When Yujia Zhu stepped onto the Branksome Hall campus in Grade 10, she carried more than a backpack—she carried a world of questions, dreams and the weight of starting over in a new country. Today, she’s transforming those early challenges into global social entrepreneurship, blending psychology, ethics and technology to create systems that truly serve people.

When Yujia moved to Canada at the age of 13 to attend Branksome Hall as a boarding student, everything felt new all at once—the rigorous curriculum, the academic expectations and the boarding school environment presented its challenges. On top of that, there was the cultural adjustment: learning how to participate in class discussions, adapting to a new social dynamic and finding her place within a tight-knit community.

“It was challenging to navigate so many changes at once,” Yujia said. “There were moments when it felt overwhelming.” 

Over time, the structure of the IB program, support from teachers and the school’s welcoming Boarding environment helped her build confidence, independence and resilience. She says Branksome’s all-girls setting also shaped how she came to understand leadership.

“When you remove the constant comparison to male validation, you begin to see power more clearly. You see it not as dominance, but as agency,” Yujia explained. “Leadership wasn’t something we were invited into. It was expected.”

 Yujia also credits Branksome Hall with shaping her feminist perspective, citing reading The Handmaid’s Tale in her Grade 10 English class as a pivotal influence. “It taught me that oppression isn’t sustained primarily through force—it’s sustained through normalization,” she noted.

Seeing leadership through a feminist lens continues to influence Yujia’s work today as a global social entrepreneur operating at the intersection of psychology, technology, ethics and law.

After graduating, Yujia pursued an interdisciplinary academic path driven by a central question: “How do we understand human behaviour, power and ethics, and translate that understanding into systems that genuinely serve people?” She earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto, followed by graduate studies at Columbia University and New York University in clinical practice, executive coaching and organizational consulting. She later completed advanced studies in computer science and business administration, alongside a PhD in Psychology.

In Ontario, Yujia also launched a petition advocating for expanded public coverage of mental health services, which was later presented in the Ontario Legislative Assembly, an experience that reinforced her belief in individual-led policy change.

Yujia has founded nonprofits focused on mental health and social equity, including For A Safer Space, which evolved into fassling.ai, an AI-powered platform providing free, 24/7 emotional and life-support services across multiple countries and languages.

“What inspires me is a deep belief that access to care, dignity and support should never depend on geography, privilege or visibility,” she said.

As her social impact work expanded, Yujia identified what she calls a “legal blind spot” in social entrepreneurship, where traditional legal frameworks often fail to account for cultural nuance and relational ethics. She is now pursuing a Master of Legal Studies at Cornell Law School to better advocate for humane and inclusive governance systems.

One of the boldest decisions of her career, Yujia says, was building and scaling a nonprofit as a solopreneur, challenging traditional assumptions about organizational growth. “Solopreneurship allowed me to design for sustainability, innovation and accessibility without being constrained by bureaucracy,” she said.

Looking ahead, Yujia hopes to shift from building services to shaping broader systems at the intersection of care, technology and governance. Reflecting on her time at Branksome Hall, she encourages current students to lead with courage and integrity.

“You don’t need permission to be yourself, and you don’t need to wait until you feel completely ready,” Yujia said. “Branksome taught me that rigour and reflection belong together. Hold onto that. Trust your inner compass. The most meaningful careers are built not by chasing power or being perfect, but by choosing integrity—again and again, especially when it costs you something. That’s how you empower both yourself and the world around you.”