Courtesy of Olivia Zhang
- Olivia Zhang founded Cancer Kids First after losing her grandfather and teacher to cancer.
- At first her immigrant parents didn't understand her desire to lead a charity, she says.
- Now, she's a junior at Harvard teaching other young people how to become leaders.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Olivia Zhang, author of "YOUth: The Young Person's Guide to Starting a Nonprofit." It has been edited for length and clarity.
My mom was one of five children growing up in China, but all resources were directed to just one: her brother. She was the first one in her family to graduate high school, then college. At 30, she moved to the US with my dad, hoping that her future daughters wouldn't have to face the same barriers she did as a woman. I was born a year later.
Immigrating was very hard for my parents. They often sent me to be with family in China so they could focus on their jobs and save money. My mom didn't know anything about American culture, so she copied and pasted her ideas from the people around us — mostly other Chinese immigrants. She enrolled me in violin, piano, and Math Olympiad: all the extracurricular that other Asian American kids were doing.
She expected me to keep my head down and work hard, but I was always more interested in speaking out.
After losing 2 loved ones, I started a cancer nonprofit
I was close with my grandfather in China, because we spent so much time together. At home in the US, I spent hours every school day with the same teacher in the afterschool program.
When I was 13, both my grandfather and that teacher died from cancer. It felt like my world was disappearing. I'd never lost anyone until then, and losing them so close together was devastating. I struggled with grief and depression.
During my grandfather's illness, I'd been selling art to raise money for his treatment. After they died, I donated the remaining funds to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Yet, I wished there was a way to see the tangible impact of my donation.
So, when I was 14 I started Cancer Kids First, with the goal of bringing joy to kids in hospitals through events, art, and treatment services.
I grew the organization while in high school
I poured everything into the nonprofit. My sophomore year was remote, so I had even more time to focus on Cancer Kids First. We had an influx of volunteers during the pandemic, and that's when the organization really grew.
I tried to block my time: after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays I did homework. On Thursdays and Fridays I booked meetings with hospital leaders and volunteer coordinators. On walks to and from school I was answering emails and texts about the nonprofit. Looking back, I was micromanaging, because I didn't want anyone else controlling the cause that was so close to my heart.
Courtesy of Olivia Zhang
I knew Cancer Kids First would be something big when we started posting on TikTok. Our first posts went viral, and we got 4,000 volunteer applications in one night. Now, we have more than 40,000 youth volunteers in 80 countries.
Now, I'm teaching other young people how to lead
Although I tried, I didn't always succeed with balance. Sometimes I pulled all nighters, or ignored my homework. I was even failing pre-calculus at one point.
My parents and neighbors didn't understand what I was doing, so I struggled to believe in myself. Even today, with all the success the nonprofit has had, my mom will still ask me what happened if I get an A- in a class. Yet, she's thrilled I'm at Harvard — we never thought an Ivy League education would be possible for our family.
As a young Asian woman, I wasn't encouraged into leadership. Because of that, I had to learn how to learn through trial and error. I want to change that for other young people. Cancer Kids First has so many young volunteers, that it's been natural to connect them with things like career training. I've seen that my generation has a real hope and desire to make an impact — we just need the opportunity.