2022 Fellow Focus: Natalie Tung + HomeWorks Trenton
Educator, community builder, women empowerer…2022 Fellow Natalie Tung of HomeWorks Trenton shares more about her #RuthlessForGood journey.
What propelled you into the entrepreneurial space? And what do you enjoy most about being a founder?
I never planned to be an entrepreneur. Since I was eleven years old, I had always dreamed of becoming a classroom teacher. However, taking a Social Entrepreneurship class in college offered me a blueprint on how to take the powerful educational experience I had and make it into something accessible to every girl in this world. I decided to see if our idea of an after-school residential model would be possible, and then I could not stop!
Being a Co-Founder and Educator has been a privilege. Everyday, I am continuously challenged to grow. I have been challenged to learn more about my identity and my place in the world through my community, how to better manage my anxiety through navigating the natural ups and downs of startup life, and how to mobilize a team (with many different experiences, cultures, personalities, interests and strengths) to achieve our mission.
As a BIPOC founder, Camelback understands that the struggle is constant, what motivates you to get up every day and keep on fighting?
My 公公 - a brave and kind man who escaped the civil war in China without his family and experience extreme poverty, trauma and pain - and my 爺爺 - a man with fierce determination to uplift his country and who grew up seeing signs that said “No Dogs and Chinese people allowed”. My two grandpas both have a fire within them to change the systems around them. I grew up repeatedly hearing that I am here to build up our communities. I grew up knowing that my middle name, “中”, is a part of a larger proverb “建立中華”, which are also the middle names of each generation in my family. Together, it reads “Help Build China”.
Tell me about an experience you had as an entrepreneur or in starting your company that exemplified one of Camelback's core values: "Belief in Mission + Vision"; "Unafraid of Failure"; "Constant Learner"; "Humble + Hungry"; and "Give First."
Constant Learner: As a community-based organization, it is crucial that we are taking the lead from our parents, teachers and scholars at HomeWorks. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, we learned from our community that assisting with virtual schooling was a higher priority than our wrap-around after-school services. Based on this feedback, HomeWorks adapted our 2020-2021 Full Year Program to run from 8am to 5pm every weekday for the duration of the pandemic. We are proud to say that it was a successful year - with a 93% attendance rate compared to 70% in Trenton schools, and an average of 2.8 GPA compared to 1.3 median* in Trenton schools.
*Trenton did not release average GPA data, so we used median. HomeWorks median was a 2.7.
As a social innovator, what legacy do you hope to leave behind for future generations?
Creating communities of women who are dedicated to making ground-up people-driven systems change.
What's your favorite book or podcast that you draw entrepreneurial inspiration from?
Brené Brown - Dare to Lead
What do you hope to take away from your Camelback Fellowship Journey?
You can learn more about ➡ Natalie Tung of HomeWorks Trenton.
Get to know more of the 2022 Camelback Fellows👇🏽