Coming Together
By Catalina Zou
2020 is a year that we all want to forget, and yet it will be unforgettable. No doubt is this pandemic something that throws the world into disorder, but that doesn’t stop people from staying connected. On August 15, 2020, the Youth Entrepreneur Society held their third kickoff meeting on Zoom, allowing the YES community to come together and continue to support young entrepreneurs.
To start the meeting, a video featuring pictures from last year was played. Following that, emcee James Huang introduced our YES co-founders Macy Su and Fiona Chen to introduce new members to YES. The meeting then continued on with our guest speakers, who were able to inspire and spark the hearts of all our members. Some of these esteemed guests included state representative Angie Chen Button, Addison mayor Joe Chow, Plano city councilwoman Maria Tu, and state representative Matt Shaheen. Our spotlight guests included members of many different education and leadership organizations in Plano and Frisco.
Representative Angie Chen Button really focused on the influence of the business world and the fundamentals for success in her speech. She continued on explaining the need to know business influencers, including government officials, and that being well-rounded is crucial in one’s path towards success. Button continuously emphasizes the importance of not only staying in the business world, but also being involved in the community.
After his wonderful and inspiring speech last year, Joe Chow, mayor of Addison, had come back to speak with us again. He spoke about the challenges he faced while running for mayor, and how he was able to be successful through hard work and the possession of good leadership qualities. As Chow says, “a good leader must have a good heart”. Being a good leader means knowing what is best for the people, as well as having a goal or vision as a leader.
Plano City Councilwoman Maria Tu discusses another aspect of leadership in her speech. Being a leader means being the voice of others. She highlights the fact that leaders need to be able to make changes for the better instead of keeping everything the same just because “we’ve always done it this way”. Be involved in the community, and use your voice to make your community better.
In representative Matt Shaheen’s speech, he tackles the importance of being a leader right now. In a time of uncertainty, people are looking for leaders. People are looking for groups and individuals who take action, and he motivates us to step up and be doers.
Our keynote speaker for this meeting was Bing Xie, senior vice president and executive director of Texas Instruments. In his speech, Bing Xie highlights the changes in the world, as well as how we as students can grow to be successful. He talks about the impacts of COVID-19, where COVID-19 has brought up many new challenges in society. But the fact that most people stay at home has also allowed for a boost in online shopping sales, and more online businesses have a chance of being successful. COVID-19 has been making things hard, but it is also a time where people have the opportunity to make a change. Bing Xie then continues to tell us a story about Jamie, founder of Ring, who became successful by creating a product that could solve a problem that needed to be solved. Finally, Bing Xie closes his speech describing the 6 key qualities to be successful: curiosity, passion, persistence, discipline, soft skills, and value.
Our previous president Fiona Chen and current president James Lu then gave an overview of the YES meetings and events last year, which helped newcomers gain a better understanding on what YES is all about. The new leadership team also introduced themselves, with James Lu as president and Li Shen as executive vice president. The three branches under the president are led by vice presidents Amy Tian under Event Planning and Social Media, Thomas Lu under Community Involvement and Journalism, and Ryan Xie under Fundraising and Historian Records.
As the meeting comes to a close, the leadership team brings up some plans for the new school year, which makes being a part of YES even more exciting. Join us for another great year in the Youth Entrepreneur Society. Kick start your future, say YES!