to offer this in a highly scalable and effective manner and to have a global impact. Creating this access will enable students to create a network to help themselves and each other.
Aspire Alum 2022: Bryan Zapata (Virginia, U.S.)
As a first-generation college graduate, what impactful experience shaped your future? I created the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) at Virginia Tech. This organization was created to combat prejudice in the media, promote more Hispanics to pursue roles in newsrooms and bring divided communities together. I was able to bring in world-class journalists and facilitate conversations on our most pressing issues and how everyday people can make the world a better place. Why was this experience important for you? At the end of my college career, NAHJ was recognized as the outstanding student chapter in the nation [and] for our role in bridging divided communities together. The Hispanic, Asian American, and LGBTQ+ communities developed more empathy because of our presence. Virginia Tech was inspired by the power of storytelling and how much we all have in common. That is the beauty of being the first in your family and hometown to make change in your college community. No amount of world recognition can overcome the power of impact on the lives of everyday people. What advice would you give your younger self given the wisdom you have developed through your academic and professional accomplishments? Embrace all the fear and anxiety that you have – you need that fear of the unknown to create a bright future. It is a privilege to grow up in challenging times, because you discover gifts you never knew you had. Remember, it only takes one person to change the world and it starts with YOU. Life is not about the awards, accolades, or recognition. [It is] about building a world based on compassion and empathy and inspiring others to do the same. Your engagement with Aspire is a unique way to support other first-generation college students. How do you envision us collectively leaving a positive impact on others? Aspire has the power to bring every nation and tongue together. Every identity is needed to make change happen. Aspire can continue to challenge our conventional wisdom and update knowledge used to create our legacy. Most importantly, Aspire remind[s] us of our similar hopes and dreams – [and] that there is more beauty [in] seeking similarities than what sets us apart. This will allow young scholars to fight hatred with compassion and build new bridges made out of empathy. That is how we can achieve our full potential as one global family.
Spotlights
2022 Aspire Leaders Program alumnus, Bryan Zapata, inspires others to embrace global collaboration and lead the change they wish to see in the world. After graduating from Virginia Tech in 2022, Zapata joined Boeing as an Industrial Engineer. He continues to be an active member of the Aspire Institute community as an alumni ambassador and agent of change in his community.
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