EXECUTIVE TEAM
Executive Team
Holly Chen
Founder
Currently in the education industry, Holly embarked on a journey abroad at 14, facing challenges of loneliness, uncertainty, and adapting to a new environment. This experience taught her the importance of helping others and being part of a community.
Throughout her studies, Holly volunteered in a senior care home, the Pan Am Games, and a special needs school, which exposed her to different aspects of society and new cultures. Each experience strengthened her belief in the power of service to make a real difference in the world. Recognizing the dual value of volunteer work, Holly founded Beaver With U during her graduate studies, aiming to help more Chinese students integrate into society and contribute to their communities. She hopes that every young person can gain skills, discover themselves, and be well-prepared for their careers.
Holly firmly believes that, together, we can make a difference!
" If you can dream it, you can do it. "
"As an administrative assistant, my main task is to coordinate behind the scenes to ensure that no matter how far the imagination of anyone flies, the action can also keep up!"
Jenny, 17, from Shenzhen, China. She came to Toronto in 2023 to start her high school life and plans to study Business or Psychology in the future. At first, she joined a Canadian non-profit organization, Beaver With U, just aims to accumulate some volunteer hours. However, while writing articles, looking for volunteer opportunities, and collaborating with other members, Jenny has come to appreciate the satisfaction and joy that comes from helping others. Gradually, she discovered that beaver With U was not just an organization, but a part of her life.
In Beaver With U, Jenny started as an ordinary member and quickly promoted into management department with her leadership and creativity. Now, in her role as an administrative assistant, she coordinates the day-to-day operations of the team and makes sure everyone's ideas get off the ground.
Jenny Zeng
Administrative Assistant
Brian Zeng
Interview
“As long as you're not embarrassed, it's everyone else who's embarrassed!”
Brian, 16, is a senior from Chengdu and came to Canada in 2020. In high school, he learned about the non-profit organization “Beaver With U” through a friend and joined its academic department to conduct some on-campus interviews. He initially joined the organization to help with his college applications, but the enthusiasm of the other members gave him a very different experience than he had at school. Here, he went from being assigned an interview for the first time, to taking the initiative to design an interview topic, until finally, interviewing has become his specialty.
In the process of doing interviews and cooperating with other members, he learned a lot of communication skills and practiced his teamwork ability.
Beaver With U was the highlight of his high school career. When he was feeling burnt out from school, interviews with others always added some fun to the monotony of his life. In the coming days, Brian will devote himself to Beaver With U to produce more high-quality interview videos.
Sherine He
Video Editing
"Editing is fun! And it can bring soul resonance to people!"
Sherine, 17, from Beijing, came to Toronto alone to start her high school life in 2021, with dreams and expectations for Business. Sherine knew Beaver With U through social media, which is an non-profit organization that helps international students adapt to their new environment.
After successfully interviewing to join Beaver's Editorial Department, she began a hectic life of writing tweets, finding volunteer opportunities, typesetting, and collaborating with other members. Sherine hopes to help more international students through her unique words and ideas. At Beaver With U, she not only learned professional skills in operations and marketing, but also learned how to communicate with others.
At Beaver With U, Sherine was improved from being an ordinary member to head of the editorial department and then joined the management Department. Now, she works as an editor and is responsible for posting the video of the interview on social media through her sophisticated editing technology, so that more people can pay attention to this valuable organization.
Claudia Zhang
Outreach
"We Explore, You Move Forward!"
Claudia, 18, from Lanzhou, China, moved with her family to Saskatoon, Canada when she was in elementary school, and then moved to Waterloo to start high school. She is currently a freshman at Health Sciences in McMaster University. She first knew "Beaver With U" through the BeaverTalk series. During the summer of 11th grade, she became a member in Academic Department. Moreover, while writing tweets, seeking volunteer opportunities, and holding different lectures and activities.
Claudia came to appreciate the significance of the Beaver. So even though she began a more demanding university life, Claudia chose to stay in Beaver to help new students in Canada. From a regular member to the leader in the propaganda department, Claudia is currently in charge of outreach in the management department. She found that every task she did at Beaver developed her soft skills and paid off in her life outside of volunteering.
"Heart is what separates the good from the great"
Peter, 20 years old, is from Taiyuan. In the ninth grade, he came to Canada alone and started his high school life. Now he is a senior student at Queen's University majoring in computer science. Initially, Peter joined the Canadian non-profit organization "Beaver With U" just to accumulate volunteer hours, serving as a social media editor, responsible for editing media tweets and collaborating with other members. In the process, he gained the satisfaction of helping others and established deep friendships with his teammates.
Currently, Peter is responsible for the daily maintenance of the website in the Beaver With U and also as a teaching assistant for the YAS Elderly English Program. His work includes website maintenance and using marketing tools to improve search engine optimization so that more people can learn about Beaver With U's volunteer programs. At the same time, Peter as a teaching assistant for the YAS program, he helps the elderly learn English and integrate into the daily culture of Canada. He always believed that: "Heart is what separates the good from the great"
Peter Bian
Website
Suki Xie
Instagram
"Every day I rack my brains to think about how to make ‘All eyes on our Instagram post plzz!!'"
Suki, 18, from Guangdong, China, is a freshman at the Schulich School of Business. When she arrived in Canada during the pandemic in grade 9, she struggled to find a platform that shared meaningful volunteer opportunities and learning advice. As a result, most of her early volunteer work was short-term and lacked fulfillment. In the summer of 11th grade, her friends introduced her to Beaver With U, and she quickly realized it was the organization she had been seeking—it aligned perfectly with her goals.
What began as another volunteer experience evolved into something much more. Over the past year, Suki progressed from a regular member to an executive, and she now manages BWU’s Instagram account. Inspired by her team’s positive energy and commitment to making a difference, Suki finds great satisfaction in the thank-you messages she receives behind the scenes, reminding her of her work's impact. Now, as an experienced member, she is eager to continue using her skills to help more people connect with us through Instagram, broadening Beaver’s mission to a wider audience.
Tony
Activities
"Let us work together to become the “sponsor” of the brand!"
Tony, from Hangzhou, embarked on his academic journey in Canada in the 7th grade. Over the years, he navigated the challenges of studying abroad, gaining valuable insights that he now shares with others to help them avoid common pitfalls. In high school, Tony participated in several volunteer activities and lectures organized by Beaver With U, experiences that had a profound impact on him and significantly supported his university application process.
Even after transitioning to university, Tony remained deeply connected to Beaver With U. Inspired by his past experiences, he decided to rejoin the organization, this time as part of the management team. His goal is to continue paying it forward by organizing more meaningful events and guiding fellow students through their own journeys. With a passion for helping others, Tony is committed to ensuring that no one feels lost on their path to studying abroad.