Partnerships
A1’s unique partnerships provide students with opportunities to have conversations with college students at schools of interest, conduct research, hone academic skills and master standardized tests, and lead within a volunteer organization.
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NXSTEP
If you want to understand what it’s like to attend a specific school, it is helpful to obtain the honest, unfiltered opinions of students who attend that school. But how do you meet these students? NXSTEP makes it easy to connect and converse with them. “Today, high school students can explore hundreds of colleges through NXSTEP, schedule chats with over 2700 college students, look at student qualifications, and much more- all geared towards providing the user with a much more realistic view of an institution.” The service is subscription-based, but A1 students receive NXSTEP accounts and have access to the NXSTEP college student network. Our students have found that talking to students 1-on-1 is easy and helpful.
RESEARCH MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
Polygence
Conducting independent research is highly rewarding, but can be difficult to coordinate. Polygence connects students with a mentor at a top research institution, who guides them to publish their work, launch their application, write their novel, or take on any other high-caliber academic pursuit they desire. In addition to 1-on-1 mentorship, students will receive personal feedback and advice from academic experts, insider tips on research positions, and a headstart in academic writing and using the scientific method.
A1 helps students discern their passions, decide on projects, and write a research proposal, and Polygence facilitates the completion of the project. This is an especially significant opportunity for students interested in the research sciences, but any motivated student can gain valuable skills and experience through pursuing independent research with Polygence.
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HWARANG
Hwarang refers to an elite group of male youth in Silla, an ancient kingdom of the Korean Peninsula. This group offered Silla a variety of education opportunities to create well-rounded elite members of the society. Inspired by that, the Hwarang Youth Foundation is a service group composed of goal-driven future leaders, aiming to better the international community through consistent unified efforts. Hwarang seeks to address issues within its communities by promoting the implementation of members' active roles as advocators of love and peace. Each and every Hwarang individual is a diligent and passionate leader with high regard for community affairs. Coming together, members stand proudly as combatants against global issues. Hwarang has a saying, “Today’s Hwarangs, Tomorrow’s Leaders.” The Hwarang Youth Foundation is not just a volunteer organization, but an outlet to help students become effective, powerful, and active leaders of their respective communities.
Hwarang volunteers have been a part of several activities over the years: park restorations, phone banking campaigns, mask making, toiletry donations, monthly virtual leadership meetings, and more despite COVID-19. Events that were new this year, due to the new circumstances, include movie nights streaming Korean historical films to educate students about the origins of our Korean identity and the events that were overcome in order to reach our current status. Moreover, members have also demonstrated an active role in local and national politics, some of which include phone banking campaigns for politicians, Census 2020 door tag hanging, and volunteering at election polls.