As cars line up in a parking lot, each waiting for a delivery of food, Justin Yang (’26) directs visitors and volunteers through the area with his megaphone, helping distribution run smoothly at his local Second Harvest food bank. A pillar in each of his communities, Justin works tirelessly to make those he meets feel safe and welcome, whether it be at Second Harvest or in performing arts.

Although Justin first joined Second Harvest in frosh year to complete volunteer hours, he quickly found community and purpose through volunteering, and he continued his work there long past completing his volunteer requirement. Last January, he became the site leader, tasked with organizing food distribution. With the help of his team, he overcame his fear of public speaking and learned how to direct volunteers.

“It’s just a big step into becoming an adult, because as a teenager, you don’t expect that you’re given this responsibility to manage everyone, so it’s really meaningful to me that someone trusted me enough to give me this position,” Justin said. “I feel grateful that I get to do this and I’m also glad that they chose me for it.”

As a site leader, Justin now handles liability issues and the well-being of the volunteers he manages. He hopes to lead by example and inspire others with his actions.

“We have high schoolers who come in, and they’re just there to do their community service hours,” Justin said. “I want them to see me and think, ‘I can also be a leader. I can also do this little part to help my community out.’”

Justin still remembers the previous site leader, a pastor at the church the distribution site is located at, for his friendly, enthusiastic personality. Particularly, Justin highlights the time and effort he spent befriending not only Justin, but every volunteer he worked with.

“When I went there by myself because I wasn’t volunteering with any friends at the start, [the previous site leader] talked to me and I talked to him,” Justin said. “I thought that was really sweet, and I really appreciated that he always wanted to become everyone’s friend, and so that’s something I really aspire to be for someone.”

The friends Justin made at Second Harvest also helped create a safe, supportive space for him. As he would unwind, they would ask about his day and reassure him. Justin admires their kindness towards both him and the people they serve.

“They’re not paid to set up this whole site,” Justin said. “They own the building and the parking lot, and they provide the cones and some storage space, but they’re not paid to be nice. They just did it out of the kindness of their hearts, and they’re nice to everybody, they’re nice to me, and they took me in. They trained me to become more of a leader.”

Close friend Evan Zhang (’26) volunteered with Justin at Second Harvest. Evan admires Justin’s community-oriented and hardworking nature and his dedication to his pursuits.

“He cares a lot about everything he’s involved in, and once he chooses to do something, he’s super committed to it,” Evan said. “He always needs to make sure it gets done well, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes.”

However, Justin’s distribution site may soon come to a close. As one of the last drive-through sites, which were set up during the pandemic to decrease the risk of infection, the site creates traffic and volunteer safety issues. Originally, the city planned to shut the site down in August, but Justin’s team managed to extend the site’s lifespan at least until his graduation in May. Nevertheless, Justin remains hopeful for the future.

“The biggest thing that it’s given me, this experience, is friends I’ll never forget my whole life,” Justin said. “Even if this one’s ending, there’s still so much time left for me to go and do other things in the future. [There are] so many valuable things I can take from this experience forward and do even better things with it.”

As he does at Second Harvest, Justin also builds community in performing arts. As the principal trumpet for Harker’s orchestra, a technical theater certificate candidate, and a former member of Kinetic Krew, Justin is an active member of the Harker Conservatory. There, his goal is to create an inclusive community where everyone has space to focus on their own arts while also exploring each others’.

“Hopefully, I can bring the performing arts community a little bit closer together and just make everybody a little bit more understanding of each other’s arts and not be strangers,” Justin said. “I hope that people can try each other’s art more, and that’s one of the big goals of the certificate program in Conservatory, which is why I support that a lot.”

Assistant Technical Director Aren Olson appreciates Justin’s dependability and the calm energy he brings to the technical theater team.

“I’ve really appreciated getting to know more of his personality at the upper school, because while I’ve known him since 5th or 6th grade, we didn’t work super closely together until he came to the upper school,” Olson said. “So, just getting to know that quiet but snarky sense of humor in a good way and seeing him develop into someone who’s taking more ownership over things and knowing who he is, I’m proud of seeing him develop as a young man now.”

Close friend Benjamin Xia (’26) recalls Justin’s unpredictability and willingness to explore and experiment. Benjamin notes that, through their friendship, he has become more open to taking risks as well and has participated in many of Justin’s shenanigans.

“He’s quirky in a good way, and he likes to explore and mess around with things that other people would probably be a little concerned about, but I find it very cool,” Benjamin said. “One of my friends and I like to joke that if he got a boat, he would get a sailboat and just go out in the ocean. He’s that type of person who does the weirdest things, and we expect him to.”

Looking forward, Justin plans to continue volunteering with local organizations wherever he moves for college. Even though he will leave the communities he has built here, he remains optimistic for the communities he has yet to join.

“I hope that I can make a better community wherever I end up,” Justin said. “I don’t think food banks are going to solve world hunger, but at least in a community, we can help out a few people. More importantly, we can make some ties. We can have people meet each other, become friends. There are endless possibilities.”