Projects
Project Sustainability + Social Impact
My summer experiences made me aware of the importance of these two socially-responsible companies to properly market and communicate positive social value in their sustainable business practices.
EQUIPT is a start-up offering an environmentally-sustainable sports equipment rental service by-the-hour, upcycling professional-grade sorting goods from universities and community centers and renting them out at an affordable price to beginners and weekend athletes, extending their shelf lives instead of ending up in landfills.
Our service aims to help eliminate wastage by ensuring sports equipment gets maximum usage instead of going to landfills.
“Give life by giving back.”
Along with universities and community centers, we enable school districts and overstocked sports department stores to sell their used, professional-grade sports equipment to us at a discounted price by filling out a survey from the EQUIPT app or website. By doing this, EQUIPT upholds and encourages a sustainable agenda. We value the items based on the current market value and package the equipment to place into our ten locker locations in California. From there, our customers have easy access to these lockers using the EQUIPT mobile app, to rent out the recreational item(s) of their choice. These items will consist of tennis racquets, tennis balls, volleyball nets, volleyballs, basketballs, soccer balls, frisbees, badminton nets, badminton racquets, and much more. Once a customer’s rental time is up, they can seamlessly return their rented item to any of our ten current locker locations. Then, they will be charged from the time they rented out the item to when the item is returned to the EQUIPT locker. On the app, they have the option to review and rate their rented item.
📍High School Entrepreneurship Program, Berkeley Haas
“Analyze marketing + social impact initiatives…”
Our marketing analysis is shown through the 7 T’s Model. The three main components that differentiate Shake Shack are its service, brand, and price. Shake Shack customizes each of their stores based on location to attract more customers. Their brand is simple with a sprinkle of fun and a feeling of community. Lastly, Shake Shack burgers are affordable, set at around $5.59, although more expensive compared to other fast food chains.
Shake Shack’s leadership is the culmination of one quote – “Stand for Something Good.” Their culture aligns with this quote as such. One, purpose. Shake shack holds themselves accountable by sourcing quality ingredients to create a “global community” mindset. Two, Caring. Shake shack supports their communities through events and volunteering to establish authentic relationships. Furthermore their values are the building blocks of their leadership. They incorporate sustainability and ESG through practices such as animal welfare and using 100% recycled fiber to-go bags. They infuse the value of community efforts through partnerships with the community and they constantly pursue hospitality by striving for customer satisfaction.
At Shake Shack, depending on the state, employees are paid above minimum wage with compensations to ensure that staff take good care of customers and remain on the job. When hiring, Shake Shacks look for (quote) “people who are warm, friendly, motivated, caring, self-aware and intellectually curious.” They are proud of their “People-First culture” as they scored full marks on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index by supporting the LGBTQ+ community in the workplace. Last but not least, in 2021, there were 2,800+ internal promotions, of which 56% went to women and 73% went to people of color.
Leadership in the Business World, The Wharton School
Magazine Writing
As the only youth contributing writer this year, I am honored to have written two articles for the Arabian Horse Times national magazine.
The Arabian Horse Times booth at the 2022 Arabian Youth U.S. National Championship Horse Show
Check out the two articles I wrote below!
(Page 204-205)
Leader Of The Times: Sophie Yih, interviewed and profiled another Asian-American national champion to encourage more riders of ethnicities into the Arabian horse industry
- Highlights include:
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- story of being selected for the U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team
- journey of becoming a thirteen-time Arabian Youth U.S. Nationals champion
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(Page 40-41)
Roses Found, a coverage article on the 2022 Arabian Youth U.S. Nationals Championship horse show
- Highlights include:
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- appearance of Sylvester Stallone aka “Rocky” from the Rocky film franchise
- annual Dog Costume Contest and Dog Race
- tribute to a beloved and respected Arabian horse trainer
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