LE is not only my last name

Everyone knows more or less that I work for a non-profit. For the most part, when people catch me freaking out on the second floor of our library ("Nhaca, you live here," I'm often told. True--it's a sad, windowless existence), it's because of something work-related and not school related. I joke with my friends that the reason why I don't panic about exams and school in general (although, as an IPEC major, I have many things I should be panicking about--another post for another day) is because I use up all my stress/panic buttons on LE. Even my darling dean and employer, Dean Kaneda, cautioned me at the beginning of the school year not to "overexert myself with extracurriculars", because my academics would surely suffer.

To that I can only say one thing: oops?

You may be wondering, "What is LE?" The easy answer: my last name. The not-so-easy answer: the acronym for the best non-profit ever, Learning Enterprises.

I applied to teach English in Thailand as a wee little freshman nearly four years ago with LE. Back then, Learning Enterprises was a fee-free opportunity to leave the country for the first time since I was brought to these shores as an infant and engage in meaningful service. I lived with a host family, gained weight on authentic Thai food, and taught English at a tiny rural school in Sanamklee, Phitsanulok, Thailand. The experience, to this day, remains one of my best and most-cherished (you can read about my experience on change.org, where I served as a guest blogger for the summer, here).

 Everyone, in unison: "awwwww!"

 My sophomore year I served as LE's Georgetown Campus Director, where I recruited, interviewed, selected, and trained volunteers for service. It was a difficult and frustrating experience, for sure, but definitely, in the end, worthwhile. In summer 2010, I directed LE's program in China, and also spent 4 weeks with LE's Cambodia program.

At Nanjing Train Station with my good lookin' bunch of kittens

And, this past school year, I served as the Executive Managing Director of Learning Enterprises. Aka I don't sleep and run shit.

Running a non-profit has been the single-most worthwhile, rewarding, and painful experience I've had in college. On lucky days I wake up thinking "Wow, I'm the shit!" Most of the time, however, I wake up with a panicked stone lodged deep in my chest, thinking "Whose awful idea was it to put me in charge of this crazy thing?"

This "crazy thing" being an entirely student-run US-registered 501(c)3 education-based non-profit that sends 100+ college-aged students annually to 10+ developing communities to teach English for 6-8 weeks abroad. We charge our volunteers no program fees, and our entire organization is run on the generous donation of family and friends. It sounds crazy and impossible, but it is possible. So possible that it has totally changed my life

LE has given me the opportunity to push myself beyond anything I knew was possible, make a difference in the lives of children thousands of miles away, and create real, lasting relationships with people who do not speak the same language as I do. My goal as a silly little freshman embarking on her first real adventure was to empower and inspire a small group of children in rural Thailand. In the end, I was the one who was empowered and inspired to believe in myself and believe in the power of these little midget hands creating change.

Now that's something money can't buy.

But money can help! I turn the big TWO-OH (21) this Saturday and the best thing you could possibly do for my birthday is consider donating $21 to LE. Within the next couple of weeks over 100 volunteers will be going into close to a dozen countries to touch the lives of over 5,000 children, and countless others. As Managing Director, I am directly responsible for ensuring that these programs have the necessary funding. 21 dollars goes a long way in a small non-profit like LE. In giving, you do not only make my 21st birthday the best ever (undoubtedly it will be), but you also ensure that we, humankind, are taking the right steps towards a future where children worldwide are afforded the same opportunities to access quality education.

=)