Colorado College students make a difference in the world, often starting in their local communities—and their collaborative spirit changed the work of Hyungyu Kim ’27 from the moment he stepped on campus.
During his gap year between high school and CC, Kim founded a clothing brand to raise money for charitable causes. Kim, who was interested in graphic design, grew up in a low-income household and wanted to give back to others the way people had helped his family. Inspired by conversations with his friend Noble Haskell, an athlete who experienced quadriplegia after a car accident, Kim realized he could use his art to help people.
Drawing on his experience making shirts for a church program, he created WITHUS, a brand grounded in “the power of togetherness” and fueled by Kim’s desire to “to be with those that were in hardship and uplift them.” The proceeds from sales of WITHUS hoodies would support a range of important causes—starting with Haskell and his family.
When he moved on campus for his first semester, Kim was struck by the changemaking drive of the CC community, and quickly recruited eager fellow students to help with his project. Despite barely knowing each other, dozens of students jumped in to help Kim with research, photography, videography.
Videographers Torin Schulte ’27 and Sean Lam ’27 helped Kim share the WITHUS vision, and the team invited Haskell to campus to create a video to raise awareness around his story.
After a steep learning curve on manufacturing, design, websites and taxes, Kim was finally able to launch WITHUS in December 2023. He sold 120 hoodies and donated half the proceeds to Haskell to help with medical bills.
“I was so grateful and hopeful that it worked and the impact we were able to make with the CC community,” says Kim, adding that he’s grateful his first-year roommates were so understanding when big boxes of hoodies crowded their Loomis triplet.
Kim continued WITHUS as he began his sophomore year, adjusting as he gained insights and experience. He wasn’t sure which cause to support next—until last fall, when he met Lydia Vassallo ’27 in Structures of Organic Molecules class.
Vassallo’s brother Johnny passed away from epilepsy and for a final project, Vassallo created a painting connecting Johnny’s epilepsy story with class topics. Deeply moved by the project, Kim approached Vassallo with the idea of donating WITHUS proceeds to children with epilepsy.
Associate Professor of Chemistry Amy Dounay, who taught Kim and Vassallo, says it’s an inspiring story that “really captures the spirit of our CC students who make connections in classes and build on those connections to do amazing, creative, and generous things in the world.”
Vassallo was thrilled with the opportunity to share her brother’s story and build awareness of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP).
“I was lucky enough to be involved in the whole process,” she says, “and we even did an interview where I spoke in detail about Ring 20 epilepsy and how it affected Johnny and my family, but also how it shaped us as people.”
Kim and Vassallo worked with filmmaker Reed Haymons ’27 to create a post sharing Vassallo’s story, which totaled over 90,000 views on social media. Kim recruited other CC students for a photoshoot at IKEA and and pop-up shops and awareness sessions on campus. Kim sold dozens of hoodies and will donate half the proceeds to Danny Did Foundation, dedicated to preventing deaths from seizures.
Despite several obstacles, including major manufacturing changes, Kim is determined to continue—secure in the knowledge he’s surrounded by a campus full of thoughtful, creative students, always ready to pitch in.
“I am not scared to try new things anymore because the CC community roots for me,” Kim says. “I am happy to carry on with this mission and I am so grateful to CC and everything the community has done for me.”
