Fan Fan has always had a passion for learning and a love for working with children. In the summer of 2007 she volunteered as a YMCA children’s camp counselor in the inner cities of Atlanta. She says of her experience there:
“I will never forget seeing those kids running barefoot in the glass-strewn grass, feeling their soft arms gripped across my neck and their sandy legs tight around my waist, their giggles caught up in my piggy back ride and their folks sitting on sun-baked verandas stringing curse words through their ears. I remember feeling a pang when one boy skipped school and a deeper pang when a girl called me “Momma,” but the deepest pang was from knowing that there was something better. Education was their ticket out.”
What she saw struck her so deeply that she knew she wanted to make a change. Given the little resources she had, Fan knew she couldn’t reach those children right away, so she started small in her community. Describing her efforts, Fan says, “My impact starts right where I am and grows as one community positively influences another. Someday I want to reach those children again.”
Fan is also an ambassador for Ashoka’s Youth Venture, an organization that helps youth make change in their communities through starting their own “ventures,” and a Global Teen Leader for the We Are Family Foundation. She was also honored as a North Fulton Young Hero in 2010 for her work with 121Reach. In her free time, Fan likes exploring other cultures, making recycled art, good food, the outdoors, and spending time with her family and friends. Fan is currently a freshman at the University of Southern California.
