YAC Alumni
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Meet our past YAC cohort groups!

2020-2021 Members

2019-2020 Members

2018-2019 Members

Princess Elijah Fowsiyo Noun Mary Huda Christian Ugbad Sara Maria Lyaina Michelle Thu

2017-2018 Members

Luan Noun Alfredo Outside of school, Miguel leads the Unified STEM Cafe, a program dedicated to inspire youth to pursue a STEM career and to facilitate networking with professionals. He’s also the president of the Hispanic/Latino Students United club at his school and soon, he will create a Border Angels club at his school. His hobbies are public speaking, networking, advocating for community redevelopment, health equity, & latino empowerment. Miguel wants to major in Computer Science with a minor in Public Health. “If I could change three things in my community, I would improve the sidewalks & streets, the lack of access to healthy food, and diminish the crime rate. Previously, I worked at the Jacobs Center for Community Redevelopment with their Master Plan. We gathered data to see what changes the residents of the community would like to see. I have also taken the initiative to join the Youth Advisory Council to make these changes in my community.” Jose Deka Asad Thien Mussa

2016-2017 Members

Thao Robert is in 11th grade in El Cajon Valley High School. He is on the Youth Advisory Council not only to learn and gain more experience in medicine, but also meet new young leaders who are passionate about health. He enjoys studying chemistry and wants to be a pharmacist in the future, and to educate people about how to live healthy lives. He is also an artist, and is a lover of new things and new experiences. Johanna is a senior at Lincoln high school. She has learned from being on the Youth Advisory Council that youths should speak up and learn how to make an impact on our communities, and help people realize that their health is important - it is how you holistically take care of your body. She has witnessed teachers and adults tell kids to eat healthy but don’t do it themselves, therefore she thinks it is important that she practices what she preaches. She wants to pursue biology or nursing or accounting when she grows up. She also has a job as a cashier at a restaurant and enjoys interacting with people and serving food. Suriyaan Hussein Dima is in 9th grade at El Cajon Valley High School. She is on the Youth Advisory Council because she is interested in health, medicine, and helping people. She is involved with the Health Pathway club at her school, volunteers for events such as Walk for Breast Cancer. She also plans on helping out at the women's center in hospitals. Being the eldest child of her family, she loves and have lots of experience with younger children and babies - she wants to be an OBGYN when she grows up. During her spare time she enjoys playing soccer and using social media. Sahra is a 11th grader at Kearny Mesa high school, this is her second year being on the Youth Advisory Council. Being on YAC has taught her how to interact with community and help people make healthier decisions. One of her most memorable projects was when the YAC team partnered up with a local convenient store to rearrange the shelves, putting healthy food in the front and moving the junk food to the back. Sahra is passionate about helping her own community become better with more walkability and safe roads, and more access to fresh produce and fewer 7-11. She recently job-shadowed coding and computer science professionals, and is considering it as a potential career path. She enjoys playing tennis, badminton, going out to movies with friends, and watching Korean drama. Noor is in 11th grade in El Cajon Valley High School, she is on the Youth Advisory Council because she wants to learn more about health and medicine, as well as gain leadership and public speaking skills. She is involved with STANND CASA at school where she learns about the various forms of abuse and how to prevent it in communities, Medical Chemistry education, and various volunteer opportunities. She wants to be a pediatrician when she grows up and deliver better healthcare to people in need. She loves kids, soccer, and making friends. Ilhan is currently a first year attending the University of California San Diego as a Biochemistry major. She has been on YAC for two years now and has continued to work as a member because she believes her community and other low income areas deserve health equity. Ilhan hopes to learn even more about leadership and enhance the skills she has gained from being a YAC member. While she attended The Preuss School UCSD High School, she was involved in many extracurricular activities including being President of the National Honors Society, leading team member of her varsity lacrosse team, and a Peer Counselor for her school’s student body. As a college student, Ilhan has come out of her comforte zone and joined a dance team as well as being involved with UCSD'S Black Resource Center. Some changes she would like to see in her community involves healthy food access for those who can not afford to have a healthy life style. Ilhan's dream job is becoming a Gastrointestinal Surgeon and joining Doctors Without Borders to aid the unfortunate around the world. One interesting fact about Ilhan is that she is a henna artist. Nghi is a 1st year studying Physiology and Neuroscience at UC San Diego. She is on YAC because she wants to be an advocate for health equity and hopes to become a better leader in her community. She is involved in multiple organizations such as the American Medical Student Association, UCSD Health Medical Partnerships, Muir Residents' Council, etc and works in a lab researching neurology. Nghi hopes her community will have a bigger voice in politics and better represent minorities, women, low income families, children, etc. She aspires to be the Surgeon General of the United States one day and have a greater influence in advocating for better healthcare worldwide. In her free time, Nghi enjoys singing and playing the ukulele. Hind is a senior at Hoover high school, this is her second year on the Youth Advisory Council. Since joining YAC, she has gotten involved in her community and learned to use her voice to speak on problems. She also utilizes creative strategies to get her messages into the public, one of which includes writing a photo stories for a walkability project in which she took photos of cracked and narrow sidewalks and trash around the neighborhood and wrote down how she felt about them to visualize the things discouraging people from exercising and going outside. She is also the founder and president of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at her school to educate people on Islam. She wants to be a biomedical engineer, software engineer, or pharmacist when she grows up. In her spare time she enjoys watching Game of Thrones, go out with friends, and shopping. Amanda is a first-year at UC San Diego majoring in Human Biology. She is on YAC because she wants to make a positive impact in her community. She wants to learn that youth involvement can make a significant impact and that the youth’s voice is important. Some of her extracurricular involvements besides YAC include dance and UCSD’s Cambodian Student Association. Some changes she wants to see in City Heights is easy access to medical help and more focus on quality K-12 education. She is pursuing a career in nursing, specifically in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Something interesting about Amanda is that she loves musical theatre! Maribel is a senior at the Preuss School, she is on the Youth Advisory Council to learn more about her own passions in social justice by gaining perspectives about what is lacking in her own community. She also wants to learn more about policy work, which is the crucial to making change happen. She recognizes the hardships faced by families from foreign countries that don’t speak English or Spanish, and also the need for better elementary education and more charter schools. She wants to study psychology and sociology in college. She has a twin sister, Maricruz, and enjoys baking pastries, cooking, and creating things. Asmaa is a senior at Hoover High School, she is on the Youth Advisory Council to discuss social issues in the community and how these issues can be tackled and applied with social work. She is in the Health Academy of her high school and plan on pursuing a career in the health field. She is heavily involved with educational programs such as College Avenue Compact, Wahupa, Realitychangers, and STEP UP. She is also the founder and president of her school’s Muslim Students Association (MSA), vice president of her class, and member of the Black Student Union (BSU). She was born in Yemen and can speak Arabic, Somali, and English. Her favorite color is purple and in her spare time she likes to watch Chicago PD, Grey’s Anatomy, the Walking Dead, and Pretty Little Liars. Maricruz is a senior at the Preuss School, she is on the Youth Advisory Council to learn about service, help promote health information, and educate communities on the importance of eating right in sustainable ways. She has worked with the United Women of East Africa in City Heights and promoted healthy eating by teaching girl scouts how to make health snacks and how to shop at a farmers market. She wants to go into the health field and pursuing nursing in the future. She is the president of the Students Without Limit:DACA Students at her school. She has a twin sister, Maribel, and practices kung fu. Billy Linh Asha My name is Quy Phan and I am a senior at the Preuss School UCSD. As my senior year is abruptly coming to an end, I have decided that my future will continue on at University of California, Riverside studying mechanical engineering. Although this is taking me away from the San Diego community, I still plan to be involved with the UC San Diego Youth Advisory Council group by helping to recruit new members. Being here at Preuss for all seven years has allowed me to connect with so many people at the school, grades above and below. My connections with different students will allow YAC to grow even after the seniors in the group leave. My name is Johnson Bui and I am a current senior at the Preuss School UCSD. I am proud to say that I will be attending University of California, Riverside studying political science with a concentration in administrative studies. I believe in leaving the world a better place than I found it. I have a passion for community service and educating youth. I want everyone to realize their voice and potential to make a change in our world. I can't wait to see where life takes me! Faduma
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