Meet Gerald Kwon of The Bright Mind in La Canada

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gerald Kwon.

Gerald, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The Bright Mind is the culmination of all my education and experiences. I earned an English degree at UCLA, because I loved reading and writing, specifically the idea that one’s words could express literally anything and everything that one could imagine. I received a Master’s degree in Education from Harvard University, where I learned how students develop intellectually and learn new concepts. Finally, I attended USC where I received a Master’s degree in Social Work, where I learned the ways in which the social, behavioral, and psychological spheres influence a student’s experiences in the classroom and outside of it.

I’ve worked as a teacher and therapist, and here at The Bright Mind, I employ all these skills on a daily basis. In addition to being the business owner, I work primarily with the older students in my role as college counselor and ACT/SAT instructor.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
While I always had the utmost confidence in the work that my staff and I were doing with our clients, the logistics of running a business and all the little things that contribute to a business running efficiently were daunting at first. But there’s always two ways to look at a situation: is it a struggle or is it an opportunity to learn? Thinking it’s the latter makes any challenge that pops up a good thing, because it can improve the business, my skillset, and eventually lead to a better customer experience.

The Bright Mind – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I’m most proud in The Bright Mind’s approach to learning. We believe that all real learning takes place from a student’s perspective, not from a teacher or tutor passively providing information to the student. If students are engaged in their learning, they start feeling more confident in their own ability to learn and be successful in school. Our mission is to help foster or even reignite the love of learning in our students, which will help them not only in school, but in their later life as well.

To that end, we provide services in whatever areas students need. We help with the lengthy college/graduate school application process, ACT/SAT test prep, and tutoring. In all our services, we aim to develop internal motivation within our students so that they can be successful without us. When that happens, great results are a foregone conclusion.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I define success as having happy students and families. Learning is intrinsically fun; it’s a feeling of mastery that we get when we tackle something challenging and overcome it. My goal is that every student we work with starts seeing tough classes as only temporary obstacles; obstacles that can be overcome with a little bit of help and guidance. As we help them do that, students will feel better about themselves as learners: a feeling that should translate into other areas of their life, not just academic ones. The results should almost be an afterthought, because if we’re successful in our mission, results will be, and typically are, a given.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1150 Foothill Blvd.
  Suite B, La Canada, CA 91011
• Website: www.thebrightmind.com
• Phone: 818-864-6114
• Email: [email protected]

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.