Joanna Lin (12) is the quintessential “mom friend”. She frequently drives people home in her light blue minivan, worries that they’ll catch colds if they go to sleep with wet hair and gently chastises anyone for procrastinating.

Joanna’s “mom-ness” not only comes through these small daily interactions but also when she provides a safe space for those around her, whether it be at French National Honor Society meetings or during math competitions.

“I think the main thing about being a mom figure is having people trust you enough to tell you about what’s going on in their lives even though that’s kind of the opposite of what teenagers do,” Joanna said. “Because I think some people don’t have family members that they can talk to, I try to be as welcoming as possible to those kinds of conversations.”

Joanna’s compassionate demeanor is also apparent to those around her, be it her peers or teachers.

“Throughout that class [AP Biology], I don’t know about growth because she was always very good from the beginning, you know,” science teacher Dr. Gary Blickenstaff said. “I just saw her consistent effort all the way through. She’s just a very thoughtful person, a very caring kind of person.”

Joanna’s brother John Lin, a sophomore at University of California, Berkeley, echoes Dr. Blickenstaff’s sentiment: Joanna expressly creates a welcoming environment wherever she is through being fostering kindness and harmony.

“Inner peace [is her strength],” John said. “I don’t think she gets flustered a lot, and if something out of the blue happens, afterwards she’ll tell you ‘Oh, I felt like the world was going to explode’, but she’s very calm in the moment.”

In her free time, Joanna spreads her message of empathy through crochet and hand lettering Instagram account, @heartsofsiliconvalley. So far, she has crafted a potato, a quilt, two ice cream cones, a pencil case, among others and has written over 300 hearts. Joanna has also applied her crocheting skills to other areas, such as her academic classes.

“Just based on the interaction between the three of you that sat right there all the time [David Wen (12), Kaitlin Hsu (12) and Joanna], with her in the middle of things always, and getting back to the comment I made about the kind of person she is, it’s a very small thing, but the shmoo that she made was really just incredible,” Dr. Blickenstaff said.

“I really identify with Santa Claus from the movie the Rise of the Guardians,” Joanna said. “His center, which is what they are trying to preserve in children and what caused them to become a guardian, is wonder. That’s kind of how I feel about the world. This summer I had a daily drive to Santa Cruz, and I was just so captivated by the fog in the redwood trees.”

In the future, Joanna plans on becoming a pediatric surgeon because she believes she will be able to maximize the happiness of those around her through such a career.

“I’m so in awe of all the things the world can do,” Joanna said. “And, because children are naturally this way before they grow up, I want to work with them to preserve a part of me and help them stay that way for a little longer.”