Our Story
How We Got A Kluu
Twenty years ago, I stood at a crossroads.
A different path
“Get a clue.”
On paper, my path was clear: college, then medical school. As a first-generation Asian American, medicine was the golden ticket and a thank-you for my family’s sacrifices. But my real joy came from teaching Sunday school and tutoring children.
With my medical school applications half-finished, I changed course and applied for a teaching credential. It wasn’t defiance. It was surrender.
“I surrender my life to you. Lead me where I’m meant to go.”
“Trust me. One day, I’ll show you the vision I see.”
My father was heartbroken. I promised him I would always take care of our family, because in our culture, family is everything.
Twenty years of highs and lows followed: financial struggle, heartbreak, betrayal and loss. Each time I whispered, “Please help,” grace followed. Not the absence of hardship, but the strength to endure it.
Remember this. Write it down.
“Get a clue.”
Gentle nudges kept reminding me to stay kind when bitterness beckoned. The storms never stopped, but they never destroyed me. They were preparing me for something.
Everything clicked on my 40th birthday.
Hundreds of friends, former students and even strangers came to share how I had touched their lives. Moments I saw as small kindnesses had changed theirs.
That day I realized I had become the answer to prayers I’d never heard.
Why “Get a Kluu”?
“Get a clue.”
In third grade, I finally raised my hand, and a frustrated teacher snapped, “Get a clue and figure it out!” I never asked another question in school again.
Years later, I reclaimed those words. Get a Kluu is my promise that no one else feels the sting of dismissal I once did.
Ask, learn, and grow without fear.
“I see you. I believe in you. Let’s figure this out together.”
What began as tutoring became a safe space to learn, fail and try again, built on the belief that everyone deserves a chance.
Meet KellyOur Mission
Every student deserves the clues.
Get A Kluu gives students and families the guidance, tools and confidence to ask, learn and grow without fear.
The Get A Kluu Foundation
Kids helping kids.
The Get A Kluu Foundation is students helping students. Supply drives bring books and materials to students who need them, and student-led seminars teach study skills, college planning and confidence.
A portion of proceeds from the Who Can I Be? series helps make it possible.