Spotlight on CEL Venture Accelerator: Haotian Yang ‘22

In spring 2010, Yushu, Tibet suffered a 6.9 magnitude earthquake. As a result, thousands of children in Yushu lost one or both of their parents. Years ago, Haotian Yang, a senior at SCH, was able to visit Tibet and was struck by the earthquake’s lingering effects. Keeping the memory of his visit to Tibet alive, Yang founded a non-profit organization called Yushu Reborn, in his CEL Capstone class, to support Yushu earthquake victims. Partnering with a boarding school in the Yushu region that houses, clothes, feeds, and nurtures over 200 children, Yang was moved by the school’s positivity, warmth, and supportive care staff provides. Part of the school’s mission is to train its students for medical school and become doctors in Tibetan medicine, a profession that is very much needed in the region. 

Yang acknowledges, “Even before the earthquake, the region only had a very limited number of schools, which were completely demolished in the earthquake. I have been fortunate in my life to have access to family support, a world-class education, and I want to ensure that these children have the same sorts of opportunities that I have had.”

To-date, Yushu Reborn has raised $80,000 which has been used to build a 9-ton solar water 

heater to allow our students to shower and aid in paying half the funding to build a clinic in Nangqien, Yushu that offers free medical treatments to people in the area. 

Yushu Reborn’s current fundraising goals now include:

• Hiring at least 20 teachers that are bilingual in both Tibetan and Chinese  

• Covering the living expenses of the children - $31 per student per month (total of $93,000)

• Renovation of the school bathrooms.

Donations can be made by visiting www.yushureborn.com. Please read more about the children at the school, their journey, and how important this school has been to their lives. 

As a part of his CEL course work, Yang produced a short documentary film to tell the story of this tragedy and the heroic work of the school: Yushu Reborn Project Introduction. 

Finally, if you’re looking to get a local look at the work Yushu Reborn provides, come visit SCH’s Barbara Crawford Gallery to see Yang’s exhibition on display from January 10-February 10, 2022. 

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Over the past 10 years, the Sands Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) has become one of the flagships of an SCH education. It is a program that is as substantial in its educational content as it is inspirational in its impact. In celebration of the CEL's 10th anniversary, we will be showcasing our CEL Venture Accelerator (VA) students throughout the year. Seeking out opportunities, devising creative solutions, working to effect positive change, more than two dozen VA students are currently hard at work with faculty mentors to bring their visions to life. We hope readers will enjoy learning about the people and the projects that are percolating in the VA right now.