Bilingual. Builder. Connector.
I’m a bilingual English and Mandarin student in Silicon Valley interested in the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, science, neurodiversity, storytelling, and public service.
I raised more than $10,000 in support of autism education, interned at a tech company, led a 20-person student publication as Editor-in-Chief, participated in Stanford’s SNP-REACH neurodiversity program, studied entrepreneurship in Singapore on a CIEE scholarship, and was selected as an ILF Youth Leadership Academy semifinalist and invited to present in Washington, D.C.
Academically, I’m pursuing the IB Bilingual Diploma, received my high school’s Gold Tier Merit Scholarship, and spent three weeks in Penn’s Experimental Physics Program exploring topics from electromagnetism and quantum mechanics to astrophysics.
Chinese language and culture have always been part of my life, including more than 20 visits to China and Taiwan. That experience has made me especially interested in how people with different histories, assumptions, and ways of thinking can better understand one another.
I’m happiest when I’m building something, bringing people together, exploring an unfamiliar place, or turning an idea into something useful for others.
What I Do
Areas where I’ve built, learned, and contributed.
Neurodiversity + Impact
I climbed six of the highest peaks in Silicon Valley to fundraise over $10,000 for the Morgan Autism Center, an autism/developmental-disability organization or nonprofit.
I am an alum of the Stanford Neurodiversity Project – Research, Education, and Advocacy Camp (SNP-REACH). I am part of a team building a website to advance neurodiversity education.
Building + Entrepreneurship
I was a summer intern for the product group at Capacity, a leading technology company that provides a unified platform for AI agents.
I was a CIEE Global Entrepreneurship Scholar in Singapore and developed a business plan for a unique hand-held device and pitched it to investors.
Leadership + Storytelling
I am an alum of the Youth Leadership Academy of the International Leadership Foundation. For my capstone project I investigated the growing threat of peptides in Silicon Valley for youth.
I am Editor-In-Chief of the online newspaper of my school, Silicon Valley International School, and help lead ~20 students.
Global Perspective
I’m bilingual in English and Mandarin, and Chinese language and culture have always been part of my life. I’ve made more than 20 educational and study trips to China and Taiwan, including experiences living with local families.
To date, I have visited over one-third of China’s provinces and over half of the U.S.A. I hope to use that perspective to help people in China and the United States better understand one another.
Beyond the Classroom
I compete in arm wrestling tournaments and placed 2nd in my weight class at a 2025 competition in Modesto. I designed and built my own fully functioning arm-wrestling table.
I run cross country, play classical guitar, and am currently completing The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award.
These are all different pursuits with the same attraction: pick something difficult, understand how it works, and keep getting better at it.
What I’m Exploring Now
A few projects and questions I’m actively working on.
Building For Neurodiversity
I’m helping build the SNP-REACH website to make neurodiversity education and resources easier to access.
Question I’m exploring: How can technology make information more useful to people who learn and think differently?
Understanding China and America
Through more than 20 trips to China and Taiwan, along with travel across the United States, I’ve been paying attention to how culture shapes the way people think about technology, education, business, and society.
Question I’m exploring: How can people with different histories and assumptions better understand one another?
Testing Ideas in Entrepreneurship
After developing and pitching a product concept in Singapore, I’ve continued exploring how ideas become useful products and sustainable businesses.
Question I’m exploring: What makes someone actually want to use something you build?
Learning By Building
I compete in arm wrestling and designed and built my own regulation-style table. I’m continuing to study leverage, technique, training, and the mechanics behind the sport.
Question I’m exploring: How much can understanding the physics of something change how well you can do it?
About Me
My interests may look different on the surface, but they usually start with the same instinct: understand how something works, then see what I can build from it.
Economics leads me to entrepreneurship. Physics makes me want to experiment and build. Journalism teaches me to listen to other perspectives. Growing up bilingual in English and Mandarin has made me especially curious about how Chinese and American cultures can look at the same issue differently, and where they can find common ground.
Outside the classroom, I run cross-country, play classical guitar, compete in arm wrestling, and probably spend more time thinking about leverage and hand position than most people.
Logan A. Liu 刘智斌 