Profile Written by: Ben Hollingshead, Volunteer
Words Alive 2023 Youth Volunteer of the Year, Amanda Luong, is from San Diego, California, and a senior at Mt. Carmel High School, planning to attend a 4-year university majoring in Biology or Linguistics.
Interestingly, Amanda wasn’t particularly fond of reading in the past because it was hard for her to find books that she knew she would enjoy and the options seemed overwhelming. But at the beginning of 2022, she came across BookTok on TikTok. BookTok gave her a sampling of the books people read and recommended. She became hooked after reading They Both Die at The End by Adam Silvera and went on to read 30 books in 2022! So, BookTok sparked Amanda’s love of reading.
In 2021, when the world was quarantined, Amanda sought opportunities to connect virtually and came across Words Alive. She got in touch with the organizations and quickly became involved. At Words Alive, Amanda is part of the Engagement Analysts team. She keeps track of volunteer hours, logging the hours each volunteer has contributed and ensuring they are correctly recorded. This job requires meticulous attention to detail, and Amanda has learned to be highly organized and efficient with inputting the hours. She hopes to stay involved with Words Alive even when she is in college. Amanda, thank you for all your hard work, and congratulations on winning the Youth Volunteer of the Year!
Book recommendation: Amanda is enjoying Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter. She would also recommend The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson.