Today we’d like to introduce you to Ayda Sow.
Hi Ayda, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Frisco, TX with my twin sister and a younger brother. Growing up, as my mom had a pianist background, I learned how to play the piano at a young age, and music playing and creating became a big hobby of mine. Besides music, traveling has also been a hobby of mine and my family. My parents are the only ones in their family that are in the US, thus, throughout my life, we would fly to Malaysia to visit family and along the way, we would travel to nearby countries, learn about new cultures, and see the amazing world around us. Personally, it fostered my own love for adventure and, with that, taught me to be willing to try new things, explore my passions, as well as get outside of my comfort zone. I was extremely shy and awkward as a kid and would even brand myself as “Awkward Ayda” till 7th grade.
Thus, with being able to take my traveling experiences and a desire to challenge my social insecurities, I did partake in volunteer work, including teaching elementary students English in Taiwan and aiding in classrooms at a local Chinese school as well as joining various extracurricular in high school including, DECA and BPA, where I found my passion for the field of business, Independent Study and Mentorship Program (ISM), and created my non-profit organization, One Thread. Although I did enjoy my high school years, when I first entered high school, I was most unsatisfied with the lack of student involvement in real community-impacting events there actually was. Even after joining volunteer clubs at my school, I felt unsatisfied with their level of community interaction. I assumed there would be group trash pickups and district hosted trips to retirement homes, kind of like in the movies, yet I felt like the volunteering opportunities are given could have been more impactful to the community.
During the summer after my freshman year in high school, I wanted to find a way to give back to my community but also get other students involved as well. Taking my interest in crafting and love for my community and environment, I ended up landing on my idea of One Thread and began to grow the non-profit. I wanted One Thread to be a gateway for high school students to serve and understand other students in their school as well as lower-income citizens in their community. Over the last few years, One Thread has hosted our Mask Making Campaign and donated over 2,000 homemade masks to various public shelters across the US, involved over 150 students in our volunteering activities, and currently operate at two high schools in Frisco. Currently, I am a freshman studying business at the University of Texas at Austin and work part-time as a piano teacher in addition to managing One Thread.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I am extremely grateful to have grown up in a stable household with very little financial struggle and to be surrounded by a family that is in full support of my passions and my dreams. I feel very privileged to live in a community where I felt little adversity and was able to feel represented at school and work. Thus, when talking about obstacles, lately, in the last few months, I have realized my biggest weakness. In past interviews or questionnaires, I’d say that my weakness would say my trait of being over-analytical or my terrible memory, but through experience the last few months, I would say my biggest mental challenge and weakness is the inability to define my success. In high school, I was able to participate in several activities, however, I never felt rewarded or the need to treat myself.
So, this past semester, I made it a goal to find balance in my life and work hard yet still find time to be happy and relax. In September, I was just starting out my first year of college, managing One Thread and our Mask Making Campaign, as well as balancing working as a piano teacher and my internship at Dive Chat. I was also applying for business organizations at UT, yet I wasn’t able to make the organizations I was looking into. Although the outcome wasn’t something I enjoyed, I was offered a season job at a friend’s company shortly after and I decided to take the job. After taking the job, I realized I would be working almost 30 hours per week, taking 14 hours of classes, while managing One Thread and my position at Dive.
So, in an attempt to find balance between all of my work and school life, I set a goal for myself: Take this semester to focus on aiding myself financially instead of focusing on career goals while being able to maintain my mental health and work hard to feel like I’ve worked hard. Even throughout high school, these past few months were months where I feel like I have had a complete plate and that I am doing my most, why still being able to take time to myself and find balance in my happiness. And thus, this has been the first time where I actually felt accomplished because I can feel my time being occupied 100% while feeling motivated and excited to work for most days.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your organization?
One Thread is a non-profit organization that allows students to be involved in volunteering opportunities focused on repurposing textile waste into items needed by local communities. One Thread is constantly improving the well-being of our environment by having high school students constantly exposed to their broader community and getting them engaged in impactful volunteering. Our vision is to use the resources made to ensure that everyone in our local community has the basic resources they need. One Thread wants to reduce humanity’s textile waste in our environment, get high school students engaged in real, community impacting activities, and give back to our community.
First based in Dallas, TX, we are donating the items made out of no longer used fabrics to local homeless shelters, foster homes, hospitals, as well as animal shelters. Here at One Thread, we value our environment as well as a wholesome community. We value any efforts in making our world a better place, physically and mentally. We value teaching our youth the qualities of leadership, kindness, and compassion. This way, students are able to obtain these qualities at a young age and apply them to daily life. Mask Masking Campaign: The Mask Making Campaign is an initiative led by Stephanie Chung and its mission is to gather high school students to make handmade masks that we donate to those who do not have access to a standard mask. This way, we are providing the most standard and necessary protection to those that need it the most. To gather the needed materials, we received fabric donations from Stitched with Love in Frisco, TX, community members, and have partnered with the Plano Quilt Guild as the Quilter of Plano supply the majority of the fabric used throughout the Mask Making Campaign.
Recently, with 30+ volunteers involved in the campaign, we have made 2,000+ masks and have donated masks to the following places: Collinwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (Plano, TX), Austin Street Center (Dallas, TX), Hope Alliance (Round Rock, TX) Baylor Scott and White Medical Center (Frisco, TX) Medical City ER (Plano, TX) Kroger (Frisco, TX) Liberty High School (Frisco, TX) Masks2All (San Francisco, CA) After8toEducate (Dallas, TX) Fowler Middle School (Frisco, TX) Mask for Teachers Project: In early September, as schools began the fall semester, we wanted to give back to all the teachers risking their own lives to provide for the education of our youth. The One Thread Board of Directors all get to Liberty High School, the four of them sewed 160 3D masks for over 80 teachers and staff. My position as President and CEO: I am the project planner and manager for each of the directors’ projects: Money Management and Profit Growth, Outreach and Chapter Growth, Online, and Offline Marketing. I also make sure that our organization upkeeps the morals and success of the organization.
Moreover, I oversee all projects and collaborations, including our Mask Making Campaign, Masks for Teachers, Clothing Drive partnership with where are you? Homeless Outreach, and more! My piano teaching: I do also teach online beginner and intermediate piano lessons to students aged 4+ and I keep the lessons fun and interactive for kids. About Me & My Experience: 12 years of piano playing experience with a foundation in classical. Play various levels of classical, jazz, contemporary, and modern. Tested in Royal Conservatory of Music Piano Performance evaluations and performed at dozens of piano festivals and recitals. Taken and tested in Music Theory courses and exams. Teaching kids (age 4-18) in music and non-music settings for five years.
As a younger piano teacher, I can relate to children better and make the lessons fun but still efficient for them! I also match the curriculum to best suit the student’s speed of learning and (if any) past experience/knowledge in music. Advantages & Pricing: I offer a FREE 10-Minute trial lesson to anyone interested in taking lessons from me. I want to make sure that the student and I are a good match and are comfortable working with each other! I provide materials for beginner to intermediate level lessons. I am flexible when it comes to scheduling. My lessons are affordable for students who are paying for lessons themselves or parents who are wanting their kids to start a new hobby. If you are interested and/or have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at aydaysow@gmail.com or text me at +19726249071.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
In a career, project, or any personal goal, I strongly believe in planning, researching, and getting a mentor to assist you in your journey towards success. Know what direction you want to walk towards, understand how to go along that path, and have someone guide you through it. Planning and research take time but without first thinking out how you want to execute a business or a career, learning about what you’re soon to dive deep into prevents mistakes and also makes you feel more prepared. I can also make you ask yourself if this path is really meant for you or not! The concept of One Thread wasn’t actually my first idea of a nonprofit!
Originally, I wanted to take unsellable produce to make meals for homeless shelters, yet after telling my idea about it to my dad, he replied, “No, you can’t do that. There are too many food rules and regulations. Dealing with food is such a hassle, and you don’t even like to cook that much!” And, although it was disappointing to hear, he was right. It wasn’t meant for me. I didn’t actually enjoy cooking, even though I liked the concept. I then thought to myself about what I enjoyed doing, and that was crafting and sewing, Thus, by combining things I am good at with my desire to give back to our communities and our environment, One Thread was born. So, research and planning are extremely important to determine not only how to go down this path, but if this path is even meant for you or not! Lastly, having a mentor to guide you is also important. Creating a business or meeting a career goal is tough. So, having a mentor will help you make sure you are on track and walking in the right direction. Moreover, having a mentor there to ask questions and act as a resource and a friend to count on eases the stress of walking down any path.
Contact Info:
- Email: aydaysow@gmail.com
- Website: http://onethreadnonprofit.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aydayimin/
