I grew up in a small community where everyone seemed to know one another. Many of my friends lived within walking distance, and during weekends we would often walk together to the park to hang out. That same tight knit community was reflected in my schools growing up.

Because the classes at KIPP were small, I received a level of personal guidance that made a lasting impact on me. My teachers knew exactly when, where, and how to help. That kind of attention pushed me personally and academically in ways I didn’t fully appreciate until much later.

During my time in middle school, I was known as the quiet kid. Whenever a teacher would say, “Let’s pick someone who hasn’t spoken in a while,” I somehow knew it was going to be me. Looking back, I realize my teachers were calling on me because they wanted to encourage me to speak up and be comfortable sharing, but at the time I was nervous voicing my ideas in front of the class.

That started to change during my freshman year of high school when I joined the policy debate team. At first, it was just something to do after school, but I very quickly became more interested once I realized how much fun I had researching different issues and building an argument. The entire process challenged me to think differently and gave me a reason to speak up, so I wanted to get more involved than just attending the weekly meetings. I later connected with an outside organization that worked with debate students and I was able to get real world experience and access to tournaments all across California, some of which we were flown out for.

Debate gave me the confidence to speak in public. It taught me how to network with my peers. It taught me how to communicate.

I embraced debate as a hobby, but I didn’t expect how debate would directly shape my academic and career path. In policy debate, we weren’t arguing just to argue, we were studying how countries interact with each other, how economies function, and the global scale these decisions have. I enjoyed connecting the dots and thinking about things at a big picture level. When choosing a major at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) and thinking about my professional path, I found that same “big picture” way of seeing the world in economics.

After my second year at UCSB, I was able to be a part of KIPP’s partnership with Accenture. Through this internship program, I worked as a business analyst and got to learn how Fortune 500 companies were utilizing AI to make real-world business decisions. Seeing this firsthand was eye opening and played a big role in understanding the career I want to have after college.

My goal is to build a career in accounting, but in a way that creates real impact on people’s lives, especially for underrepresented communities who don’t always have the same access to resources. Watching the decisions made at Accenture showed me that accounting isn’t only numbers. There are people on the other side of those decisions, and those economic decisions can either create or remove opportunities for people.

My future goals are driven by where I started. KIPP mainly serves underrepresented students, and I was one of them. Most of my growth, from finding confidence through debate to preparing myself for college and the future, was possible because of the teachers who saw potential in me before I saw it in myself. I know firsthand what it means to be given access and support that isn’t guaranteed for everyone. This is the kind of impact I want to carry into my career and make sure people who come from backgrounds like mine get the same opportunities.

If I could give one piece of advice to current KIPP students, it would be this: Be opportunistic. Try things out, even if they scare you at first. I never expected a debate club I joined my first year of high school could lead me to tournaments across California, a business analyst role at Accenture, life long friends, and being able to pursue a degree in economics at UCSB. You never know where saying yes might take you!

*Kenny’s story as told by Ryan Ma