Simple Studies (now Studyist) was founded in May 2020 by Sarah Frank, Kayden Ozdemir, and Rachna Chilambi in order to combat education inequity, especially in light of virtual learning in the midst of a global pandemic. The idea was, and still is, to provide students with free resources created for and by students.
The organization partnered with Hidaku in late 2020 which funded all necessary payments and affiliated the organization with the United Nations and Department of State. In May 2021, a new president rebranded the organization as Studyist, which remained the name for the next year until the founder returned to that role. At that same time in May 2022, Studyist separated from Hidaku and re-branded back to the original name, slogan, and colors.The mission has since been joined by over 600 team members from over 40 countries and almost every US state. Our team is incredibly driven, diverse, kind, and cooperative. The team has worked and continues to work on creating and sharing free resources and services for other students to use, free of cost and easy to access.
Lack of resources is one of the main pillars, but education inequity exists everywhere and in so many forms. Beyond lack of resources, problems such as lack of funding, lack of transportation, or an inability to pay for college stop students from being able to succeed in academics. This limits college choices and career opportunities. Education inequity is thus perpetuating cycles of poverty and oppression.We believe that every individual deserves to have the resources and support they need to succeed in school. An education shouldn't have a price tag and success should not be for sale.
Studyist was acquired by Deloitte's "Hidaku" program in May of 2022, with the founding members continuing their careers at Brown University, The University of California Santa Cruz, and Northeastern University.
