For Claire Wang, the value of education was realized through a story told in the home. Her grandmother, who grew up in Hunan, China, wanted to be a teacher, but had to leave school in the second grade to work. Claire used to complain about going to school, but after listening to her grandmother’s story, she started to look at education differently, not as an obligation but a privilege. That realization eventually led Wang to turn her love of education into a worldwide movement. In ninth grade, Wang and her best friend, Vivian Lu, co-founded Future Female Scholars, a group that connects under-served girls across the globe with volunteer tutors, Wang told Points of Light website in an interview. According to the same interview, the idea was inspired by Wang’s belief that education and well-being should go hand-in-hand. She learned that more than 119 million girls around the world do not have access to education and she wanted to help girls who faced similar circumstances to those that had interrupted her grandmother’s schooling. What began as a small initiative has grown tremendously since. Today, Future Female Scholars offers free one-on-one tutoring to over 10,000 girls and has developed a network of 2,000+ vetted volunteer tutors in more than 70 countries.
A student leading an international organization
Now a high school senior, Wang spends 35 to 40 hours a month working with Future Female Scholars. She is co-founder and co-CEO, registering and vetting tutors, matching students with volunteers and overseeing the organization’s online presence, states the interview. Its Instagram account has over 145,000 followers, which has helped the organization reach students and potential volunteers around the world. Future Female Scholars also has partnerships with groups like Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, Krispy Kreme and TrueLeap. Some of the most rewarding moments happen during tutoring sessions, Wang says. Her interactions with students from Morocco and France taught her that geography doesn’t always separate young people from each other. Students in different countries still share the same troubles of standardized tests, college applications and the desire to learn.
The power of routines
It was not an organization which had grown up over nite. In 2024, Future Female Scholars had approximately 300 followers on Instagram and about 10 tutors. Wang and Lu did not give up, though. They kept working through summers, school days and holidays. That experience taught Wang one of the key lessons of her journey: that progress comes by consistently making small improvements. Similarly, her advice to other young people interested in volunteering is practical. She encourages students to start close to home, whether that’s at a community center, library, food bank or through opportunities at their schools. Those experiences can help people discover the causes they truly care about.
Beyond high school
Wang plans to go to college to study chemistry with a minor in education, and to keep working on Future Female Scholars. Her dreams are much bigger than its present reach. She hopes to eventually work with major international organizations, possibly including the United Nations, to bring more attention to girls’ education around the world. The lesson for Wang is simple: passion matters most when it turns into action. A story that began with her grandmother has now grown into a network connecting thousands of girls with people who want to help them learn, a testament to how far a young person can go by staying consistent and refusing to quit.Images Courtesy: istock and Claire Wang
