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109 Lafayette Street 805 New York, NY 10013 US
Who Are We?
The Inspiration Behind IC Learning Center!
As a member of the first generation of my family born in the United States, there was a lot of pressure placed on me to maximize the opportunities that came my way, which other members of my family did not have the privilege of receiving. I was always told that the United States was the “Land of Opportunity” where I could make a name for myself and achieve my dreams. Life in Burma, where my family’s roots are, is quite different. A smaller country, with a less sophisticated education system, made it harder for members of my family to pursue their dreams. When I enrolled in elementary school, I noticed that I was having trouble hearing and identifying the sounds of words. Being unable to hear the sounds of letters at various frequencies made reading very challenging. At five years old, I was diagnosed with a partial hearing impairment and was given a hearing aid to wear. At first, my hearing aid served as a source of frustration and a reminder that I was unlike my peers. As I grew older, however, my hearing impairment reinforced my inner drive to push past the label my peers had given me, and achieve my aspirations in life.
My family has always been an important contributing factor in my life in terms of my success, and I would not have made it to where I am now without their unwavering support and encouragement. Growing up, my sister served as my rock. Due to cultural and language barriers, my parents did not understand how my hearing impairment would impact my academic success, nor were they familiar with any of the additional academic tutoring services I would need to prevent falling behind in school. My academic journey to success began the day my sister sat down with me and asked me, “What do you want to do with your life? What aspirations do you have?” At the time, I did not have a specific career track in mind. However, I knew that I wanted more than anything to make my family proud, to be successful in life, and to not let my hearing impairment define me. From that day forward, my sister made a promise to me that she would do whatever she could to help me achieve my dreams, and to overcome the academic challenges that my hearing impairment imposed, so long as I put in the effort. She began to enroll me in various kinds of tutoring programs, from foundational skill-building, to test prep courses including SHSAT and SAT in middle school and high school.
Even with the tutoring programs, my academic journey had a learning curve of its kind. In middle school, I struggled in different subjects. I was exposed to different peer groups, meeting many hormonal teenagers who were unmotivated about school. My grades began to fall and I became discouraged. Every day, my sister reminded me of my academic progress, and the obstacles I had already overcome. “Sometimes in life, we might fail. But ultimately, we have control over the choices we make and the life we want for ourselves. To achieve our goals, we must keep going- we must persevere,” she reminded me. I decided to follow my sister’s advice and continued with the tutoring programs. Although I enrolled in different tutoring programs, the ones that were most beneficial to me had small teacher to student ratios, with individualized learning approaches catering to the needs of each student. After much hard work and commitment to tutoring, my grades began to rise. I transferred to Christa McAuliffe Middle School. Soon afterward, I applied and was accepted into a competitive New York City High School, Brooklyn Tech. I continued working hard throughout high school and was eventually accepted into Columbia University.
All in all, my journey from a partial hearing impairment diagnosis to a Columbia University student is a testament to the power of hard work, commitment, and perseverance. I believe that success starts with you and that everyone can achieve their dreams if they have the right mindset. My journey has been an inspiration in the development of IC Learning Center, whose core values are: Community, Accommodation, Improvement, and Goals. The learning center aims to help all students achieve their academic goals, regardless of what their starting point is. With small class sizes, individualized learning plans, and teaching styles catering to the specific needs of each child, students are given the resources and support they need to make academic success a reality.
So what is the significance of this story you might ask? My journey serves as an inspiration for the development of IC Learning Center. My journey to success would not have been possible without the consistent support and encouragement I received from my sister, Betty Yang. Due to helping me through my learning obstacles and leading me to success, she became inspired to create IC Learning Center. Through her knowledge of effective tutoring problems, she created IC Learning Center to help other students like myself see their academic potential. They offer small class sizes, individualized learning plans and use specific teaching styles to cater to the needs of each child. Just as I was given the right resources to rise above, so are the students who are given all the support they need to fulfill their academic potential.