Hi, I’m Ava (she/her/hers)! I am a sophomore at Piedmont High School, and I am proud to be Cambodian and Mien. Growing up in a Spanish bilingual school during elementary, I always felt different-not just because of the language, but also because my racial background set me apart from many of my peers. This experience has inspired me to ensure that younger kids do not feel the same way. I am really excited to be working with kids to teach them about diversity and help them feel connected to their culture and included in their communities.

Hi, my name is Asher Takazawa. I am a junior at Piedmont High School and my pronouns are he/him. This is my second year with Affinity Mentorship. Growing up, I always had someone to look up to—whether it was a senior on my swim team, a teacher, or a babysitter. I believe that having someone to look up to is one of the best things you can have as a kid. Because of that, I'm passionate about helping others and creating meaningful connections. 

Hello! My name is Ri’Chard Jones! I’m Black and Mexican, in the 10th grade, and I go by any pronouns. I grew up in a small community in north Oakland, and due to me being mixed, I never had a lot of role models I could relate to, which left me feeling lost, and feeling like I didn’t belong. Knowing how close piedmont is, or rather, who the majority is, I want to give children like me the role model that would be fairly useful at a young age. 

Hi, my name is Kate and I use she/her pronouns! I am Asian-American and multiracial; ¾ chinese and ¼ white. I am a junior at PHS and this is my third year as a mentor in the Affinity Mentorship program! When I was younger, I struggled a lot with my racial identity, especially growing up in Piedmont, and not having people like me to look up to. I hope that as I mentor I can help kids in our community be proud of their identities and feel accepted and valued as they are. I’m super excited to be a mentor again this year and I look forward to seeing what we do!

Hi, my name is Will Hinman. I am a junior at Piedmont High School and use he/him pronouns. I am 75% Caucasian and 25% Chinese. Throughout my life, I always looked up to older kids at school and adults. I think they have a huge impact on how the younger generation acts and can help them to become better people. It is important for the younger generation to be guided by positive older influences. I want to be the high school mentor to younger kids that I never had. My focus this year is to help create a better sports community and help younger athletes find their identity. High school and middle school sports overtime have gained a toxic environment with trash talk. I want to help younger athletes find who they are and inspire them to help stop the harmful environment that has been created. As an affinity mentor, I hope to be able to inspire kids and create meaningful connections with them. 

Hi, I’m Carmen Botero, a Junior at PHS. I identify as Colombian-American and I’m so excited for my second semester as an affinity mentor! My dad is a Colombian immigrant and I lived in the country for a few years when I was little until I came to Piedmont in Kindergarten! I have been here ever since. It has been hard to feel connected to my Hispanic heritage growing up as all of my friends in the district have either been of European or Asian descent. I never had many friends I felt I could relate to when it came to Hispanic culture and that created a rift in my self identity. As a kid, I would feel as if I wasn’t Colombian or Latina enough to use the title, even though I often speak Spanish at home and visit the country and my family there annually. A sense of guilt was created in little me. Despite my mixed ethnicity, I appear very white. People are often unsuspecting or even doubtful that I’m Latina, especially in Piedmont’s homogenous community. No kid should ever feel as though they have to prove parts of their identity to others. I joined this program to help kids grow up feeling supported and validated in their identities, to help them embrace and maintain a strong connection with their own cultures and uniqueness, and to foster their development of open minds.

Hi! My name is Xia Snyder and I’m a junior at PHS. This is my first year as a mentor, but I unofficially joined at the end of my sophomore year, so I have some experience with the Affinity Mentorship program. I joined because I believe that as a mentor, I can teach young members of the community how embrace their identities. I, myself, identify as biracial, Jewish and Chinese. For  a long time, I struggled with feeling like I wasn’t enough of either part of my heritage. Then, I was lucky enough to find a teacher at my Jewish school who taught me that I don’t need to prove myself, or find ways to affirm myself, against other people’s expectations. By continuing this program as an official mentor, I hope to provide the same guidance that I experienced as a middle schooler, to the younger generations of Piedmont.

Hi! My name is Ariadne. I am a junior at Piedmont High School. This is my 3rd year being a mentor. I am a first generation immigrant, and one of the most significant parts of my identity is my Greek heritage. Being one of just a few first generation immigrants and the only Greek speaking family in Piedmont, when I first moved to Piedmont, I often felt isolated and like I didn’t belong anywhere. My goal as an affinity mentor is to make sure every kid in the program, regardless of their background, feels welcome, comfortable, and safe here. I’m so excited to continue my journey as a mentor and to make many more meaningful connections!

Hi! My name is Emma and I’m a junior at PHS. Although this is my first official year as an mentor with Affinity, I am more than excited and grateful for the opportunity to take on this role. Growing up as an Asian American, I didn’t always feel like I fully belonged. What helped me was looking up to older role models who taught me the importance of self-confidence and valuing every aspect of one's identity. These experiences have stuck with me over the years as today I hope to lead by their example; Assuring the younger generation that they do belong, and should fully embrace who they are.

Hi I'm Meena (she/her), a sophomore at Millennium High School! Im half caucasian half indian and autistic. I went to beach till 2nd grade, moved around then moved back to piedmont in middle school, more the majority of middle school I struggled socially because of my undiagnosed neurodivergence as well as isolation during covid but im very happy to be at millennium and i have a lovely community here! I love art, and do volunteer work designing covers for a literary magazine. I also love music, i have an interest in variety of topics including ancient history, reading and literature, and different crafts and whatever project im hyper fixating on (haha) . im beyond excited to start mentoring again this year!