Paying the good forward to others.

Jielu Yu is a Class of 2019 graduate of MMBay, a 2023 graduate of the University of Chicago, and currently a Social Impact Program Coordinator at Uber. Jielu returned to MMBay as a mentor in 2023, and over the past year has supported mentees Meiying, Sandie, and Yuridia on their own paths to college success. Reflecting on her experience, Jielu shares how our organization inspired her growth and choices:

“I cannot overstate how important it was for me to have the support of my mentors, Beryl and Jason, as well as to know that the full community of volunteers at MMBay care so genuinely about who we are - not only as students but also as people. At MMBay, I was embraced for being both quirky and pragmatic, which nurtured not only my academic ambitions but also my creative side. Here, I didn't have to choose between different identities. I could just be myself.

It’s hard to explain how much this matters as an immigrant, when English is not your first language, and you spend the better part of your youth trying to fit in. There are a lot of talented immigrant children in this country, and often the barrier to finding success is in feeling like you have a right to chart your own path, is in having the permission to try things, take risks, and fail sometimes - and become better for it. We need cheerleaders, and we need guides. To me, that's what my mentors Beryl and Jason were. And it's why we've stayed in touch through my college years and to this very day.”

< Jaclyn