SkyTree
Mentoring
Peter Han
Founder
SkyTree Mentoring
I never intended to start a mentoring practice.
As a high school senior, I was fortunate to gain admission to Brown University's 8-year Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME). In my 7th year, I changed career paths to study the development of human character and capability at UCLA.
Upon graduation, I worked in Human Capital for several manufacturing titans and witnessed first-hand the inadequacy of the conventional education system in preparing young adults for the intensely competitive real-world. Bright young adults who excelled academically in top high schools and universities struggled mightily in the unfamiliar workplace, because they lacked real-world problem-solving capability. They could not navigate complex relationships. They could not cope with unrelenting ambiguity and uncertainty. They resisted being held accountable for delivering tangible results against hard deadlines. They feared taking risks and failing. They didn't know how to recover from failure.
Alarmed by this discovery, I once again changed career paths to build from scratch a character and capability curriculum for my two sons. After two years of research and development, I launched the Invent and Innovate curriculum, which is based on Ashoka's and Stanford d.school's social entrepreneurship programs. My sons thrived as the guinea pigs. They founded 12 real-world problem-solving projects with partners in 7 countries, addressing financial literacy, water scarcity, equitable banking, and sustainable energy. They won several international invention contests, were named top 10 young inventors in the USA, earned a "30 Under 30" designation by Forbes magazine, and earned a US utility patent for a novel water harvesting device. As young adults, both are enjoying their dream careers in cutting edge technology firms, Genesis Advanced Technology and Google.
My sons' unconventional "schooling" experiences intrigued governments, foundations, corporations and journalists. Press coverage from CNN, Forbes, Popular Science, NBC, Yahoo, El Pais, etc. led families and schools to request my support for development of character and capability in young adults. Since 2010, I have advised families, educators, foundations and organizations in implementing my mentoring model. Since 2010, I have mentored young adults in 11 countries to grow in character and capability by solving real-world problems.
SkyTree Mentoring is the culmination of 13+ years of real-world application and refinement of my mentoring model.
2008
today
Organizational Development
Human Capital Strategy
Executive Development
Global Manufacturing Sector
Research & Development
Youth Development Curriculum
Mentoring Young Adults
Problem-solving Projects
Character & Capability Development
Testimonials
It is really difficult to describe Peter’s mentoring other than life-changing. A description is difficult as Peter is a mentor that is incredibly perceptive to the specific needs, motivations, and desires of each mentee. He successfully personalizes his mentoring style according to the needs of his mentee. From my perspective, it is a hands-on approach of guiding young people to developing skills, and experiences of personal and societal importance while emphasizing the development of self-efficacy, initiative, and the ability to navigate uncertainty.
I would have never imagined that I would be running an international hackathon, consulting for 3 start-ups and nonprofits, and starting a school club franchise. I developed skills, gained experiences, and confidence to a point where I can’t see myself anywhere but in a leadership position working on innovative projects for societal betterment.
Beyond a mentor for the college process or project guidance, he has taught me invaluable lessons about what it means to be a friend, a leader, a citizen, and overall a better person. I will always fondly remember the countless times he took time after our meetings to answer any question I had thoroughly with complete seriousness and dedication. Whether it is abstract philosophical questions like how to be more patient or concrete, like discussing politics, career options, or science, he will always blow you away with his level of insight. I leave every meeting a more knowledgeable and wiser person.
The world is full of complex problems to solve and people to help. I truly believe that Peter’s mentorship was an instrumental part of my transformation into someone who can tackle societal issues with confidence, courage, and initiative.
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I. Chen, Mentee
Since the start of Peter's mentorship, my life has changed in the best way. Peter Han has helped me initiate two non-profits. Before I started my mentorship with Peter, establishing organizations at the age of 17 was something that I never thought I was capable of achieving. The skills taught by Peter were related to thriving in real-life situations. Without guidance from an experienced perspective, the knowledge and skills learned from school are meaningless.
If you are someone who is a couple of steps ahead of your peers in taking meaningful actions in the world, in your plans and vision for your life, Peter Han is the perfect mentor to provide connections to professionals, teach you the applications of Human Centered Design, and share his insights on your work to enhance your projects.
If you are someone who feels like they have potential but do not know how to begin, he is the perfect mentor for you. That is because he trains you in a way that you gain lots of confidence and experience, to do extraordinary things on your own. Additionally, throughout my applications for scholarships, bursaries, and universities, he helped me build a very successful profile.
Some of the character growth that I have noticed since I started getting mentored by Peter is, empathizing, being optimistic, confident, generous, and being successful but humble.
I have noticed that I am much more confident in the planning of my vision for the future. Peter is a big advocate of young people making changes in the world.
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S. Maleki, Mentee
Peter Han mentored me through grades 9-12 and throughout these years, supported me with various endeavors. In my early high school years, he mentored me as I began a photo-graphy initiative that aimed to highlight stories of individuals I met from my travels around the world. When I was in 11th and 12th grade, he advised and mentored me during the college application process.
The classroom did not give me the individual coaching that mentorship by Peter Han was able to provide. This individual coaching was so valuable, as all students are unique and require a unique approach to learn and grow. Each student has their own set of passions, strengths, and weaknesses that need to be considered when crafting a plan for their growth. Peter Han would take all of those into account when working with me. For example, I was very passionate about photography as well as social causes and Mr. Han and I worked together to determine how I could pursue an initiative that intertwined those two passions. We bounced ideas back and forth, thought critically, and came up with a project plan that was interesting and meaningful. That kind of coaching would not be available in the majority of classrooms.
through working on the college admissions process with Peter Han, I gained a better understanding of myself including my flaws, strengths, personal blocks, passions and more. This helped me greatly with college extracurriculars, career decisions, and degree choices. I also learned about the various challenges and problems we face in the world today, and determined which of those problems I am the most passionate about and the best equipped to solve.
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N. Khater, Mentee
As a result of Mr. Han’s mentoring I was able to grow in my critical thinking, leadership, and problem solving skills. In the beginning of our journey, Mr. Han aided me in identifying values important to me and transferring it to my school setting. As a result, I created a club devoted to peace-making and through this experience I was able to learn problem solving and critical thinking. Through these experiences I was also able to improve my character. His motivation and ongoing flow of ideas kept me motivated to persist through difficulties and I was able to identify another issue occurring in the community and take action to solve it. His mentoring helped me find the will to improve consistently and become a stronger leader and hard worker. Through all of my experiences with Mr. Han, I am now a leader who has been able to learn about the world through many different perspectives. I have learned about many world issues and it has helped me evolve into a more empathetic and knowledgeable human who has the confidence to take on the world. I also have a better idea about my future due to my conversations with Mr. Han. He has given me a lot of guidance that has prepared me to be a strong college applicant. With this in mind, he has also made it a point to emphasize that college is not the end goal and it is important that we use the skills we develop for the duration of our life.
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S. Sankhala, Mentee
Our family’s relationship with Peter Han began in 2018 in relation to college application counseling for my daughter. I had a fair idea of what a ‘good’ college counselor provides, however Peter took it to an exemplar level. He continues to mentor her throughout college, which has led to a cherishable personal relationship. I must say, Peter is one of very few I trust with my daughter’s future and, more importantly, her personal wellbeing.
Over the course of mentoring my daughter for her college applications, Peter challenged her to think creative, deep, and
broad. Initially, this was a bit overwhelming, but she quickly noticed that with each challenge, Peter equipped her with the tools to succeed. He guided her on researching far reaching concepts related to her essay topics, leverage her
critical thinking skills, visualize connections, and tell a strong evidence-based story. A spark to do more ‘different and unique’ lit up within her, fueling her drive and passion to win the prestigious Morehead Cain scholarship at UNC Chapel Hill. Getting into college is one achievement. Striving is the next. Peter and my dauther continued to be a team. He helped her see the differences between having a high standard versus unnecessary perfectionism. This helped her gain work –
college life balance quickly. Her resilience was challenged in college, and he mentored her in prioritizing the end goal,
not try to do everything in the present, and letting go. Being a high-achiever can sometimes lead to questioning oneself. Peter mentored my daughter in seeing through the bravado of college peers, and to applaud her own strengths and achievements, value standards, and most
importantly, her own circumstances. She developed a ‘swagger’ in the process and shined throughout these years. She has continued to excel and earn the respect of her peers, professors, and staff at the Morehead Cain Foundation.
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A. Shah, Parent
We have known Mr. Han for more than 10 years. Our initial doubts about the value of his mentoring quickly evaporated with Mr. Han’s mentoring results, as both of children graduated Summa Cum Laude from their STEM magnet high school (more than 3,000 students).
We also quickly noticed Mr. Han’s supreme ability to think abstractly, conceptualize complicated mathematical and science problems, and seamlessly rationalize ideas
with our children. Mr. Han’s dynamic and heuristic tutoring practice not only improved our children’s writing skills, but also strengthened their logic reasoning ability and broadened their world view. Because our children’s strengths lie in mathematical intuition, Mr. Han suggested them write college application essays focused on mathematical marvels and enigmas.
One child related his life and childhood memory to the famous Euler’s identity, while the other expressed his concerns about global crises, such as global warming and social division, in terms of the mesmerizing Koch's Snowflake. Both applications were very successful - the former was accepted into Stanford and the latter into UT Austin's Turing CS program. Needless to say, we are very happy with Mr. Han’s work ethic and mentoring service, and we have recommended Mr. Han to many friends.
We firmly believe that Mr. Han will be an outstanding mentor for your children.
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J. Yu, Parent
Mr. Han first advised my daughter on college selection, major considerations and essay reviews in her senior year. He encouraged her to be brave and apply for a number of reach schools. She had a successful outcome: admitted to Rice, Vanderbilt, Case Western Reserve with $30,000 annual scholarship and UT Austin Plan II honor and Biomedical Engineering honor with $10,000 annual scholarship. She chose to
attend UT Austin and graduated with highest honors of BS & BA double degrees. She was offered a full time job at the prestigious “Emerging Talent Rotational Program” of Merck and has thoroughly enjoyed it since.
Mr. Han’s mentorship for my son was immeasurable. He first mentored him in 9th grade in Public Speaking & Social Communication, two of the most important 21st
Century Skills needed for success in school and professional career. These skills prepared my son well for numerous leadership roles throughout high school and now as a freshman at Wharton (UPenn). Through
these experiences, my son’s public speaking and leadership skills have grown exponentially, he became a self-starter and was able to take on challenges above peer level. He was elected as DECA district president, math honor society president, he founded the first entrepreneurship club at his high school, later became regional director of MIT's LaunchX, served as student Advisory Board Member of Diamond Challenge (national entrepreneurship), selected as a speaker at SXSW EDU. As a freshman in college, he made into two selective Wharton clubs. One of them consists of both undergraduate and MBA students, he was selected as VP of Communications. My son said “In every significant activity in my educational career, I keep finding myself going back to the skills Mr. Han taught, even five years out”
I am proud of my children's good character and success at school and at work. I am indebted to Mr. Han for his vision, passion and patience in mentoring them. I give him my highest recommendation,
without reservation.
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M. Chang, Parent