This summer, two high school seniors headed to the Bay Area farmers’ markets — not to check off their grocery lists, but to share their mission of bridging the opportunity gap for students and early-career professionals from marginalized communities.

Last spring, Menlo-Atherton High School senior Akemi Kwan and Palo Alto High School senior Simone Batra co-founded a non-profit, SV NextGen, with the goal of providing cost-free college preparatory resources for students from all backgrounds. The team has expanded its services to include everything from professional headshots to academic mentorship and actively participates in local events, such as farmers’ markets, to reach a wider audience.

The co-founders met in a rather unique way. In lieu of forming a typical in-class connection, the pair met when Kwan visited Batra’s LinkedIn profile after seeing Batra’s comment on scholarship-focused Instagram post. This initial connection led to the two of them coming together to address the opportunity gap they had identified.

“Simone literally texted me out of the blue, saying, ‘Hey, we should do something together,’” Kwan said. “And that’s how it all started.”

At first, Kwan was caught off guard, but later agreed to collaborate.

“You don’t really see a lot of high school students reaching out like that to someone they don’t know,” Kwan said. “But she did, and I thought, ‘We’re both high-achieving, so why not do this together?’”

For Kwan, who identifies as a first-generation student, this cause is deeply personal.

“I was 100% set on going to a four-year university, but my counselor told me to go to community college,” Kwan said. “That broke me. … I felt the resources around me weren’t prepared to equip low-income and first-generation students.”

Batra is not a first-generation student, but she recognizes that there exists an achievement gap in the school system.

“I don’t come from the same background as Akemi, and that’s what makes this program so amazing,” Batra said. “By working together, we could make resources accessible to students all across the Bay Area.”

While SV NextGen was only recently established, Kwan and Batra have been involved with community-oriented work throughout their years in high school. Kwan had created the College and Career Club at Menlo-Atherton High and initiated library workshops in her city; meanwhile, Batra was working to help PAUSD students find opportunities and resources at Palo Alto High’s Connect2Volunteer Club.

Once SV NextGen was officially launched, Kwan and Batra said they faced several logistical challenges, including their initial outreach efforts.

“It was not pretty,” Kwan said. “Our signs were flying away at farmers’ markets, while others had professional banners.”

Kwan and Batra also struggled to reach first-generation and low income students due to Silicon Valley being a largely affluent community. They approached this problem by experimenting with outreach strategies, such as putting up fliers around different communities, parks and schools in Palo Alto.

As their organization grew, Kwan and Batra connected with more first-generation students, but Kwan said it took patience and time to develop trusting relationships with individuals.

“The answer [to build trusting relationships] is just to be vulnerable right back,” Kwan said. “When you’re open about your own struggles, students respond with trust and openness.”

Kwan and Batra have since come a long way in reaching out to students and developing programs. With the help of participants in their Student Ambassadors program, they are able to further drive their mission of educational equity.

SV NextGen Student Ambassador Lydia Wang was originally part of Batra’s Connect2Volunteer Club at Palo Alto High and resonated with SV NextGen’s mission. At SV NextGen, Wang handled photography during in-person events.

“Being involved with this initiative’s work has had an incredible impact on both myself and others,” Wang said. “Seeing the interest and smile on people’s faces is so rewarding.”

Now, Kwan and Batra are looking toward college, but they are determined to continue the mission of supporting underrepresented students and early-career professionals. Moving forward, they also plan to expand their nonprofit by collaborating with other student-led programs and by creating chapters at high schools across the Bay Area.

“Our nonprofit is an example of how communication, enough passion, enough drive and collaboration can really get you far,” Kwan said.