The story of Second Chance begins in April 2018, when 60 high-achieving Nepali students, who had been awarded full-ride scholarships by a university in Texas, received devastating news: Their full-ride scholarships were being revoked due to an administrative oversight. These students had already declined other university offers and were left with no viable alternatives. They were devastated.

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Joan Liu, a university advisor at the United World College of Southeast Asia in Singapore, vowed to give these students a "Second Chance".  Joan assembled a global team of counselors to serve as a volunteer crisis management group dedicated to finding new opportunities for the students.

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The collective efforts of this team were remarkable. They placed the Nepali students at dozens of universities across the US, Canada, the Middle East, and East Asia. Through their determination and hard work, they secured over $10 million in financial aid and scholarships, raised $180,000 in gap funding to cover additional costs, and placed the entire cohort.

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These extraordinary efforts became the catalyst for the establishment of Second Chance in 2019, founded by Joan Liu.

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Second Chance is committed to ensuring that the world's most talented, deserving students can overcome financial barriers and access the resources and support they need to reach their full potential.​

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For more information about Second Chance’s impact, visit Press.