Francis Kong, CEO of Edge Interns

When Francis Kong was five years old, his father sat him down and told him he had two choices in life - he could be a physician or he could be a failure.

At the end of his second year at the Royal College of Surgeons, one of his professors told him that he should go and have fun on his spring break because once he was back, it would be heads down with no time off for many years. So, together with a couple of medical school buddies, he boarded a 747 to Barcelona, Spain for what he hoped would be two weeks of fun in the sun. As they attempted to land at the Barcelona airport, the plane experienced what Francis thought was turbulence – followed by a failed attempt to land. Shortly after that the intercom came on and the pilot made an announcement – but it was in Spanish. The only thing word he could understand was one that was being repeated over and over:  “Emergencia, emergencia.” In those last few seconds, Francis saw in his mind’s eye, his mom, his dad, his sisters and the faces of all of his mentors.

“I told them I loved them very, very much. I thanked them for all of the gifts they had given me in my life.  And I said, ‘goodbye’ – I am so sorry I had to go now.”

Francis survived his near-death experience but life for him would never be the same. He formed Edge Interns in College and learned how to mentor young people on a large scale. Then in 2012, he founded Edge Interns to help young people figure out what their dreams are and help them to make them come true as early as possible. There were 5 interns in Edge’s first year, now there are more than 330 from very prestigious institutions around the country.

To read the full article, click here.