The beginning of TucánAyuda cannot be associated with a specific eureka moment. Instead, it was the culmination of experiences that shaped this organization. TucánAyuda founder Shubham Mohole, who will join the Cornell University in 2023, has always been fascinated by the global student experience. On his eighth grade trip to Costa Rica, Shubham volunteered at an elementary school and wrote down many ideas in his journal about how to build stronger connections.

Unbeknownst to him, this COVID-19 knowledge-sharing effort was the beginning of a new journey. While working with Costa Rican students, he realized that they were also interested in studying at American universities. Shubham saw firsthand how enthusiastic and committed international students are to join U.S. universities. But he often couldn’t get meaningful information on the websites. There was an opportunity to help these students. To provide enough support to students, Shubham created four-year action plans with suggestions for extracurricular activities that students might be interested in and academic courses they could take. To help further, Shubham gathered volunteer opportunities by contacting nonprofit organizations that students can participate in and posted information about college student groups. Shubham has also partnered with organizations such as BridgeUSA and ENGin. At this point, he had already begun an exciting journey.

Knowing the financial limitations of these students, the service was made freely accessible to the students. Shubham relied on gifts from his family and friends to get the website up and running. Shubham wants to obtain financial support from the recruiting departments of American universities to carry out TucánAyuda’s efforts in the years to come.