Meet Pareeni Shah | CEO of 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Inspire NextGen

We had the good fortune of connecting with Pareeni Shah and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pareeni, how does your business help the community?
Inspire NextGen, our 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, helps the world by offering additional educational opportunities for underprivileged refugee students from all around the world. Many of these students have had to flee their countries at an early age due to harsh family, political, or financial concerns, and this has resulted in a childhood full of a lack of sufficient education and mentorship. Inspire NextGen holds weekly Zoom meetings to provide refugee students who live across the US with mentorship and tutoring services. Through a lesson of current events, math and reading, and a book club, we not only strive to make our students more knowledgeable about their world and academics, but also to make tight connections with our students and provide role models in their life.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned from starting Inspire NextGen about two years ago that I am sure many small business / organization owners can relate to, is that it takes an absurd amount of patience. As many CEOs have a goal to expand their business or organization to a great extent and grow to many areas and people, the beginning years are filled with many work in progress and small accomplishment stages. It takes time to get your name out there, to raise awareness in society about your brand and services, and make your significant mark in the community. Although this stage can be frustrating very easily, it’s extremely important to celebrate the small accomplishments, such as your first partnership, first successful session with your members, etc. To make progress and truly create an impact on society, I believe it takes two things that go hand in hand- networking and persistence. The more contacts and connections you establish, the higher chances you have of linking with organizations and appealing your business to a wider range of people from different areas. And with these connections and contacts, comes extreme persistence. It is necessary to send countless emails, make countless phone calls and reach out to a countless number of people. While only 2/100 of your emails might give a positive result, one right answer is really all you need to get started. What sets apart Inspire NextGen in this world is our focus to not only educate our students on current events in the world and strengthen their academic skills, but to provide beneficial mentors for them throughout this entire process. The goal is while they are becoming more knowledgeable young boys and girls about their society, they are simultaneously gaining a forever mentor, and someone to talk about their personal life to, questions with school or cultural accommodations, and most importantly, role models to look up to and strive to be in their later years.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
In the Dallas area, I would make an itinerary consisting of visiting the Klyde Warren park, the Dallas Arboretum, the Reunion Tower, the Dallas Arts District, and Deep Ellum. Klyde Warren park, centered right in Dallas Downtown, is the perfect greenery space to enjoy a picnic with family or friends, a game of ping pong, a perfect picture spot, and the ideal location to a line of food trucks with a variety for everyone. Klyde Warren also offers many live concerts on their stage, and many events for families and kids to enjoy as well. Next, The Dallas Arboretum offers the most beautiful botanical garden that spans across 86 acres and provides sights of lush garden designs that show seasonal colors all year long. The Reunion Tower is a must-see in Dallas especially in the night time for a date night, events, or just sightseeing. The tower shows a panoramic view of Dallas and serves as an amazing observation point. Nearby, is the Dallas Arts District, known as the cultural hub of Downtown. This area includes the Nasher Sculpture Center, Meyerson Symphony Center, Winspear Opera House, and many other exhibits and museums to see the culture and diversity that Dallas holds. Lastly, Deep Ellum is an entertainment district in Dallas known for its art galleries, street murals, and many entertainment venues. It is the perfect spot for young and hip travelers.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The backbone of Inspire NextGen goes back to the United Nations GirlUp organization that I founded during my time at Allen High School in Allen, TX. GirlUp is an international organization that volunteers and advocates for underprivileged women’s rights all around the world. Through this organization, I was constantly reaching out to countries around the world such as Ghana, India, and Mexico to raise awareness for the gender disparity and find ways to start fundraisers for these countries. After months of doing this, I thought about creating my own program that not only aims to help girls in struggling areas globally, but also boys. A program that works one-on-one with all students to give them the knowledge they wouldn’t receive otherwise. It was all of my GirlUp members at Allen that helped me kickstart this non-profit, and to this day, all of the volunteers of Inspire NextGen are still members of GirlUp in Allen, TX. These girls have gotten to know the students we tutor, and form personal connections with them, and I can confidently say our organization would not be where it is today without them.

Website: https://inspirenextgen.wixsite.com/inspirenextgen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspire.nextgen/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pareeni-shah-8478191a7/