This fall, PrepScholar has been thrilled to partner with the new BrightGen Foundation to provide both academic tutoring and Complete Prep to underserved students in California. The founder of BrightGen, Amira, is herself a senior in high school, and between studying for finals and applying to college, she found the time to tell us a bit about what inspired BrightGen and how she built it into the program it is today.
The idea for BrightGen started when Amira visited Ghana, where her parents are from. She was immediately struck by how different life was there for kids her age. Many were working to support their families and did not have access to any educational opportunities, least of all the kinds of extensive support she enjoyed at home in California. “Seeing them fight for basic stability really stayed with me and I realized how easily our roles could have been reversed,” she says.
Back in the US, she found that this lack of opportunity existed in her own area as well. “I realized that even at home, only 13 minutes from my own school, there were students who did not have the same academic support I did,” Amira says. She wanted to help, and that led her to found BrightGen, which provides outstanding educational resources, support, and opportunities to underserved communities.
“BrightGen is dedicated to helping students unlock their potential through tutoring, test preparation, mentorship, and guidance,” she says. “I focus especially on high school students who have the talent and motivation to succeed but do not have access to the tools they need.” To that end, Amira has partnered with both a local high school and companies like PrepScholar to provide resources to the students who need them most.
This year, BrightGen is supporting 10 students (primarily juniors and seniors), with a mix of SAT/ACT prep and academic tutoring. But looking forward, Amira hopes the program can continue to expand. “My goal is to expand the program to reach more students each year, offer a wider range of resources, and eventually support communities across the country and even in Ghana,” she says. “I want BrightGen to become a strong and lasting initiative that continues to open doors for students who deserve every opportunity to succeed.” Her first step in that journey is designing and coding a website for the foundation, which will also let her practice her computer science skills.
Amira’s interests, especially her passion for business, are baked into BrightGen’s DNA. “Taking an engineering class showed me how much I enjoy building solutions,” she says, “and it made me realize that business doesn’t have to be profit-driven, but instead, it can be about community, impact, and service.” This focus on problem solving has carried her through the process of building BrightGen, from discovering what was needed by interviewing students and teachers to raising the money to sponsor students to partnering with PrepScholar to provide educational resources.
But ultimately, it all comes back to helping students who need it. “To me, education is a fundamental tool for life,” Amira says. “It shapes opportunities and provides a foundation that stays with you forever.”
