#67 – Welcome Jia Lin to our team!

Help us welcome Jia Lin, our new Family Empowerment Associate to our team! Read more below about Jia, her experiences, and what she’ll bring to our organization and those we serve.

—

My name is Jia Lin, and I was born in a farming village in the Pearl River Delta, in China. I immigrated to Los Angeles when I was in the third grade, and not knowing a word of English, I started to rely on rote memorization until high school. In college, I studied architecture and learned to think critically and that there are always multiple ways to solve problems. Hence, I decided to become an educator, to teach our next generation to think critically and find creative solutions while working with others. 

In June 2019, I started working with the SchermCo team as a Special Projects Fellow. This experience allowed me further to understand the inter-networks of schools, educational systems, and the various community and organizational supports. It also pushed me to grow as an individual to find better solutions to serve students and communities across the country. I am excited to join the SchermCo team full-time as the family empowerment associate! In my previous roles as a classroom teacher, my immediate impact was only towards the 80-100 students I was teaching; now, I see myself impacting 10,000+ students and families across our 11 school partners and family empowerment work.

As an immigrant growing up, I felt that my parents couldn’t find ways to be involved in my school life, which led to many miscommunications between my parents, my teachers, and myself. Hence, I hope to create opportunities to ensure that parents and families feel comfortable at these school events and related community services to become a positive influence on their students and become active advocates for their students. Further, I hope to help families and schools foster and cultivate meaningful relationships and to provide families with resources to help them thrive within their communities. 

I have always found the work that SchermCo does very joyful, powerful, and overall a stimulating experience as if I am putting together an endless puzzle. I cannot wait to do more!