The 17-year-old Johorean non-profit founder is the only M’sian RISE Global Winner – Wired PR Lifestyle Story
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RISE is a program that finds great teenagers who need support for projects that benefit the surrounding communities. Created by Wendy and Eric Schmidt, former CEOs of Google, RISE selects 100 global winners each year and offers them lifelong benefits while working to serve others.
Under this initiative by Schmidt Futures in collaboration with the Rhodes Trust, the program builds for teens ages 15-17 by providing scholarships, mentoring, career development opportunities and funding to work to solve the most serious problems facing humanity.
This year, we have our Malaysian, who has been selected as RISE’s Global Winners: 17-year-old Belle See from Johor.
From an initiative started during the MCO era
Despite his interest in technology, Bell has always perceived coding as a job aimed at boys who liked the game.
Then came the locks of COVID-19, where he found free time in his hands and began to learn to code with the help of online communities made up of young people who shared an interest.
But Belle wasn’t learning to code because of that. Its goal was to create a platform that connected SEA female and non-binary students with appropriate resources so that they could pursue their interests in technology. The platform would empower these beneficiaries by organizing workshops, inviting female speakers to high school hacks and offering tutoring.
That’s how the nonprofit community project came about Technical Command was carried out.
“I didn’t know what I was doing,” Bell confessed to the Vulcan Post about his biggest challenge in this process. “I knew where I wanted to be, but I wasn’t sure how to get there, so I talked to students (mostly in the US) who were also driving organizations to ask for advice, Googled. [resources], and reached out to adults on Linkedin for advice. ”
He also explained that the platform has toured several times after its initial goals failed, before finally landing in the Command Connect mentoring program.
Connecting through social media, a group of 14 volunteers has included members from more than 15 countries including Malaysia, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Russia and more. “We are currently trying to address the issue of‘ equity of access ’by designing a program aimed at B40 students and will implement it next year (as COVID-19 improves),” Bell predicted.
So far, the nonprofit has directly affected more than 400 people, Bell shared.
Since all the programs were done online, there is almost no cost and Belle has launched it without any of its own non-profit grants. However, the team has raised money for a program that encourages students to learn to code next year through corporate grants.
Reach for greater impact
After being selected as a finalist, Belle was placed in teams of 4 to present her project on Finalist Day, for discussion and problem-solving exercises, before a final 1-1 interview.
“Throughout the Finalists Day, all I could think about was that everyone there was very nice, and I had a lot of imposition syndrome,” she told me. “I don’t know why they chose me, but I think RISE wants to invest in young people who want to work and serve others.”
He then added that although Command Tech is not yet on a scale that can change lives, its goal is to get it there. As a global winner, Bell will be able to acquire a funding repository of at least $ 5 million a year to apply for funds.
These funds will then be used to experiment with innovative ideas to address major issues in local communities or around the world.
One immediate initiative he would like to take forward is to make technology education more accessible. Once you realize this, even though the Internet is full of resources on topics like coding, low-income young people don’t know or can’t get into it.
Therefore, Command Tech will host a program that will encourage young people to learn coding. The initiative will select 100 Malaysians aged 14-18 and provide them with a tutor, tailor-made workshops and other support to build a technical project over 4 months.
RM500 will be awarded to students with the option to receive scholarships for secondary education. To make it available to B40 teens, the team will travel to different schools in impoverished areas to enroll and offer a computer protection to anyone admitted to the program.
Right now, the world is at a turning point, where problems like climate change, overpopulation, inequality and more seem to never end. It is important to have a generation of innovators who are technically inclined if we are ever to find a solution. And the first step is to give education and young people the opportunity to learn about the world of technology and creativity.
Belle See, RISE Global Winner 2021.
Opportunity for professional development
For Beller, winning this competition means going to college without burdening COVID-19 with parents who have businesses that are severely affected. This is because RISE Global Winners is promised a 4-year secondary scholarship at any accredited university based on tuition fees and living expenses needs.
In addition to the scholarship, Global Winners will partner with tutors to provide personal and professional guidance, and Belle expressed her enthusiasm. Belle knows first-hand the instrumental growth that comes with having a great tutor like Ashley Suelyn’s chief of staff. TO BLOCK, on his NPO board.
In terms of Global Winners ’access to online events, Belle hopes to build relationships with other winners to learn about their passions and collaborate on projects.
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As Malaysians, we are proud that someone like Belle represents the potential of our country in a global scenario. Moreover, his situation as a young man trying to make changes for our other youth is very inspiring, and we look forward to seeing more Malaysia RISE Global Winners in the future.
- You can learn more about Command Tech here and RISE here.
- You can read more stories about Malaysian entrepreneurs here.
Featured Image Credit: Belle See, RISE Global Winner 2021
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