Our Mission
Many elementary schoolers are lost, confused, and overall frustrated with the current situation. Even as schools and after-school activities open up, social distancing can make it difficult for students to enjoy interacting in person. We bypass the complicated logistics of social distancing to give parents a break as well as educate and entertain students online.
The Story
DigiVillage started in March 2020, immediately following widespread shelter-in-place restrictions across the United States, including the SF Bay Area due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the spring, the program expanded and gained more students, allowing the program to provide a full-fledged summer session from June to August 2020 that is continuing throughout the 2020-21 school year and beyond. It aims to enrich learning and promote interaction among elementary schoolers throughout the pandemic.
Aman Shah
Executive Director and Founder (and Web Manager)
Aman is a rising senior at Los Altos High School and is passionate about working with children and teaching anyone about new skills, ideas, or his passions (like computer science and sociology). He’s working on his Eagle Scout Project, is passionate about computer science, and is President of the MVLA Debate Team. He’s volunteered at Magical Bridge Playground and teaches coding to elementary schoolers at CENG in the Los Altos area.
Yvo Sandjideh
Director of Public Relations
Yvo is a rising senior at Los Altos High School and loves to talk about her interests (mainly debate, music, and history), and especially teach others about them. She holds multiple leadership positions in clubs including Mock Trial, and coaches YFL speech at Egan Middle School. She is currently a research assistant at Stanford Law School and volunteers with Learning Ally to create audiobooks for kids.
Vaishu Sirkay
Director of Curriculum Development
Vaishu is a rising senior at Los Altos High School who loves working with kids. She coaches middle school debate, and will be chair of the program for the upcoming school year. She loves writing for her school newspaper, and is a varsity debater. She will also be blogging for a biotech startup this summer. She’s passionate about science and playing guitar, and loves to rock climb.
Team
Olivia Hewang
Olivia is a junior at Los Altos High School. She is a dedicated student who loves history and art. Olivia has used her design skills to create a yearbook for her debate team and will be joining her school newspaper as a graphic artist next year. She has experience working with kids through the Buddies4Math program, where she tutored 3rd graders in math. Starting this year, Olivia also volunteered at the LAHS Tutorial Center. Fun fact, Olivia loves animated movies and period dramas!
Katy Stadler
Katy is a junior at Los Altos High School and enjoys working and having fun with kids. Like Aman, she’s part of CENG, an organization that teaches coding to elementary schoolers. She loves writing and is excited to be the Arts and Culture editor for her school newspaper next year. An officer for the LAHS Green Team, she is passionate about the environment and is lucky to be doing an internship with Grassroots Ecology this summer.
Katherine Lai
Katherine is a junior at Los Altos. She loves working with kids, which explains her many years of babysitting experience. She is an avid learner at school and enjoys playing volleyball. Just like every other teen, she is trying to pinpoint her interests, but what she does know is that she’s passionate and driven. She also enjoys acting in her school’s advanced theater program, as it gives her an outlet to practice empathy and fully come out of her shell on stage. She is an officer for both Key Club and PAK (Planned Acts of Kindness), where she works to better both the school and the community. She is really excited to meet and spend time with all the kids! 🙂
May Jiang
May is a senior and loves studying biology and the brain! She teaches kids embroidery over zoom through The Passion Project, tutors math through Mathnasium, and helps children with homework through the Buena Vista Youth Scholars program. She loves spending weekends planting/watering trees at Stanford Dish, as well as hiking. She plays water polo (and swims) on her school’s varsity team , likes to craft with clay, crochet, and knit, and loves baking. She is very excited to see everyone and have a great year with them!
Sophia Shao
Sophia is a sophomore from Los Altos High School. She loves to play sports, especially tennis, and currently plays on the Varsity tennis team. Aside from playing tennis, she ballgirls and coaches in sports camps. She also has a passion for all things science, including biology and anatomy. In her free time, she bikes, knits, sketches, and reads any biology story she gets her hand on.
Logan Kim
Logan Kim is a sophomore at Los Altos High School. With his free time, Logan studies martial arts and often acts in shows for the community theater. Recently, Logan has started playing D&D with his friends and loves the storytelling aspect of the game. Over his summers, Logan volunteers for programs that help with elementary education. In the past, Logan has helped with LASD’s Summer school and Stretch to Kindergarten. Logan looks forward to helping this year with DigiVillage.
Ella Yuen
Ella is a sophomore at Los Altos High School. Her two favorite hobbies are drawing and photography. She’s apart of the badminton team at school and over the summer, she’s enjoyed tutoring kids in English and Math. She loves to spend time with her family, hang out with friends, and watch Netflix in her spare time. She’s thrilled to be apart of Digivillage!