<h2>Remembering Jesse</h2>
<p>Jesse Xiong passed away on December 12, 2023, at the age of 28, while on vacation with friends in the Poconos, Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>He served as BEN's Global Director of Community, where he brought his signature energy and creativity to everything he touched. Jesse didn't just organize events — he made people feel like they belonged. He turned blockchain education into something fun, accessible, and human.</p>
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<h2>The path he walked</h2>
<p>Jesse grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where his classmates elected him class president four consecutive years at Hempfield High School — roughly 700 students voting for him each time. He was a pianist from age 5, a drummer from age 10, a member of the Hempfield Dance Theatre all four years, and an award-winning visual artist.</p>
<p>He attended the University of Delaware Honors College on a merit scholarship, graduating in 2017 with double majors in International Business and Marketing and a minor in Chinese. At UD, he joined Alpha Kappa Psi and founded Shambala@UD, a benevolence fund to support the community around him.</p>
<p>After college, Jesse spent nearly five years at JP Morgan Chase, working across operations, marketing, agility, public relations, and communications. He was the kind of person who could thrive anywhere — but blockchain is where he found his people.</p>
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<h2>What he built at BEN</h2>
<p>As Global Director of Community, Jesse was the connective tissue of the network. He orchestrated events that brought newcomers into the blockchain space and made sure no one felt like an outsider.</p>
<p>His biggest initiatives:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>BlockHack</strong> — Jesse co-founded this initiative to train future blockchain developers and implement innovative blockchain concepts</li>
<li><strong>Delaware's First Blockchain Hackathon (2018)</strong> — He organized it from scratch, putting Delaware on the map in the blockchain education world</li>
<li><strong>Philly Codefest 2018</strong> — His team (Team SAFE) won first place, building an active shooter alert iOS application</li>
</ul>
<p>Jesse had a rare ability to blend technology with art and music. He was a professional DJ under the stage names "Kidd Buddha" and "EiaA" (Everyone is an Artist), and contributed to Philadelphia's underground electronic music scene. That creative energy carried into everything he did at BEN.</p>
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<h2>How people remember him</h2>
<p>At his memorial service on December 18, 2023, family, friends, teachers, and parents of friends shared stories from every phase of his life. A common theme emerged: Jesse had an enduring and positive impact on every person he met.</p>
<p>People described him as magnetic, generous, genuine, kind, and exceptional. His sisters called him "Didi" — beloved little brother in Chinese. His parents described him as an exemplary son with nearly flawless devotion.</p>
<p>He traveled extensively across Asia, Europe, and South America. He loved soccer, nature, and animals. He was the kind of person who could walk into any room, anywhere in the world, and make it feel smaller and warmer.</p>
<p>His last phone call to his parents, at 1 PM on December 12, ended with: "Love you too."</p>
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<h2>His legacy</h2>
<p>Jesse's legacy isn't a product or a protocol. It's the hundreds of students who showed up to a BEN event feeling lost and left feeling like they found their people. It's the hackathon participants who built their first project because Jesse created the space for them to try. It's the way he proved that blockchain education doesn't have to be intimidating — it can be joyful.</p>
<p>Every time BEN welcomes a new student into the network, Jesse's work continues.</p>
<p>We miss you, Jesse.</p>


Memorial of Jesse Xiong (1995-2023)

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