About Us
How K & L Started
Kyra and Lauren first met when they were 5 years old at a dance class and have been friends ever since. In the past dozen years, they would see each other almost everyday and do almost everything together even though they go to different schools.
They had been part of the "Holiday Angels" organization that raises money for donation and performs at senior homes and children’s hospitals during holiday seasons around Los Angeles.
When everything came to a complete stop during COVID pandemic in 2020, they were stuck at home, only seeing each other virtually and start to dream about their lives when the pandemic is over.
They both missed visiting Taiwan, the island nation where their parents came from. They missed its people, the culture and the beautiful land. With the assistance of their families, Kyra and Lauren established K & L Educational Foundation (K&L) to raise money for visits to Taiwan.
Beginning in summer of 2022, when Covid travel restriction to Taiwan was lifted, and continued in summers of 2023 and 2024, K&L took American teens (led by Kyra and Lauren) to visit and stay with students of Yu-Tung Junior High School at Yuli, a rural village in southeastern Taiwan. During these annual trips, the American teenagers share their cultures and lives with the children while also learning about their culture and lives.
Using the money raised, K&L also provided stipends to Yu-Tung students from low-income families as well as all graduating students to help with their studies.
Meet Kyra
Hi, my name is Kyra Chang and I am currently a senior at Arcadia High School and I am one of the co-founders. This foundation stemmed from an interest we have had ever since we were a kid and especially recently. Growing up I have loved traveling and seeing the different cultures and people that I could meet and interact with whether it be across the city or the world.
Through this cultural exchange I have gotten a chance to share my passion and culture and be introduced to other cultures. One of my greatest passions is the arts I grew up playing the Chinese harp, flute, and piano and we were given the opportunity to introduce and teach the students about our passion and more Western instruments. I am also extremely fond of the visual arts especially the DIY crafts I grew up making, and I was able to recreate those childhood memories with the students at Yuli. My learning at this event was not only limited to sharing my culture but also learning about places and languages I had previously never heard of before like small islands across the Caribbeans. Spending the week indulging in a melting pot of languages and unique customs allowed me to step outside my bubble and expand my horizons
As a Taiwanese-American I spent almost every summer of my life in Taiwan, despite this I had never truly explored indigenous Taiwan until these past few years. This cultural exchange has given me the opportunity to immerse myself in the amazing culture, practices, and breathtaking views of rural Taiwan. Being able to take part in such an amazing cultural exchange has also allowed me to experience aspects of Amis culture that I would never have been able to and foster genuine connections with the students at the school. These past few years have opened my eyes to so many new experiences and given me a new curiosity for the world and a passion for traveling and exploring different diverse cultures.
My wish is to provide for the students to also receive the same cultural experiences and to hone their curiosity and interest in the world and the diverse set of people and cultures it offers.
Meet Lauren
My name is Lauren Hsu, a student at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA), the number one arts school in the US and I am striving to study music education and psychology.I went to Huntington Middle School from 6th grade to 8th, maintaining top grades and winning the bronze, silver, gold and super gold medallions that are only given to the top students. Duringthe COVID-19 quarantine, I started to focus on my cello as I sent performance videos to competitions and won several. From 9th to12th grade, I attended LACHSA, where I devoted half of the school day to music classes. Cello helped me learn patience, pay attention to details, and take small steps at a time.
At LACHSA I had the opportunity to study under the great Alan Maunter and Mr. Fung Ho, playing gigs at Tonality, at the senior graduation, and lots more with my fellow orchestra members. Under Mr. Maunter, I joined the pit orchestra for the past three years, playing with the esteemed musical department of LACHSA. Outside of school, I joined the Colburn Honors Program and the Olympia Youth Orchestra, attending summer intensive camps like Montecito and Amici International Camps.
Starting in my freshman year, my friend and I created a foundation where we could spread our Western culture to the Amei tribe, living at Yuli, Hualian, the southern part of Taiwan. Each summer, we would teach the students about our lives in the US while teaching them how to make pastries like cookies, rice krispies, and ice cream. While my friend taught the students how to tie dye shirts, I introduced them to reading music notes and the cello. The foundation we established not only taught the students about another part of the world that they have not been introduced to, but it also taught me the importance of cherishing what I have at home. Most importantly I understood the importance of learning from each other and to find similar points that can connect us as a whole.