Name of AAPI Figure	Yo-Yo Ma
What is the person’s Asian heritage or ethnicity?	French-born Chinese American
Area of Influence	Cellist
Date of birth or time period	7-Oct-55
How did this individual make a contribution to their field or to society/culture at large?	He performed for 3 presidents of the United States, including John F. Kennedy. Also, he also has a group called “Silk Road Ensemble” which tries to bring together musicians from different countries which are historically linked by the Silk Road. I knew about the Silk Road from a book about China. Silk road connected China and other places to learn about each other’s cultures.
Why did you choose this person? What about their story speaks to you?	I chose Yo-Yo Ma because we both enjoy music.
How does this person inspire you?	Yo-Yo Ma inspires me to work hard and learn from other people who are different from myself.
What surprised you as you were learning about this person?	Yo-Yo Ma surprised me because it is really cool about how he performed to 3 presidents, and how he was so talented about music at a young age. However, no matter how smart he is, he must work really hard to get to what he is today. I think it’s pretty creative of him to think of the Silk Road Ensemble group to introduce music from different cultures to each other. I like to meet new friends so I can learn their cultures, traditions, and personalities. It is like when Yo-Yo Ma meets music from other cultures in his Silk Road Ensemble group.
Resources to share if others want to learn more (optional)–list websites, books, or other resources you used to learn about the person	https://kids.kiddle.co/Yo-Yo_Ma https://www.silkroad.org/about
Submitted by	Angelina Ding
Age	8
City, State	Lexington, MA