Jena Kim, winner of American Banker's Young Women's Leadership Award, has always been a leader in her community, from her role as president of her high school's chapter of the Key Club to serving as founding executive officer of her own organization, the Elevate Project. Kim first realized her passion for business when she enrolled in Virtual Enterprise, a three-year course series through which she and her team developed a mock company, with Kim as the CEO. The summer prior to her first year at Smith College, Kim also worked as an intern at BlackRock.
In her Virtual Enterprise class, Kim worked with her team to create Nüapps, a simulation app company coded by students in a computer science sequence. The company's objective is to code apps that can contribute to the economy. For example, the team's newest app, Quid, is a platform that aims to alleviate the problem of inflation by searching for the most affordable prices on retail products, from everyday household items to luxury goods. "Every day prices of goods are being marked up, which is why we wanted to develop an app that helps solve that issue and helps make sure that people can afford items and household goods that they wouldn't be able to before," said Kim.
Kim graduated from Francis Lewis High School in Queens, New York, this past spring and began at Smith College in the fall with the Posse Foundation, a scholarship awarded to students demonstrating exceptional leadership potential. She plans to study economics and hopes to work in banking or financial services in the future.
In the spring of her senior year, Kim started the Elevate Project, an organization that provides students with both in-person and virtual volunteer opportunities. Through her involvement in the Key Club, Kim discovered her passion for community service and hoped to share this interest with students everywhere. When her freshman year of high school was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kim began to search for virtual ways to give back, and found a multitude of ways to do so. She reports that online opportunities led to stronger engagement with service when students returned to in-person volunteering. "We were able to learn from what we did online, but we were also able to continue doing things online, so it was almost like we were doubling the impact of what we could do," said Kim.
Through the Elevate Project, students have been able to find volunteer opportunities such as Charity Miles, an app that can be used to raise funds for an organization of their choice. Students simply have to download the app and are able to raise twenty-five cents per mile by walking, running or biking. In the future, she hopes to increase access to service opportunities for students all around the globe. "I want to have more people join and have more people realize that service isn't something you should be scared of," she said. "It's really just about having that passion to give back."
Kim has also found ways to give back to her community through her role as president of the Key Club, through which students are able to participate in various service projects. She describes the club as a stepping stone in her journey, through which she realized her passion for helping others. "[The Key Club] was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had; I was able to involve myself in so many organizations and meet so many people that I [otherwise] never would have met," said Kim.
Kim also works as an intern at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, an organization that provides students with an adult mentor who will remain with them until the end of their high school career. Kim was a participant in the program herself and served on the youth council for the organization. She will continue to serve on the council as a college student.
Kim admits that her leadership journey was slow at first. She was initially hesitant to get involved in many of the opportunities offered by her school, but began to increase her involvement during the pandemic. While attending classes on Zoom, Kim began to join the clubs and organizations that were available in order to foster a sense of community for herself. "Even small opportunities were able to really shape how I am as a leader, as well as make sure that I foster a sense of community for other students. I was able to learn that a small act of kindness can go a long way," said Kim.
Kim believes that every student is capable of making change. "Don't take life too seriously," she advised. "It's okay to not get every position you want because at the end of the day, you are still able to make an impact."
