The Point Avenue Podcast: Recent Episodes

Point Avenue

Tune in to listen to college admissions consultants and students from Point Avenue talk about college application, life at university, and careers insights. Our first three episodes focus on how students can build their personal brand through extracurricular activities.

Ep 12: Pakwhan - When Harvard is also just the 2nd option

Instead of opting for the prestigious institution of Harvard, Pakwhan chose to pursue her dream by enrolling in the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology at UPenn. This achievement was made possible through Pakwhan's unwavering determination and disciplined approach, supported by the expert guidance of Point Avenue's study abroad consulting team. Pakwhan's profile is distinguished by outstanding academic accomplishments, achieving a perfect score (5/5) in nine AP subjects and garnering prestigious medals from international Olympic tournaments. Additionally, Pakwhan has demonstrated leadership skills through active involvement in community clubs.

During the last admissions season, Pakwhan gained admissions to the world's top universities, including:

Harvard University (#2 NU)
University of Pennsylvania (#6 NU)
California Institute of Technology (#7 NU)
Columbia University (#11 NU)
UCLA (#15 NU)
University of Cambridge
Manchester University,...

For students aspiring to embark on a similar journey, Pakwhan imparts the following advice: Let's unravel the success story of this exceptional individual at Point Avenue Thailand!

Ep 11: Owen Xu - Hardship makes it all worth it in the end!

Co-founder of waste treatment startup MicroH2O, nominated and shortlisted for Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2016 at the age of 15; interned at Climate Project, the non-profit founded by former US VP Al Gore — is the story of Owen Xu, a former student at Point Avenue.

Despite many impressive achievements beyond his age, Owen humbly shared that without Danny's mentorship, he couldn't become who he is today.

What are the hurdles that Owen had to overcome? What are lessons learned? And what advice would he give to parents & students? Follow Owen Xu's inspirational story!

Ep 10: Marcus Gao - Embrace the failure to become a better you

Humility, integrity, hard work, .. are the words that Danny used for Marcus. Unlike other students who felt pressured and stressed by their family members’ academic achievements, Marcus shared that he was fortunate to have his parents and sisters motivating him to get out of his comfort zone.

Valedictorian, Shanghai High School International Division
Captain, High School Varsity Basketball Team
Writer, SDLF Psychology Club
Intern, MedMotion Rehabilitation Clinic & CEiC Innovation Capital
Intern, Point Avenue Summer Boot Camp 2018

Marcus' success secret is to build a profile that clearly shows his passions and determination to pursue them. Parents and students, let's listen to Marcus' story and his advice in the application process!

Ep 9: Aston Chan - Defeat physical & psychological barriers to conquer UCI (#34 NU)Aston is currently studying Computer Science Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. In addition to his excellent academic record (getting all A+ and only one A-), he also has a wealth of extra-curricular activities, namely cross-country running, not inferior to a professional runner.

Varsity captain, Cross Country Team (completed the 5K of 17:55)
Varsity member, track and field team (awarded the Independent School League Award of Excellence, completed the 1500m in 4 minutes 22' and the 400m in 52s)

🏆 Little do you know that Aston had asthma before meeting Danny for the first time. After joining our Summer Leaders' Camp in 2019, Aston defeated his Jedi Master in the running. Not to mention, to get into UCI, Aston also had a lot of difficulties while dealing with his mental issues. Parents & students, watch Aston’s full video to learn from his awe-inspiring journey!

Ep 8: Eddie Lee - Take Initiative and Explore your passion

Point Avenue is super proud to have the chance to work with many talented students. Each student has an admirable unique personality and inspirational story. Episode 8 in the series Cracking the Code is about Eddie - a first-year computer science student at UPenn.

️🏆 Despite having impressive academic and extracurricular achievements, Eddie was once an introverted student and hated public speaking. Thanks to the pursuit of competitive debate, he became more confident and proactive. The achievement that Eddie is most proud of is writing a 3500-word research paper published in a journal. To complete the research paper, he had to email hundreds of professors for interviews, and only 5 professors responded.

If parents & students are learning about UPenn school and also considering Mathematical Economics & Computer Science, don't miss Eddie's story!

Ep 7: Amber Choi - Embrace the change and Step out of your comfort zone

Amber is a freshman at Vanderbilt University class of 2026. As a previous student and intern at Point Avenue, Amber proudly shared that meeting Point Avenue was one of the best highlights of her life. In the interview with Danny, Amber emphasized that what made her a reliable candidate for schools was her extracurricular activities, including:

✔️President of National Art Honor Society

✔️President of Veterinary Explorers Program

✔️Board member, Gay-Straight Alliance

Not to mention, Amber also has experience participating in countless meaningful volunteer activities at churches, supporting the homeless and local elementary students, and donating over 100 handmade masks through family-run efforts. Her academic achievements are also excellent:

✔️POSSE Foundation Finalist

✔️Asian American Pacific Islander Scholarship Recipient

✔️Georgia Governor’s Honors Program Visual Art Finalist/Alum

Although Amber's college application journey was tough, she insists that as long as you step out of your comfort zone, you'll be able to make your own path. Parents & students, let's listen to Amber's inspirational story!

EP 6: Dylan Kim - Be men & women for others!

Passionate about swimming since childhood, but Dylan had to give up his dream of becoming a professional swimmer due to injury. However, this helped him discover his passions for technology and entrepreneurship. Currently, Dylan is studying computer science at Boston College.

Some outstanding extracurricular activities in Dylan's application profile:

Founder and President of UNISTEM, a non-profit organization based in San Diego with 3 main services: UNISTEM Design (game design, python/java programming, UI/UX design), UNISTEM Robotics (AI, Lego robotics, Circuit Python), UNISTEM Innovation Lab (Entrepreneurship, Project Acceleration).

Executive Director for Swim4Life, a partnered NGO of Blue Dragon to help local Vietnamese teenagers living in rural neighborhoods how to swim.

Mentor and judge at Hanoi Coeathon, the largest coding competition organized by UNIS, Concordia, St.Paul and other international schools in Hanoi

Speaker on transformative education, technology in education at tedX, Wharton-QS Reimagine Education Conference, and Vietnam Tech Conference

Was admitted to MITLaunch program

These extra-curricular activities have helped him win countless local and global awards. Sharing with Danny, Dylan emphasized that his mission is to help the community and build equity in education at Boston College. Follow Dylan's story to see what makes such a great leader!

Ep 5: Mignon Xu - A journey of finding true values and overcoming imposter syndrome

Mignon Xu graduated from USC Marshall and currently works for venture capital fund Capital Partners. Before being admitted to Marshall, Mignon Xu had a very outstanding profile:

President of Care and Share project specializes in recycling used laptops and electronic devices to give back to children who do not have access to technology.
Organizer of the Matriarchal Lugu project, which collects excess yarn from manufacturing plants and donates it to a textile village in China to help locals preserve traditional weaving techniques.
Swarovski summer internship and Oxbridge Summer Program
Producer, Dance Society at high school

In addition to active extracurricular activities, Mignon is also an excellent dancer when continuously taking the solo-ist/leading role at the Asia Pacific Activities Conference and at the Bazaar, raising ~2 million Hong Kong dollars. Mignon's passion for dance also helped her win the title of National Champion for Latin Dance, Top 10 internationally.

Despite such many achievements, Mignon has many difficulties in finding her true values and overcoming the "imposter" syndrome. Let's follow her story and listen to Mignon's extremely useful advice on the college application journey!

Ep 4: Alexander Lam - Insider tips to build a well-rounded image & take advantage of college opportunities

Alex is on a short-term study abroad program in Oslo through UC Berkeley. After graduating, he will start his master's degree in information & data science.

When applying to Berkeley, Alex spent a lot of time building a resume of extracurricular activities, including:

Founder & Head coach of Lay Up Your Dreams, an organization dedicated to teaching basketball to students in less fortunate communities in Hong Kong. In partnership with a local NGO, Lay Up Your Dreams held weekly classes from 2015 - 2018 for more than 100 students aged 6-16. Alex and his team also hold oversea classes in Shanghai, China.
One of four founding members of Ami4Kidz (Penny the Penguin), an MIT Launch startup created in the summer of 2017. As the project's CFO, Alex led the team to raise over $10,000 in funding from angel investors, and earned $12,000 in gross profit.

In addition to extracurricular activities, Alex's academic achievements are also remarkable. He scored ACT 33/36, SAT II Chem and Math 800 with most AP subjects scoring 5/5. Alex's application therefore scored points in the eyes of the admissions committee with the image of a well-rounded student, with leadership talent and passion for science and technology.

Follow Alex's story and how the mentors at Point Avenue helped him find his passion and build an impressive study abroad resume!

Ep 3: Hannah Neri - Embrace the difference and future opportunities

Before getting admitted to Harvard, Hannah attended the Milton Academy boarding school. The learning environment at Milton gave her the opportunity to challenge herself, become more independent and resilient, and be able to build problem-solving skills. Currently, Hannah is a senior student majoring in History of Science and Visual Arts at Harvard College.

As a transfer student from Shanghai to Milton, what was the biggest challenge Hannah had to overcome? What is the difference between Asian and American education styles? What is her advice to students who are preparing to study abroad? Watch the full video on Youtube (link in the comments) to discover this talented girl's journey!

Ep 2: Zachary Neri - Self-discipline and embrace the unpredictable!

Zach and Point Avenue's journey began when he was a 13-year-old student. From a test prep student, Zach currently is a senior student at Columbia College and is about to work for Sequoia Capital, one of the world's leading investment funds behind billion-dollar unicorns in the traditional market like Google or Apple.

The most interesting part of Zach's academic journey is that he transferred from Columbia when he was a sophomore at Vassar College. Talking to Mr. Danny, Zach frankly shared, unlike many people, university for him is a… quite scary place. To overcome the pressure and fear of disappointing his parents, Zach always maintains self-discipline, makes the most of the opportunities and resources in college, and embraces the unpredictable.

Follow Zach's inspirational story and listen to the invaluable advice Zach has drawn from his own journey!

Ep 1: Johnny Kim and his pursuit of passion

Danny and Johnny Kim had a chance to meet each other more than 10 years ago in Shanghai, China. Thanks to the mentorship of Mr. Danny and the hard work and influence of his father, a university professor, in 2014, Johnny was admitted to top schools such as NYU Stern, UC Berkeley but decided to choose Georgetown (#22 NU).

In 2018, Johnny graduated from Georgetown and started working in finance at large US corporations such as Barclays and Gopuff. In addition to many outstanding achievements, Johnny also has many qualities imprinted with "Character First" such as kindness, mastery of life, good self-awareness and empathic leadership skills. He also started his own project with the aim of creating value for the Georgetown student community.

Follow Johnny's success story, from preparing his application to study abroad, and how he overcame difficulties in the lecture hall to develop himself & give advice to students!

An Phan is an AC alumnus at Point Avenue and a Neuroscience major undergraduate at Princeton University (#1 NU). In episode 4, we are excited to have a talk with An about what he believes was his key to getting into Princeton. He talks about the importance of practicing discipline and effective time management in high school to navigate his responsibilities as a ballet dancer, a pianist, an AP student, and more.

Check us out on our social media channels:

Instagram: @point.avenue

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PointAvenue

Website: www.pointavenue.com

In this episode, Viet-Dung B. Nguyen, undergraduate at Johns Hopkins university (#9 NU) and an AC alumnus at Point Avenue, talks about his journey from winning local and international debate competitions to becoming a student at his dream university.

Check out Viet-Dung's projects:

Hoi Cham Project: instagram.com/hoichamproject/?hl=en

Moji Debate: facebook.com/MojiDebate

Check us out on our social media channels:

Instagram: @point.avenue

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PointAvenue

Website: www.pointavenue.com

In this episode, Justin Jobity, head of the Point Avenue Thailand AC team, guides us through his approach to helping students on their mission to develop a personally tailored extracurricular activities profile for college admissions.

Check us out on our social media channels:

Instagram: @point.avenue

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PointAvenue

Website: www.pointavenue.com

In this episode, Vy Hoang talks about her high school project called Bank Mi Microfinance. Specifically, she talked about the inspiration for the project, her ways of meeting investors' demand and expanding the project, and what the project means for her life.

Video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hzIWl37XfWc

Check us out on our social media channels:

Instagram: @point.avenue

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PointAvenue

Website: www.pointavenue.com