From Strangers to Changemakers: Five Days That Made a Difference
Those five days with Group 4 at NextGen were one of the best parts of my summer break. We came from different countries with different backgrounds, but after three evenings of working together on our project, we became a team I’m really proud of.
The three-evening group project was to find a social issue we really cared about, work out a practical solution, and present it to compete for the 2026 NextGen Championship Project. After hours of debating, we voted to tackle food waste, but quickly hit a wall because the problem felt too massive to solve. Our mentor, Jia Le, stepped in with advice that shifted our perspective: stop trying to fix the whole world and start by looking inside your own fridge. That single prompt unstuck us immediately. We then focused on designing an app that tracks existing household groceries to prevent duplicate buying and spoilage. What Jia Le did showed me that a good leader knows how to get everyone moving again when they’re totally stuck, instead of just bossing people around or handing out tasks.
The night before the pitch, after dividing up the slides, everyone started doing their own research and practicing what to say. Time was so tight that we didn’t even do a full rehearsal. Despite that, everything just clicked on stage the next day. We had each other’s backs, nailed the Q&A, and ended up taking second place. It really blew my mind: it felt like we’d been rehearsing together for a whole week, not just scrambling the night before. Winning the award was great, but honestly, starting out as strangers, building a real project from scratch, and coming out of it as true friends later was awesome!
My Big Takeaways from the 2026 NextGen Philanthropy Scholarship Leadership Program:
• A good leader always knows how to give clear direction when the team gets lost. • Our communities don’t lack issues; they lack the eyes to spot them and the guts to resolve them.
• Tackling societal issues isn’t about age. Anyone can step up and make a difference within their own capacity.
Throughout this wonderful journey, we had the best support from our TAs, Alicia and Ryan, and our mentor, Jia Le. They were always there whenever we needed help. Frankly speaking, I couldn’t have asked for a better summer. A huge thank you to the Good Soil Foundation for the NextGen Philanthropy Scholarship Leadership Program!
Written by Scarlett,
NextGen Class of Stephen Riady, 2026
USA| Age 15
