Founder Story

By Mengxin (Ella) Sun and Menghan (Emma) Sun, Co-Founders of UST

UST's story began in a single classroom in rural China in the summer of 2019.

That August, we joined a small group of youth volunteers at a rural elementary school. Its lessons focused almost entirely on math and Chinese, and many of the students had never taken a class in English, science, music, or art.

For a few days, we became their teachers.

We taught English, led science activities, played music, and made art together. We still remember how eager the students were. Hands shot up before we could finish asking a question. Children who had never sung in English began singing together. Students proudly held up the first paintings they had ever made.

Their principal told us she had rarely seen them so curious and engaged.

We had arrived thinking we were the ones with something to give. We did not expect how much the experience would change us.

We will never forget watching a child light up at something completely new, and realizing that what we already knew (a song, a science experiment, a few words of English) could mean so much once we shared it.

We were about to start sixth grade ourselves. For the first time, we understood that making a difference was not something we had to wait until adulthood to do.

At the end of the trip, we promised the students we would come back the next summer.

Then COVID-19 changed everything.

Travel stopped. Schools closed. Returning to that classroom was no longer possible.

But we could not stop thinking about those students, or about the feeling of sharing something we loved with someone eager to learn it. If we could not go back, could we find another way?

Together with Elton and George, two high school students who believed in the idea as much as we did, we began building an online platform that connected young people who wanted to teach with students who wanted to learn. In June 2020, it officially became UstartTeaching, or UST.

Our idea was simple: young people do not have to wait to make a difference, and everyone has something worth sharing.

Someone who loves math can help another student understand it. A musician can teach a younger child to play. Anyone passionate about science, art, coding, languages, or almost anything else can turn that passion into an opportunity for someone else.

During the pandemic, UST grew almost entirely online. Young people designed and taught their own classes, reaching students across communities and countries. What had started in one classroom in rural China was suddenly reaching farther than we had ever imagined.

Elton and George eventually left for college, but the foundation they helped build still supports UST's growth today.

As the world began to reopen, we learned another important lesson.

Online teaching can connect people across enormous distances, but some kinds of service require something technology cannot replace: showing up.

Children need mentors who spend time with them. Seniors need companionship. Community organizations need volunteers. Families and nonprofits need people willing to bring their time, talents, ideas, and energy to the places where they live.

We began to see that UST could be more than a platform for students teaching students. It could be a place where young people learn to take responsibility for their communities.