Find A Youth Mentor

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.

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!

Hi, my name is Katy! I live in Detroit, MI, and I am currently in my third year of medical school. My goal after med school is to into pediatrics! Outside of medicine, I love singing, movies, reading, all things science, hiking, and spending time with my friends and family. My alopecia journey began when I was 13 years old. My first spot was on the back of my head and easily concealed… for a while. However, shortly after I lost 75% of my hair. It grew back, only to fall out again a year later. Again, it grew back, until it fell out for a final time. With each period of growth, I was filled with hope that this time it would stay for good. The emotional toll of losing your hair is intense; mentally I struggled. During this time, I wore hats, headbands, and a hairpiece to add in some volume, but this was difficult as I very clearly stood out as “different” in the uniformed masses at my school. I also tried many different treatments, from steroid injections to topical shampoos to Anthralin. However, when my hair fell out that final time, I decided to stop treatments and instead went wig shopping for my new hair! It was daunting, and I was worried that buying new hair was “giving up”, but really it was taking back control and embracing my diagnosis instead of hiding from it. Now, I wear a wig or just go bald (though getting comfortable enough to do that took some time!). I love my alopecia. I love discussing it and educating new people on what it is. Now it is just another piece of me, like how my eyes are brown or I love to sing. However, I still remember those dark moments when hair loss was all-encompassing, and I hope to be able to provide support and a listening ear that gets it to those newly diagnosed, or those just struggling with where they are in their alopecia journey.

Hi!! My name is Samantha Myers, I’m 20 years old. I was diagnosed with alopecia when I was in 7th grade. When I got to college in the fall of 2017, my hair rapidly began falling out leaving only about 15% of my natural hair left. My biggest fear use to be people finding out about my disease so I did any and everything to hide it. About 8 months ago I finally told someone for the first time. Instead of a look of terror and shock, they gave me a look of warmth and asked me to talk about it more. Since then, I have found the more I talk about my situation the more I am able to cope with it and make light of it. I spent 6 years in fear of people knowing, only to find when I was able to be the most myself, people loved every piece about me and I was able to love every piece of me. I want to help people realize the strengths in their differences much sooner than I did! Thanks to my alopecia, I have taken a great interest in the medical field and am currently studying to be a Physician Assistant at the University of Missouri. In addition to my studies, I am on the executive board of my sorority, work at the hospital on campus as a nurse technician, and play club volleyball at the university. I’m so excited and really looking forward to getting to meet you as soon as possible and help in anyway I can!!!

Hi everyone! I’m Laura and I’m from Park Ridge, IL which is right outside of Chicago. I currently go to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and am pre-PA majoring in Biology and Global Health. I discovered I had Alopecia when I was 8 years old while I was getting ready for school one morning. A few months later, after trying several different treatments, I was diagnosed with Alopecia Universalis and have had no hair growth ever since. Following the year of my diagnosis I went to my first NAAF conference and went for four more years after that. My journey with Alopecia has definitely not been easy as looking so different from my friends and classmates was extremely hard for me. It really took me a long time to accept myself with Alopecia and accept that this might not ever get better. Keeping busy and doing things that I loved all while leaning on my amazing friends and family was what kept me going. I played volleyball all throughout middle school and high school and was editor of my high school newspaper. Now, in college I’m meeting new people all the time and have found it so much easier to be open about my Alopecia and my journey with it as this wasn’t the case while I was growing up. I love hanging out with my friends, going to football games (Go Badgers), and taking advantage of every opportunity I find. Having Alopecia has completely changed my perspective on life and I would love to share my experiences and give any advice I have to my mentee(s)!

Hello, I’m Bella! I’m 19 years old and I’m from Southern California. I attend college in Northern California, specifically as a second-year student at the University of California, Davis. Back home in sunny SoCal, I live with my parents, my twin brother and my poodle-pup named Annabelle. Whenever I can, I love to hike, practice yoga, go to the beach, and attend art galleries and museums. One of my main goals in life is to travel for as long as I’m able to, not necessarily attempt to visit every country, but to connect culturally and make meaningful visits to new places in a deliberate manner. I was diagnosed with alopecia areata during the summer of 2017 after being diagnosed with other health problems, which seemed to cause my AA. Even though my condition isn’t severe nor is it genetic, the emotional trauma of going through this physical disease was tremendously tough. Being a mentor, I want to be able to connect with other battlers of alopecia areata and create potential discussion for a fellow victim in need of a safe space and someone to confide in. I’m very excited to start this program under NAFF and I hope to find another mentee I can learn from and experience a new friendship with. There’s so much to appreciate and to give back in our world, and having hair or not isn’t a criteria of true beauty. What’s beautiful is the struggle in hardships and overcoming obstacles that you wouldn’t think was possible. Having this condition is difficult, rare, and physically arduous, but acceptance and radiating love back out into our environment and to others is the ultimate cure.

Hi my name is Rachael! I’m originally from Boston but am currently in North Carolina for my masters in public health at UNC. I was first diagnosed with alopecia when I was in ninth grade. During that time, I lost about a third of my hair. Since then, I’ve experienced seasons of regrowth and loss as I went from high school to college and now grad school. As a current public health student, I hope to be an advocate to bring more awareness to alopecia in our current healthcare system. It’s been quite the rollercoaster of a journey, but I’m excited to share my experiences with others in this community and learn from them too! In my free time, I enjoy baking, crafting, learning new languages and playing the guitar!

Hi all, my name is Kate Zipperer, and I’m a medical student living in Galveston, Texas. I’m originally from the Austin area, and studied biology at UT. I love to exercise, go to the beach, and travel. Snow-skiing is my favorite! I’m applying to dermatology residency next year, and I look forward to spending my life treating alopecia and connecting with my patients over this common bond. My alopecia story began when I was in the first grade, and was diagnosed with alopecia areata around the same time as my mother. As a child I was ashamed of this part of my life and kept it a secret. Once I started discussing it with others, it lost its power over me and I felt more free to be myself. I hope that I can be a friend to be there for others who are struggling with this condition. I currently mentor and tutor my fellow medical students as well as undergraduate students who are pre-med, and I look forward to connecting with my future mentees over this disease which has been so formative for me and many others.

Hi! My name is Laura and I am 17 years old. I live right outside of Philadelphia, PA and I am a junior in high school. I really enjoy playing volleyball, going to the beach, and traveling! During the summers, I volunteer at a hospital as I am planning on studying biology in college. I was diagnosed with alopecia areata when I was five years old, but it quickly progressed to universalis after all my hair fell out during the summer before first grade. My experience with alopecia was difficult at first, but being a part of the NAAF community has helped me embrace my alopecia! One thing I really look forward to every year is going to the NAAF conference. It is a lot fun and I have made so many friends who I keep in touch with throughout the year. I really look forward to getting to know you and helping you in any way that I can!

“Hi everyone! My name is Julissa. I am 23 years old and I am from Newark, New Jersey. I was diagnosed with alopecia universalis at 1 years old. I’ve experienced hair loss throughout my childhood. As a child, I depended on wigs to be my safe haven. After years of inner conflict, I was finally able to embrace who I am and not hesitate to share my beautiful story with the world. I aim to encourage others to feel free in their own skin. I remember as a child how difficult my journey and sometimes it still is. However, with my experiences I know I can have the opportunity to impact and be a part of someone else’s journey. Hair does not determine your worth or who you are as a person, only you determine that.”