by Tim Huang, ’14
A few years ago my mentors, a couple from my hometown who lead and serve their community with so much grace, love, and integrity, gifted me a desk plaque that wrote: “never, never, never give up.” They blessed me not just with this small act of kindness, but with their daily embodiment of that phrase through all the years I spent with them. The man, the former mayor of my city, fought through testicular cancer and survived. Today, he’s a huge advocate for early detection, treatment, and cancer education. The woman, who has stuck by him through all the tough times and saw firsthand one of the hardest struggles humans can face, has been a huge force for inspiring youth to live their lives to the fullest by helping others. Their dream was to empower youth to lead, serve, and be a force for kindness in my community. And though both of them have faced a lot of obstacles in establishing a youth group in my town that did just that (due the lack of support and trust from other adults and institutional leaders), they would not give up on their dream, and personally spent hundreds of hours providing the backbone for this organization. Today, it has been one of the most successful youth initiatives in the county, raising tens of thousands of dollars every year for causes around the world (cancer research and prevention, Haiti earthquake relief, the Indonesia Tsunami relief, orphanages in Thailand, etc.) while serving the local community from a place of love and joy. And all of this was made possible because they refused to give up on their dreams and on the power of youth to change the world. Continue reading
