2008

Born in Shanghai, China

Where it started.

2014

Moved to Vancouver, Canada

The groundwork for learning English — a slow, difficult start. I picked up the alphabet, but academics was a huge struggle.

Dec 2015

Moved to Houston, Texas

The longest road trip of my life — a different motel every morning, excited to see whether breakfast was waffles or cereal.

Feb 2016

First day, first grade

Confused about why I got so much candy — an ironic prelude to the pain ahead: culture shock, language barriers, and an ESL teacher who spoke Spanish.

2017

Lightbulb moment

Reading a “My Weird School” book, almost every word suddenly had meaning. After that, everything began to make sense.

I'd spent every night listening to the same stories my dad downloaded on a speaker, and most of 2nd grade on the most basic picture books.

2022

First taste of building

Discovered LEGO and got obsessed — every YouTube video, the most technical sets. I still see that kid when I set objectives for the nonprofit today.

2023

High school begins

Kerr High was transformative. Its self-paced, accelerated model kept me grounded — and Mr. Khoo's Biology prepared me for every class after.

Jan 2024

The slump

Burnt out all year. My ambitions were waning, and safety nets like the local state school started to feel comforting.

Dec 2025

Recovery

I found role models in my community who showed me things were possible. I began to believe in my ability to chase my ambitions again.

Feb 2026

Synthica growth intern

Joined an online research org as a marketer. My first post hit 400 people day one; my third reached 130,000 views.

That was the game changer — I became obsessed with understanding the algorithm and what makes a good post.

Mar 2026

The fourth post

A LinkedIn post about the Stanford program I got into reached ~50,000 views — and became how partners knew of me. I met my co-founder through it.

Apr 2026

Axiom is born

My co-founder had a “stealth nonprofit” idea that needed polishing. For low-income, high-achieving students, the safety net leads many astray from their real passions.

We were both into entrepreneurship — and who takes more risks to make ideas happen than startups? The core model of Axiom Pathways was born.

Jun 2026

The progress

300 applications worldwide (Yale and Stanford included), 9 partnered startups, and early interest from Microsoft. Let's see where it goes.

2026

Shelby the Armadillo Explains

Started an original picture book series that pairs real sociology concepts with real American communities, narrated by a recurring background character — Shelby, an armadillo. Book one grounds Ray Oldenburg's “third place” theory in a real civic center in Houston; manuscript done, illustrations in progress.

Book two moves to Meadows Place, TX, exploring Robert Sampson's idea of collective efficacy — how neighbors acting together makes a community resilient. I've lined up an interview with the city's mayor to inform the research.