Meet Greta!
Greta Xiong
Current Co-Chief Program Officer
Meet our wonderful volunteer Greta Xiong! For the past three years, Greta has contributed tirelessly to Minds Matter Bay Area (MMBay)'s mission of helping high-achieving, low-income students pursue the colleges of their dreams. For the first 2 years, Greta served as a sophomore pod leader and junior mentoring lead, improving much of MMBay’s junior mentoring curriculum to be more college-focused. She has since transitioned to be our co-Chief Programming Officer, and leads multiple volunteer teams to provide our driven students with access to instruction, mentoring, college prep guidance, and summer programs.
What inspired you to become a volunteer for Minds Matter Bay Area (MMBay)?
I believe that access to knowledge and education should be equitable - this opens the door to opportunities that can alter the course of someone's life. MMBay's mission to address undermatching in higher education really resonates with me. Our organization takes a very comprehensive approach to maximize our mentees' college readiness, and the level of commitment and dedication that our mentees and volunteers have towards this goal is inspiring.
What is your favorite Minds Matter Bay Area memory?
Taking our students to visit a college campus during their fall open house was definitely a highlight. My co-junior mentoring lead and I were paired with a couple mentees from our class. We walked around campus, went to information sessions about housing options + student organizations, and ended with a lunch at Panda Express to give them the full college student experience. It was incredibly energizing to see our mentees get excited about and start looking forward to the different aspects of college that this trip introduced them to.
What is the most rewarding part of being involved in Minds Matter Bay Area?
Seeing our mentees build confidence as they identify their values and passions is an incredibly rewarding process. This manifests in watching them do anything from speaking up during session to traveling to South America for a leadership program. I'm grateful to bear witness to the way that our mentees expand their comfort zones by continuously stepping outside the boundaries.