“One thing that I learned this year that totally changed my perspective about helping the world was that ‘helping the world’ can seriously and literally mean anything. It can be small or big, because as Jane Goodall said, no matter what difference you make, any difference makes an impact.”
Grade: High school—12th grade
History with Roots & Shoots: Three years with Roots & Shoots; RSYC member 2021-2023
Yoyo is from San Diego, California, where she is spreading happiness and cultural understanding through music. Though the pandemic prevented council members from meeting in person for much of Yoyo’s time on the council, she felt that the in-person 2022 RSYC summer summit helped her grow confident in her public speaking abilities, and has let her work on more collaborative projects with fellow council members. Her favorite Roots & Shoots project is “Passion for Your Fruits,” in which she brings homemade desserts—made with passion fruits she grows herself—to women’s shelters in her community! Now, she is focused on her project, “Sharing my Culture with my Harp,” in which she performs her koto—a traditional Japanese zither instrument—and teaches audiences about Japanese culture. When not playing beautiful music, Yoyo loves creating art in her family’s garage, and spending time with the people (and pets) that she cares about.
