MEET Ryan Wang, a 15-year-old who started his own student-led nonprofit organization called Mezo Inc.. Based in Michigan, the team’s mission is to teach economics and finance to both middle school and high school students. Their purpose is to alleviate the decreasing rate of financial literacy in the country and allow for fiscal responsibility for future generations.
He first came up with the idea to start the organization on a plane ride home from New York City. “My team and I had just placed 5th at nationals in the National Economics Challenge,” he recalled. Following the competition, Ryan wanted to put his newly acquired knowledge to good use. At that moment, he realized that more people should understand the world of economics and finance, so he took an idea and ran with it.
Using his passion, he decided to create an organization with the goal of introducing students to economics, finance, and business. He believed that learning about these topics not only provided people a better understanding of what made the entire world tick but also an insight into their personal well-being later on in their lives.
“I’d like to think that any challenge or difficulty can be solved through logic, reasoning, and a little bit of ingenuity,” he says. His organization has had to overcome several obstacles in the past, one being whether to incorporate Mezo as a non-profit or not. Earlier this summer, Ryan and his team also had to gather enough interest from students to hold programs and seminars. At first, like any new organization, they struggled to gain enough following and publicity, however, their promotional work has now allowed their numbers to quickly rise, reaching nearly 100 people for their summer program: Mezo Investment Club.
As they continue to build their platform, more and more Asian’s are attending their seminars and summer programs. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, their organization and the summer program are currently being promoted through social media and word of mouth. For Ryan, quarantine has given him more time to be productive. “I’ve been able to work on many exciting, new projects…” Being cooped up in his home has actually allowed him to reorganize his life and simply just make the best out of the situation at hand. None of it is easy, but it’s the effort that counts.
His final advice to those who are hesitant to chase their dreams: “From my experiences of dealing with people from all walks of life, the most important piece of advice I can give is to be authentic. Do what you’re passionate about, not what you think will make you successful or will win other people’s approval.”
Written by: Rachael Ngai
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