Liberal Arts alumna’s startup aims to help improve access to student resources

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State alumna Stella Cho never anticipated the prominent role that the love for her culture would play in her academic and professional journey.

Cho, who recently received her bachelor’s degree in international politics from Penn State, will remain in State College through the summer and fall to continue developing BeyondClass, a centralized hub that aims to provide college students easy and fair access to information about opportunities such as scholarships, networking, and career-boosting competitions.

Cho said her experience as an international student has informed her work. Originally from Seoul, South Korea, she went to high school in Madison, Wisconsin.

“There are so many international students who work hard in school but also need to work after class to support themselves,” Cho said. “Because of this, we often don’t have the same amount of time as others to look for these resources like scholarships and organizations, and that creates a really big education gap for us.”

According to Cho, BeyondClass is geared toward providing students with quick and easy access to information about numerous opportunities that could benefit them academically. Information on the site’s platform comes from Penn State's public webpages and other University student clubs’ and organizations’ sites and social media accounts. Cho is collaborating with Happy Valley LaunchBox on developing the platform, which she hopes to launch this August.

“BeyondClass is a centralized hub website where students can put in things like their majors, minors and interests, and our AI matching technology will use the database to provide them opportunities like clubs and scholarships that could benefit them,” Cho said. Although the site will be localized to Penn State, she hopes that students will share their support for the platform online and help spread the word to other schools that could potentially utilize it.

Meanwhile, her cultural pride serves as another significant motivator, she said.

“I really want to highlight how proud I am of being Korean,” Cho said. “I’m so proud of things like traditional Korean clothing, and I was selected as a model for VALLEY magazine to highlight my culture and clothing.”

Overall, Cho said, Penn State has given her a home unlike any other, and provided a network that spans the globe. She’s met Nittany Lions in South Korea, making her sense of community feel that much stronger. Most importantly, she said, Penn State has helped her grow as a person more than she could have ever imagined.

“Penn State really taught me confidence. I can’t imagine running a startup, or even participating in the competition, without the confidence that my friends and professors gave me,” Cho said. “Penn State also taught me a lot about myself. The friends I’ve met, the professors I’ve met — they’ve all inspired me and really made this the best four years of my life.”