Fund 1000 Scholarships in Rural China for a Year

SOAR is like a warm hearted angel and I grew up under her protective wings. My name is Yapeng. I was born in 1990 in Huaihua, Hunan Province. When I was only three, my parents got divorced. The court appointed my father to be my legal guardian and my mother returned to her hometown in Henan alone. In 1998, my father was laid off from work. Given his age, he couldn’t find another decent job and our family had to suffer below the poverty line.

In 2002, my teacher introduced me to Ms. Wu, a volunteer from SOAR. Ms. Wu visited me at school and did thorough research on my background including my family’s financial hardship and talked to people who knew me well. Ms. Wu confirmed that I met all the requirements, and then I was approved for the SOAR scholarship. After that day, my father and I no longer worried about my school tuition and fees. I deeply appreciated the care and consideration of our overseas Chinese to our mainland children. Thus, I set an even higher goal for myself, more optimistic and study harder. With the support of the SOAR scholarships and mentorship, I completed my middle school and high school studies.

In 2008, I graduated from high school and enrolled in Liaoning Art Vocational College to study graphic design. In college, I continued to study hard and aimed to contribute back to society for what SOAR provided. All my monthly and semester assignments and projects were graded as A+. The college kept my graduation design project for exhibition. It was at that moment when I knew I was determined to become a professional designer.

In 2010, I went to Beijing for an internship at Beijing Bahua Visual Design Company. I received high recognition from my boss and colleagues. Because of my excellent performance, my boss offered to hire me as a designer after graduation. So in 2011, I returned to Beijing and joined the company. I participated in designs for clients like the CITIC Group, World Wide Fund for Nature, Space China, Minerals and Metals Group, State Forestry Administration of the PR. China, the 21st Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, China Calligraphers Association, China Film Association, and others. I gained plenty of design experience and successfully completed multiple design cases.

In 2013, after spending three years in Beijing alone, I decided to work on my own startup, Core Brand Studio, back in my hometown. The original investment was merely 30,000 RMB that I saved over the years in Beijing, so I decided to invest it wisely and frugally. I rented an office of 40 square meters, and bought a computer. There were no employees, other than me and my partner who was in charge of business development while I worked on the design. In the beginning, we did not have any clients. But with excellent quality of our design products and our keen due diligence throughout the three years, we have developed the market, built up our client base and brand. Our long term clients include local large enterprise and chain stores, and other companies from nearby cities. Now we are a team of five, and have clients from Guangzhou, Sichuan and Guizhou. In addition, we plan to move to a bigger office at the end of this year. Our startup journey is full of difficulties and happiness. We have accumulated experience such as client communication, marketing research and internal operations. Although we have been quite busy and exhausted, it is rewarding and meaningful.

In August 2015, I married my beloved and now we have a lovely daughter. I grew up from a kid to a father, with more responsibilities. While I enjoy the happiness and success, I will always remember SOAR volunteers. They are like my family. I would not have anything today without their contribution. Without SOAR, I could not go back to school, become a designer, or have my own design company.

Gradually, I started to contribute to the local charitable activities. Although I’m not a millionaire, I want to try my best to help students in poverty like SOAR. I participated in rural areas educational events, organized visits to senior homes, and volunteered to design for some local charity organizations. Whenever I join these events, I always hope that my humble effort would change people’s lives just like SOAR did for me. When those kids grow up and fulfill their dreams, they will also pass the care, love and empathy down by helping other students in poverty.

All in all, plain words are not enough to show my appreciation to SOAR, sincerely and with all my heart. I wish SOAR becomes stronger and better over the years.