Meet Emily Cho

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emily Cho. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emily below.

Hi Emily, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

My work ethic is deeply rooted in my upbringing as the daughter of two Korean immigrants, where I learned the importance of perseverance from a young age. Growing up—and even today—I hold the belief that if you truly want to achieve something, you will always find a way to make it happen. Whether it’s tackling complex problems or helping others, I firmly believe that combining effort with resourcefulness will lead to meaningful and positive outcomes.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am the Founder and current CEO of Juvie for STEM (JSTEM), the largest youth-led technology non-profit dedicated to bringing STEM education to the underprivileged and incarcerated youth. Our mission is to eliminate educational disparities and pique career interests by providing them with hands-on learning experiences and mentorship. What makes JSTEM special is our focus on rehabilitation through education—we aim to reduce recidivism by giving young individuals the resources to succeed.

What excites me the most about JSTEM is seeing the curiosity and sense of hope in the students we work with. Many of them have never been exposed to STEM before, and a few have never even attended any educational institutions. Watching them discover a passion for the sciences is very rewarding. Recently, we’ve been working on expanding our programs internationally to reach more facilities. We’re also launching a new sector within our curriculum to include developing collaborative robotics. For anyone interested in supporting our mission or learning more, feel free to email us! We’d love to connect.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Three qualities that have been most impactful in my journey are resilience, empathy, and resourcefulness. Resilience and resourcefulness helped me overcome setbacks, particularly when navigating challenges like securing funding or building partnerships. Empathy allowed me to connect deeply with individuals in correctional facilities and tailor our programs to truly address their needs. My advice to those starting out is simple: don’t underestimate the power of listening. Taking the time to understand others’ perspectives can lead to solutions and opportunities you might not have considered otherwise.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

If I had to choose, I would argue that it’s better to go all in on our strengths. Focusing on what we already do best helps us develop that skill to achieve mastery, which is often key to success. For example, focusing on my strengths in STEM, leadership, and organization have been crucial building the foundation of JSTEM. While I do think it’s important to be aware and acknowledge our weaknesses, trying to improve everything to become “well-rounded” can exhaust our focus and energy. Doubling down on strengths allows us to operate at our highest potential and result in a larger impact. If something is truly critical—like fundraising in my case—then learning the basics and finding collaborators who complement your weaknesses can be a more efficient approach than trying to master every skill yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.juvieforstem.org/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyycho/