Wharton Business School Students Donate Time, Expertise to AP

Aziza’s Place would like to thank Justine Chae, Kittipong San-olan, and May-ying Liou, graduate students from The Wharton School of Business at The University of Pennsylvania, for sharing their time and talents with our students and staff for two weeks. The volunteers are part of the Wharton International Volunteer Program (WIVP), a club structured for students to plan and organize their own volunteer abroad projects. At AP, their focus was to provide insight into the accounting, organizational management, and fundraising systems. Their guidance has helped AP maintain an efficient and sustainable program. We thank them for their non-stop hard work (though as you read above they managed to have plenty of time for fun, games, soccer, and a food fight). Justine, May, and Kittipong– we are happy to welcome you to the AP family!

Justine was born and raised in Los Angeles, California but has been living on the East Coast for the past 10 years. Upon graduation in May, she will return to LA to work. Justine took part in the WIVP program because she wanted to make a real contribution to the international community. “I felt I could best give back by applying the specific skills I have gained from my work and business school experiences,” she said. Justine was most impressed by the boys ability to chow down pizza at the pizza-eating contest. Justine, thank you for your instrumental and momentous work on AP’s fundraising strategies.

Kittipong is from Bangkok, Thailand where he has a job waiting for him after graduating from Wharton. Having had volunteer experience in Bangkok, Kittipong was excited about WIVP because it allowed him to volunteer in a new country. He decided to volunteer in Cambodia hoping that the similarities between Thai and Khmer culture would enhance his experience. Kittipong is amazed at how eager the students at AP are to learn. “I think the kids at AP have an amazing opportunity here”, he said after working with the children. We thank Kittipong for bestowing his accounting expertise to our staff.

May is from Sugarland, Texas and is studying Marketing and Strategy at Wharton. The WIVP club caught her attention at Wharton right away: it was a perfect fit for her interests in business, volunteering, and traveling abroad. As the team leader, May was in charge of identifying and reaching out to international NGOs for potential volunteer projects. She was drawn to Cambodia after a visit here last year, setting in motion her desire to return in a volunteer capacity. May recalls one of her most memorable moments at AP was when she witnessed Roth teaching Linna the English alphabet on his own accord. She says this perfectly demonstrates the sense of community and friendship at Aziza’s Place. Thank you May for finding Aziza’s Place and sharing you and your team’s passion, intellect, and dedication. We are honored to have had you all here!