Bridging Worlds from Immigrant Struggles to Entrepreneurship to AI: Meet Ian Zhu, Inclusive Educational Innovator

April STEM Month is a celebration dedicated to promoting and raising awareness about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. GlobalMindED is proud to highlight the voices and work of influential STEM leaders and the difference they are making in the world.?

Ian Z. is the co-founder and CEO of SchoolJoy , an AI-powered education management platform.?He is our first STEM/STEAM star this month.

What is your personal/professional story??

I often reflect on my journey, both personal and professional, as a series of pivotal moments that led me to where I am today, founding SchoolJoy.

I arrived in the U.S. at the age of 11, and the language and cultural barriers thrust me into a world of solidarity. I faced challenges that many immigrants encounter – feeling invisible, struggling academically as an ESL student, and constantly trying to bridge two cultures. I worked hard because I was taught at a young age that the fruits of my labor would speak for themselves, even if I didn't have the ability to articulate them myself just yet.

At the height of the pandemic, I took a leap and left my job to create a non-profit that delivered hybrid SEL and PBL courses to districts. I had no educational background but knew this was the industry where I felt the most conviction and could see myself dedicating the rest of my life to. I brought together an incredible team of teachers and curriculum developers and built some beautiful courses for elementary and middle school students.?

There was one course called "Songs for Humanity" where 5th grade students wrote poetry and song lyrics that brought together the genre of music they loved and the social issues they cared about. There is something deeply touching and troubling when you read a song written by a 5th-grade student talking about their experiences with racism. I realized that there's so much more to our students than their grades and test scores. Who they are and who they want to become is critical information that can help teachers get to know their students on a deeper level.

This is why I felt I needed to create a system that can help teachers and districts truly know who their students are. SchoolJoy would’ve helped the elementary version of me feel seen. During this time, I was working with a personal coach who helped me reevaluate my relationship with happiness and joy. Hence the name SchoolJoy.

Our platform isn't just another educational tool. It’s a testament to the belief that every student, parent, and teacher should feel seen and acknowledged. This mission is deeply personal to me. The name is a personal reminder to be happy.

What key moments in your life led you to where you are today??

We are on a mission to implement and scale the ideals of The School of One . If we can help teachers see who their students are beyond grades and test scores, then we can also use that information to make learning more relevant to every student. Why are we on this path? This is a strong passion of mine because of one class in college: Econometrics. It was by far one of the hardest classes I’ve ever taken and I knew I was in trouble after the first lecture. Luckily, I was working on a consulting project with a nonprofit at the time and they needed help with their go-to-market strategy. I was able to use the techniques I learned in econometrics to help the nonprofit develop its model. If I didn’t have this project, I would’ve failed that class. This experience informed my conviction that learning should be based on what the students cared about the most, and that curriculum and instruction should meet where the students are, and not the other way around.

The second key moment that led us down this path was the discovery of ChatGPT and OpenAI. Individualized instruction and automated assessments at scale would not have been possible without generative AI. When we saw the exponential growth of AI’s capabilities from GPT-3, to GPT-3.5, to GPT-4, we knew we had no choice but to seriously consider AI integration with our platform. At the time we had little idea how the education sector was going to respond to AI, and overall we’re very encouraged by the responsible dialogues, frameworks, and adoption we’re seeing in the industry.?

Where does your passion to serve come from?

In a recent conversation I had with a teacher, she said her kids aren’t even interested in their interests anymore. This was heartbreaking for me to hear. I don’t have an educational background, nor am I a coder, so I feel I have very little to lose because I am merely an outsider trying to do what I believe is the right thing. This affords me the luxury to challenge the status quo while listening and respecting the leadership, principles, and experiences of the district partners we work with. My passion for serving comes from a strong sense of moral obligation to continue trying in the face of the indisputable fact that our future is in a crisis. If we are not using every technology at our disposal to challenge every assumption we have about how learning should take place in our schools, then we would be doing both the students and the technology a disservice. The world is changing around our students and we must accelerate the pace at which we can meet their needs.

How can GlobalMindED help you reach your goals??

I simply hope to meet other leaders and thought leaders who do not fear change and are willing to persevere in the good work and keep trying despite the risk of failure, because we all share the foundational belief that inaction is simply not an option.?I look forward to working with these key leaders over time to move the levers of access.??