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🎙️ Panel: What does belonging look like for Gen Z?

Making Waves Education Foundation » News Stories » 🎙️ Panel: What does belonging look like for Gen Z?

What does belonging look like for Gen Z?

Growing up in a time of social media, smartphones, and AI, Gen Z has unlimited access to technology at their fingertips. And yet, more and more Gen Z is looking for relationships, belonging, community, and mentorship – all of which support them in navigating the challenges of college, career, and life. 

Who better to share more about the importance of belonging than Gen Zers themselves?  

Moderated by Bay Area news anchor Stephanie Lin, this panel brings together college students and recent grads who are a part of our Making Waves college and career success program and are sharing about their experiences building community in higher ed, in the workforce, and beyond. 

Event details


🗓️ September 25, 2024

⏰ 1:30-2 p.m. PT/4:30-5 p.m. ET

đź’» Online webinar (free and open to public)

Meet the panelists

Stephanie Lin (moderator)

Stephanie Lin smiling wearing red sweater

Stephanie Lin is an award-winning journalist for KRON 4 news. She anchors live, breaking news coverage for the station’s 24/7 streaming service, KRONon, the Weekend Morning newscasts, and the KRON4 weekday news at noon. Stephanie has been recognized for her work by the Associated Press, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Asian American Journalists Association. She graduated from UC Berkeley and began her news career in Taiwan at TTV, a 24-hour cable news channel. She then joined the ABC 20/20 team, where she worked on long-form, investigative stories. She also worked at the TODAY show, CNBC, Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Richard Amaechi 

Richard Amaechi smiling wearing black suit

Richard Amaechi was born and raised in San Francisco, CA, and graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in international business Japanese. Currently, Richard is employed at Fidelity Investments in Palo Alto as a financial consultant. He is also a CFP® practitioner.

Adeline Leal

Adeline Leal smiling in UC Berkeley grad stole

Adeline Leal was born and raised in Richmond, CA, and graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in data science in 2023. She is a member of the academic-based Latina Sorority, Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority Inc. Adeline is now seeking data analyst roles in the Bay Area. 

Ashley Ramirez

Ashley Ramirez smiling with grass in background

Ashley Ramirez is a graduate of Making Waves Academy and second year student at Sacramento State University majoring in political science and government. She is a part of the women’s club soccer team at Sacramento State and is a peer success intern at Making Waves.

About Making Waves Education Foundation

At Making Waves, we are committed to educational equity. Making Waves Education Foundation is a Bay Area nonprofit that supports Making Waves Academy – a public charter school with more than 1,100 5th through 12th grade students – and leads college and career programming with more than 430 college students.​
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Knowing the opportunities that come with a college degree, we partner with historically underrepresented and underserved students to help make college affordable and graduation attainable. Centering the journeys of our students, our personalized approach includes college and career coaching, scholarships, and financial planning.​
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Our alumni network includes more than 730 college graduates, who earn their degrees and land jobs at more than twice the rate of their first-generation, low-income peers, with 85% graduating debt-free.

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