High school students manage a wide range of responsibilities, including sports, clubs, standardized tests, homework, and jobs. For some, these commitments also include running a company. Senior Yikuan Sun and junior Hsiang Hung have both managed to start their own businesses and give back to their communities all while taking rigorous academic and extracurricular schedules.
Hung, a Taiwanese student, is an avid drummer and a member of the marching band during the fall. He also serves as a co-president of the Asian Student Association and vice president of the 2026 class council. Outside of school, Hung volunteers with the Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors, a Taiwanese community service organization.
Hung and his friend, junior Evan Lee, who attends the Lovett School in Atlanta, Georgia, partnered to create a nonprofit organization called the ABTaiwan Project. Hung was inspired to start the project after an earthquake in Taiwan left many people struggling to access reliable information.
“From that, we realized that there’s no real way for Taiwanese teens, especially in America, or just people in general, to know what is happening in Taiwan without it being treated like a lab thing by big news companies,” Hung said.
Since its founding in April 2024, the ABTaiwan Project has published over 30 articles about Taiwan. The organization has interviewed professors and government officials and plans to establish a mentorship program for Taiwanese teens. The group has also contacted United States senators to raise awareness about their mission.
Hung believes there is room at Chapel Hill High School for growth in fostering entrepreneurial ambition. “There is not that push for you to have an idea that is bigger than just at school,” Hung said. He hopes to see a cultural shift where students are encouraged to “shoot for something more.”
Through the ABTaiwan Project, Hung said he has learned valuable lessons from the people he has met. “It is always mind-blowing to know that this person had the same experiences as you when they were 16 or 17 and that they are this successful now,” Hung said.
Hung is not the only student at Chapel Hill High School pursuing entrepreneurship. Senior Yikuan Sun has also launched his own venture.
Sun is a multifaceted student with a range of interests, including running, weightlifting, art, poetry, and coding. His passion for digital art began in middle school, but he faced challenges accessing the industry-standard tools.
Sun relied on free software during middle school because he could not afford the expensive programs that dominate the industry. He began using Photopea, a free alternative to Photoshop, and continues to use it today. Over time, he started creating his own tools for the software and decided to make them available to the public. “I started writing this software mainly for my own purpose…[then], I thought, why not share these to the world for them to use for free,” Sun said.
To share these resources, Sun founded Lunal Graphics. Currently, the company offers five different products: SuperBloom, Sprite Replicator, Zeus, Color Theater and Progen Flares 2, all of which are offered as Photopea plugins. Instructions to install each product are available on the website.
Lunal Graphics also features video tutorials—available at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels—that explain how to use the products. All of the videos are made by Sun.
The company operates entirely through donations, and one of Sun’s plugins has been installed more than 100,000 times. His expertise in Photopea has also led to collaborations with larger companies.
“I just chased after these things that I was passionate about,” Sun said.
Although Sun is unsure if coding and graphic design will play a role in his future, he values his experience with Lunal Graphics and encourages other students to pursue their entrepreneurial ideas.
“If anyone has a business idea, I would really encourage them to just start doing it,” he said.
