Steve Chen

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, every school day The Cardinal will feature a prominent and historical Asian American or Pacific Islander, living or dead, who has worked toward change, advancement, and/or world peace. Some of them are heroes, and some are unsung heroes, who deserve recognition, and have made a contribution to society.

Kaitlyn Ponce, Staff Writer

May 15, 2026

In honor of Asian American Heritage Month, Steve Chen is someone who has significantly made a difference in how we live each day.

Chen was born in Taipei, Taiwan, on August 25, 1978. Chen moved to the United States with his family when he was seven years old and settled in Arlington Heights, Illinois. In his last three years of high school, he attended the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora, Illinois. After graduating from high school, Chen attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and studied computer science. In 1999, Chen left the University to go to Silicon Valley, which is in the southern San Francisco Bay area of California, and is home to global technology companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google, to pursue opportunities.

Chen´s journey demonstrates determination and creativity, leading him to become one of the co-founders of YouTube, one of the biggest platforms used by the world, which has transformed how people share and view content. Before YouTube, Chen worked at PayPal, where he met future co-founders Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim, and was also an employee of Facebook. In 2005, they launched YouTube with the idea of allowing anyone to upload and watch videos online. By 2006, YouTube was purchased by Google for $1.65 billion, which is equivalent to 2.44 billion now. Chen´s impact goes far beyond financial success. YouTube has changed the world by giving people a voice and a global audience for entertainment. It has created new careers for content creators and educators and made information, entertainment, and culture more accessible than ever. YouTube has taught many to learn new skills, follow current events that are happening in the world, and allowed people to discover different perspectives. YouTube plays a huge role in daily life for billions of users.

Steve Chen´s story is a powerful example of how taking opportunities and having dedication lead you to what you want to achieve in life. His work reminds us that even simple ideas that are developed well can leave a lasting impact on the world.

About the Contributor

Kaitlyn Ponce, Staff Writer

Kaitlyn Ponce is a 16-year-old junior at Hoover High School. Shopping, music, and vlogging are things that Kaitlyn enjoys the most. Kaitlyn loves listening to music daily, and she listens to different genres each day. Her favorite music artists are Lana Del Rey, Kali Uchis, Mac DeMarco, and Piero Picconi. She loves to find new ways to listen to music, and loves collecting vinyls to play in her record player. Some of her favorite movies are 10 Things I Hate About You, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and Clueless. Her favorite food is pasta alfredo, which she loves to eat at Olive Garden, which is one of her favorite restaurants. Her favorite drink is boba. Kaitlyn does ballet, which she has been doing since she was little. One of her goals is to get more serious about ballet and improve her skills further. What she loves about ballet is how elegant it is, and how it feels to dance it, and how ballet helps her to remove any stresses that she may have, bringing peace and warmth. In her free time, Kaitlyn loves to play volleyball, especially at the beach, sketch in her sketchbook, record and take pictures with her camera, and bake. She is part of a club called Youth Council, which is all about taking care of the community(City Heights) and making it a better place. She enjoys going because it teaches her how important it is to provide and care for the community. Kaitlyn plans on going to a university after high school; her dream university is UCSD. She wants to major in dermatology because it has been her dream career ever since she was 12 years old. She wants to help people feel confident in their skin and wants to help people with any skin problems they may have. Kaitlyn has always believed that kindness is very important. She makes sure that every day she spreads kindness to people, no matter what, and expresses ¨Kindness is the greatest gift anyone can have.”