As the 2020 Helping Hands Summer Seminar Series comes to an end, we want to express our immense appreciation for all of the teachers and students for participating in the classes. We had so much fun organizing these experiences to help students expand their knowledge while out of school. Throughout the summer, we had students from around the world join us for 11 enriching courses held free-of-charge. Today, we want to highlight the experience of Ms. Qingqing Ouyang who was a teacher for the Business Basics Seminar and an attendee for the Standardized Testing Prep Seminar. Here is her story:

When quarantine took place, I was worried about my boredom and lack of productiveness. However, the Helping Hands Seminar changed that, and ultimately, I used all the free time I had to help myself and others grow. The Helping Hands Summer Seminars allowed me to learn as well as teach. I participated in the Standardized Testing class and taught Business basics. I used my free time during self-isolation learning test strategies while also introducing myself to aspects of business.

My time in Standardized Testing really helped me get a better understanding of tests such as the SAT and ACT. As an incoming sophomore, I had some knowledge regarding the tests, but the instructors of this seminar deepened my knowledge further. The classes were very well organized, starting off with explaining what the test was then moving onto practice problems. The instructors of this seminar did a great job explaining each question thoroughly, which was really helpful as I was able to grasp more test strategies. After attending this seminar, I went back onto Khan Academy SAT practice and found myself feeling more confident taking on the practice questions and tests.

Not only did I get an opportunity to learn as a student, but I was also given the chance to teach others about things I had a passion for. Since I want to pursue a career in business, I decided to teach a class on fundamental business concepts. I was new to this as well, but I learned plentiful while finding class material and preparing activities for the class. My two friends and I planned our classes and focused on management, marketing, and personal finance. Although we had no prior experience in business, the journey of doing research was intriguing and fun. Since finishing this seminar, we are still hoping to learn more and expand our knowledge of the business.

These seminars hosted by HHC were truly amazing and really helped me a lot. I am looking forward to more in the future!