Youth Mentor Program

Hi! My name is Glenn and I grew up in a small town outside of Syracuse, New York. I’ve been a part of NAAF for four years now. I decided to stop wearing my wig after my third NAAF conference which was the beginning of my junior year in high school. I have made so many friends through NAAF and I’m truly blessed to have found such a great community of support! I have learned through Alopecia to be more confident and embrace my true self. Last year I got my eyebrows tattooed on and I wear eyeliner in place of lashes. I have a few wigs and now I only wear them on the occasion of very cold weather or just wanting to have some hair! I am currently a senior in high school and I’m applying to college for business next fall. I enjoy being outside, playing lacrosse, watching movies and traveling! I’m always up to try something new and learn more about other people! I look forward to talking with you and helping in any way I can!

Hey friends! I am Jessi. I was born and raised in Santaquin, Utah, a small town in Utah county. I was diagnosed with alopecia areata when I was 5 years old. I am a junior in high school. I love working with little kids, and I currently work as a preschool teacher at a daycare, after school. I own my own business, a snow cone shack. My shack has been a real adventure and a huge learning opportunity for me. I love writing, hiking and really just being outside. Alopecia has basically always been a part of my life. I shaved my head for the first time when I was seven years old. When I was little I always wore hats or wigs everywhere I went. Now though I hate how they feel on my head! When I was younger I didn’t really grasp the fact that I was different than the other kids in my class. It wasn’t until I started getting bullied in second grade that I realized there was something different about me. That was the first time I struggled with it. It did not help that I didn't know anyone else with alopecia, and that's a huge part of why I wanted to become a mentor. I did not really realize until fifth or sixth grade that I didn't need to let my hair, or lack of it, define me. I am excited to get to know more people who have been through things like me, and I hope to be able to offer support to someone who needs it.

My name’s Christiane Helmer, and I’m from Palo Alto, CA. I’m currently a sophomore at UC Berkeley and am majoring in Molecular Cellular Biology and Public Health. I’m hoping to work in the medical field. Some of my interests are music, fitness/nutrition, and environmental sustainability. I’ve also been dancing for about 11+ years and love it. I’m currently 18 and was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata the summer before my junior year when I was 15. Within months, it quickly progressed to Alopecia Universalis. I felt incredibly self-conscious going to school in the fall with my “new look.” I had no hair whatsoever for most of my junior year and wore a cap almost every day. I tried many treatment options: steroid injections, topical sprays, Chinese medicine, and Xeljanz. After a few months of taking Xeljanz, I noticed significant regrowth, so I decided to stick with it. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned from having Alopecia is that you just have to listen to your feelings. I felt a lot of pressure to embrace being bald when people said, “You look great! Just embrace it!” While they had good intentions, the reality was that embracing was sometimes challenging and uncomfortable. I realized that I didn’t have to embrace it when I didn’t feel like it and that doing that was perfectly okay. Everyone has their unique ways of handling their struggles, and I hope I can help my fellow Alopecians through theirs!

Originally from Chicagoland, I attended DePaul University (Go Demons!) where I continued to play soccer, as I have my entire life. In my spare time I like to sew, craft, DIY, play sports, watch movies/TV shows, and bake goodies. When I’m not crafting while watching TV and snacking on tasty goods, I travel the world and have adventures with friends and family. As for my bald body, I was first diagnosed with alopecia at 12 years old. It manifested as random bald spots on my head but I was always able to cover them up with the rest of my hair. For me, alopecia started out as a big secret. I was really depressed and didn’t want to go anywhere, even school. My hair eventually grew back. Years later, after I moved to New Orleans, I found the NOLA Alopecia Support Group while searching online. At this point, I had full hair growth on my head and body, but I didn’t know anyone else with alopecia, so I joined the group on a whim. Four months later, my hair was falling out again. Unlike previously, this time my hair fell out quickly and within 2 weeks nearly all of the hair on my body was gone. I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror. Thankfully, I had my support group to fall back on. Sometimes I wear hats (in the sun!), sometimes I wear scarves, and sometimes I “go bald.” I look forward to supporting another, as I once was.

Hi! My name is Lauren. I’m 27 years old and live in the Lansing, MI area. I’m a full time Web Designer, and went to school at Michigan State University and Lansing Community College. I love art; am a photographer in my free time, and I grew up riding horses (I love all animals!). Recently, I’ve taken up meditation and yoga to help deal with anxieties that Alopecia can cause.
I’ve pretty much had Alopecia Areata my whole life. The only time I had a full head of hair was when I was born. Around the age of 3, I had no hair on my head, but eventually ended up with patches of hair. I struggled a lot when I was younger, especially when I was in middle school. My mom would try to help me hide my spots using a variety of methods before school every morning, but kids started to figure out that I was hiding something under my bandana or fake pony-tail. The bullying got so bad that I developed PTSD, and became a very depressed and anxious person. To this day, I wish I had someone to talk to and relate to while I was going through these struggles. That is why I am volunteering as a mentor for NAAF: so that I can be the support I wish I had, for someone else who struggles with Alopecia Areata.
After moving out and living on my own, I started to figure out that Alopecia should not define my life. I met many wonderful people who have taught me that it’s nothing to be ashamed of, including a wonderful guy who loves me and all my flaws. I started seeing life in a different light, and that things weren’t as bleak as they once seemed. I’ve learned to look past the negative and dark things to truly appreciate the positive things in life, and to be thankful for the life I was given. Even though it’s been a struggle having Alopecia, I feel like it has shaped me into being a wiser and more compassionate person, and I wouldn’t change any of that if I could!

Hello All!
My name is Sarah Seward and I’ve had alopecia areata going on 9 years now. I was first diagnosed at the age of 21 and lost all of my hair within two weeks. I am a grower and a shedder which means there is no consistency to be able to grasp. I currently work within the cosmetic industry. It is very rewarding to help people feel good and enhance their natural beauty. In my downtime I love sports! I am originally from KC, so the Royals and the Chiefs are my diehard teams! I look forward to getting to know you!

Hi everyone! My name is Scott Weitman and I am a 16 year old junior at Yorktown High School in Westchester County, NY. I was diagnosed with alopecia just before my 4th birthday and my journey has been somewhat of a roller coaster. From kindergarten to middle school, my hair fell out and grew back in cycles. It wasn’t until 6th grade that it all fell out and did not grow back for almost 5 years. I have experienced it all; alopecia areata, alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis. Now at 16, after being bald for 5 years, my hair and my eyebrows have grown back but I am still missing my eyelashes. My family and I have learned that the more we educate our family, friends, and community, the easier it is for me. I also found it valuable to meet other children and adults with alopecia. I traveled to meet Charlie Villanueva at his Charlie’s Angels events, attended several NAAF conferences, and I traveled over 600 miles to meet Ryan Shazier. All these experiences have helped me in my journey to becoming the confident teenager that I am today. Some things that I enjoy doing include watching and playing sports. I currently play Varsity Baseball and Varsity Soccer at my high school. I am a pitcher for the baseball team and a goalie for the soccer team. I love watching football every Sunday and I am a huge Steelers fan. In addition, I play basketball and coach a basketball team for 5th and 6th graders. I also love to play video games especially NBA 2K ‘19. In the winter, I love to go skiing. Growing up with alopecia has taught me how to take adversity and turn it into the opportunity to help others. Even though I have alopecia, alopecia does not have me.

My name is Regina, people often call me “Reg” to make it easier. I’m 17 years old and grew up in a small town on the Jersey Shore called Point Pleasant Beach (for those of you who watch MTV’s jersey shore, seaside is around 20 minutes south of my town). I have 5 older siblings, 2 dogs and 2 cats. I enjoy spending time with my friends and siblings, listening to music, and I am a big basketball fan. My favorite sports teams are all from Philadelphia! I am going into my senior year of high school and plan on applying to colleges in the fall of 2018. When I was around 6, I started to lose my hair and eventually all of it fell out. I have had no hair on my scalp since kindergarten. I never have worn a wig or decided to cover up my head because I’ve always wanted to be myself. I hope that I can incorporate my experience with Alopecia and establish reliability with other young people that have alopecia and make their days happier and easier.

My name is Sam, and I am originally from Utah, but I spent much of my life in New Hampshire and Idaho. I am now back living in Utah for school. I am student at Utah Valley University studying Digital Marketing and Business Administration. I lived in the Dominican Republic for a year and half, where I became fluent in Spanish, and also where my struggle with alopecia began. A couple months before I returned home from my time there, I noticed a bald spot on my head. I got treatment for it and didn’t have any more fallout until a month before I got married in August of 2017. Since then I’ve pretty consistent loss, and although I still have my own hair, it gets thinner and I find new spots every day, so it’s just something I have learned to accept and own.

Alopecia runs in my family, and I witnessed my mom struggle with it pretty much my entire life. I watched how hard she took it and how much she struggled with confidence and feeling normal, so I decided to become a mentor so I could help someone to own their alopecia at a young age, so they don’t go through the same struggles my mom has as an adult.

I’ve learned you can’t let alopecia get in the way of you living your life and it is so important to continue doing all the things you love. I love to be outdoors, I am really in to skiing, rock climbing, hiking and biking. I hope to be a friend, a support, and a guide, and to be more involved in the alopecia community.

My name is Sarah Ford, I’m 17 years old and live outside of Philadelphia. I am currently a senior at Conestoga High School and during my freshman year is when I found out about my Alopecia. My hobbies include traveling, playing sports and babysitting! In the Fall of my freshman year I noticed a bald spot on my head and all my doctors told me it was from stress. Later that year, I found out it was Alopecia Areata and I began to get the shots in my head to grow back the hair. Since I only had one bald spot the shots worked, and my hair grew back in that area. Around the same time in fall my sophomore year I started to lose my hair again. This time all my hair fell out. I started wearing a wig because I was very self-conscious about looking so different than the rest of my peers in such a big school. During my junior year, all my hair started to grow back under my wig, I had hair down to my ears. Everyone around me was telling me to stop wearing my wig but I was so scared and insecure of what other people were going to say. One day, with the support of my family and friends around me I decided to stop wearing the wig and walk into school with my short hair. I have learned so much through this experience, and even though it was exceptionally hard, it has taught me so much about myself and has changed my perspective on life. Alopecia is a very emotional and hard disease to cope with, but with the help of other people who have alopecia and the community around me I learned that Alopecia isn’t all that matters and there is so much more to life! I can’t wait to be able to give the support that I had to other people who are struggling with Alopecia too.

Hi! My name is Sam and I’m 21 years old. I’ve had alopecia for my entire life (since I was 3) and I’ve been involved with NAAF for just as long. I live in Muncie, Indiana but I grew up in New Albany, Indiana. I’m a junior in college at Ball State University studying English and Women’s Studies and plan on going to law school! NAAF has been my support system my entire life and I’ve made such amazing friends and gained so much confidence and self-acceptance through attending the conferences. I would not be who I am today without the friendships, opportunities, and support that NAAF has given me. I’m proudly bald and do not wear a wig or hats and I am very comfortable with who I am and my alopecia. My alopecia is something I have grown to truly love about myself and it has made me a stronger person. Some of my interests include writing, hiking, traveling, watching movies, and dogs! I am so excited to be a part of this mentorship program and to have a mentee I can grow alongside with. I can’t wait to talk with you, support you, and help you in any way I can!

Hi, I'm Sarvesh! I'm an Indian-American who grew up in St. Louis, MO. I first started experiencing alopecia areata when I was 24 years old and it progressed to alopecia universalis within 2 years. I currently live in Austin, TX. In my free time, I try to take advantage of Austin's outdoor friendly climate by hiking, playing soccer, or seeing live music. I also enjoy watching college football and basketball - mostly of my alma mater, the University of Michigan (Go Blue!). I'm involved in other organizations as well including CASA of Travis County (as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children in the foster care system) as well as Austin Pets Alive (as a Dog Foster Parent). I love to chat about anything from race/politics/culture to how alopecia impacts people's lives to sports, TV, and other pop culture. I've struggled with alopecia a lot in the past; but, overcoming those hardships has made me a more empathetic and resilient person. I'd be happy to share my experiences and/or just hang out!