Early entrepreneurship

Initially formed to serve the inner-city population within Washington D.C. and its surrounding metropolitan area, “Operation Fly, Inc.” now serves five locations in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Chicago, Boston and New York.

“It was just a couple of friends and I asking the community for food and clothes as donations. I was surprised by the response,” Hwang, a native of North Potomac, Md., explained of the initial interest in the program. In the D.C. area alone, the organization received clothes worth $80,000 to $90,000 in donations.

Hwang’s initiative didn’t stop there. In his sophomore year of high school, he started a tutoring company, VillageLead. After running the company for two years, he sold it and bought shares at Articulance Consulting Group with the returns. Articulance Consulting Group lists him as a managing partner at the firm.

Hwang’s interests also extend into the realm of political activism. Inspired by participating in the Obama campaign in 2008, in which he campaigned door-to-door and encouraged students to get involved, he founded the National Youth Association (NYA) shortly thereafter.

“I found that students really wanted to get involved in politics, beyond just knocking on doors,” he said. “We are lobbyists for the youth.”

The program works to help students find jobs and internships and supports policies at the state and local levels that deal with student rights.

“Tim is one of the hardest and most dedicated workers along with one of the most brilliant, passionate and natural leaders I’ve ever had the honor of working with,” said Erich Reimer, co-director of the NYA and a current sophomore at Johns Hopkins. “When he makes a commitment to an organization, it is serious, and you can expect he will put all of his effort and skills into it.”

In high school, Hwang was elected by his peers to serve as their representative on the school board, an experience he credits with helping his efforts at the NYA.

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“It taught me how local policies run. What people don’t realize is that the policies made at the state and local level actually impact their lives a lot, and that is the area we are working on,” he said.

While on the board, Hwang reached out to students to make them aware of how the board runs and how budget considerations are made. He created a video blog on which he posted regular updates of board meetings, and encouraged students to attend public board meetings and make their voices heard.

Shirley Brandman, who served as president of the board during Hwang’s term, said that he “really helped the board connect with the students and used non-traditional ways to reach out to them in ways they understood.”

And even while maintaining such a busy schedule of extra-curricular activities, Hwang found time to devote to his academics.

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“He was an excellent student, but academics weren’t always his primary focus. He was usually doing so many other things that it was ridiculous,” Matthew Winter, Hwang’s government teacher in high school, said in an e-mail.

However, finding the right balance between his commitments was difficult. His high school grades were sometimes B’s instead of A’s, and fours instead of fives on AP exams, despite averaging four to five hours of sleep per night.

“He did fall asleep in my class sometimes,” Winter said. “I did not take offense. When I wrote his college recommendation I had to reassure the colleges his resume was not faked or padded. It was all real.”

Despite it all, Hwang still found time for his social life. He had a number of close friends both at his high school and at local schools around the area.

Hwang’s work in the fields of social entrepreneurship and political activism has earned him much acclaim. In 2009 he was named Youth Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young and Junior Achievement, and was named one of Bentley University’s Tomorrow 25, which honors student leaders.

The journey so far has not been easy for him. “When you’re given a large budget of about $50,000 to $100,000, and you’re just 14 years old, people tend to doubt you,” Hwang said. “You just have to show them that you can handle it. Age is just a number.”

At the University, Hwang hopes to study politics and go on to law school after graduation. He is interested in joining the government and working in public policy.

He garners motivation from the belief that a person can exceed expectations. “When people come together and have an idea, that one idea can make a tremendous difference in society,” he said. “That’s what keeps me going.”