Monica
NYU Abu Dhabi ‘22
Spike: Urban Beekeeping Micro-business
Purpose: To save the honey bees and curb air pollution
Monica came to us with an interest in Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and a fear of bees. With our coaching, she became an urban beekeeper, caring for over 25,000 bees on the balcony of her Taipei apartment. She then started a micro-business selling her own brand of honey: “Polluted Honey.” In order to raise awareness of pollution, this honey had special labels that showed the level of pollutants in the air when it was produced.
Allison
Brandeis ‘23
Spike: “Populearn History”: Educational Music Videos
Purpose: Alleviating the challenges of rote learning in Taiwan
Allison became an educational content creator and developed a series of engaging music videos. She rewrote the lyrics of locally beloved pop songs to cover the content Taiwan middle school students were required to memorize in Chinese history class. She partnered with schools and teachers across the country, spoke on the country’s national public radio, and received tens of thousands of views on her videos.
Johnny
University of Illinois (Engineering) ‘22
Spike: Youth Robotics program for inner city kids
Purpose: Increasing access to robotics and coding to low-income kids.
Johnny started a youth robotics program to support inner city kids in Taipei. Johnny partnered with a local non-profit, recruited and hired instructors, sourced equipment from Asus, and expanded his program to support over 50 students.
Jessica
Johns Hopkins ‘22
Spike: Microtia Pre-Op Psychological Initiative For Kids
Purpose: Alleviating the fear and stress kids feel before and after receiving reconstructive face surgery.
Having herself dealt with the emotional trauma of microtia surgery as a child, Jessica wanted to help other kids who were also facing it.. She put together a booklet of advice for pediatric patients and their families, which received thousands of downloads and immensely positive feedback from families.
What our students say
Justin
Duke ‘22
Their coaching helped me realize that I could set more ambitious goals and take concrete actions to achieve them.
Victoria
Georgetown ‘22
The program taught me the importance and excitement of being extraordinary in one field. It pushed me to aim high and work hard toward the goals through rigorous planning and creative tools, which I, and most high school students, have never done it before.
Jackie
Vanderbilt ‘22
The Spike Lab made me realize I have the capability to aim higher and further guided me to achieve goals -creating a unique spike, getting into a top university, and putting more meaning into my high school career- that I never imagined attaining.
Andy
Emory ‘23
The Spike Lab has given me a brand new perspective on who I could be and what I could do as a teenager. They provided perfect guidance as I went through the important process of exploring my interests.
Longan
Tufts ‘23
This program has taught me how to reach bigger goals and excel in a field by pushing me to work smarter. The skills and creative, logical thinking I’ve learned have prepared me to succeed even beyond tertiary education.