Our Story

Unlike many of my middle school peers, whose summer memories involved frequenting beach shores and social hangouts, mine took me halfway across the world to help take care of my grandparents. My grandmother suffered from Alzheimer's, a common type of dementia that had affected each generation of women in my family. In Korean culture, children inherit the filial duty of taking care of their parents during old age, a job that was only made more challenging when my grandmother refused to go to a home for dementia patients. Thus, I found myself spending hours with her, engaging in puzzles, drawing, and brain-stimulating games I had bought in America, as well as singing (off-key, of course) the old nursery rhymes she taught me as a kid.

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Although my inspiration for Rekindle comes from my grandmother, the countless elderly homes that lack the resources she has, and the caregivers who go unacknowledged for their tireless work have laid the foundation for students to advocate for those affected by Alzheimer’s. As I continue my advocacy through Rekindle, I hope you can not only support the fight against Alzheimer’s but join it.