Youth Mentorship Coordinator
| Name: | Valerie Afroilan |
| Year: | 4th |
| What are you studying?: | Ethnic Studies and Gender & Women's Studies Double Major |
| Hometown: | San Jose, California |
| Contact Information: | youth.mentorship@gmail.com |
Tell Us About Your Position
As the Youth Mentorship (YM) Coordinator my main responsibility is to work as a liaison between UC Berkeley youth mentors and the after-school program staff we work with in the South of Market (SoMa) District in San Francisco. The specific program we work with is the Galing Bata After-School Program that serves K-8 students who attend the Bessie Carmichael Elementary and Middle Schools. It is a bilingual language program for Tagalog and English, whose purpose is to not only maintain and teach students Tagalog, but to ensure that they know English with the same fluency. Even though Galing Bata is represented by mostly Pilipin@/Pilipin@ American students, the program is open to all who are interested in the program's purpose, structure, culture, and strong community ties. As a result, the students we mentor call us Ate (big sister) or Kuya (big brother). While most of my tasks focus on recruiting mentors, communicating with Galing Bata staff, and taking care of behind the scenes tasks such as facilitating a bi-weekly seminar for UC Berkeley students who mentor for field studies units or planning semesterly retreats, my position can only exist with the amazing mentors and students who are the essence of YM.
What is your most memorable experience in PASS?
The fall semester of my freshman year I interned for former GSAC (Gender & Sexuality Awareness Coordinator) Rodkyle Paras. My co-intern at the time was Jocel Rivera. Both my Co and staffer were 3rd years at the time and without their support, wisdom, and friendship, I don't think my first semester would have been the inspiring or unpredictable era it was. That fall of 2008, UC Berkeley hosted the Queer Pin@y Conference (QPC). As an intern and new student I was thrown into a whirlwind of excitement and stress. I co-facilitated a workshop, walked a runway, and was assisting in coordinating an event with 100s of individuals in attendance. With this one experience, I learned some of the most important tactics of how to stress manage, professionally network, facilitate, and juggle life. Most importantly, I begin to realize where my true passions rested and eventually declare my double major Gender & Women's Studies and Ethnic Studies.
Three Words that Describe You
Spontaneous. Fearless. Driven.
Favorite Place to Eat in Berkeley
My apartment when my friends and I make brunch or dinner.
Favorite Quote
"I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go." - Langston Hughes
Three Interesting Facts About You
1. I love driving so much that I get motion sick (even if I know the person is a good driver) if I have to sit in a passenger seat.
2. The first time I had McDonald's French fries was November 2010 while I was in New York.
3. I want to go to culinary school after Berkeley and open a bakery with my cousins.