Seid Alamin Seid grew up in AHC’s education programs. When he was in third grade, he started working with volunteer Bernie Piper in the Afterschool program. Nearly a decade later, Seid graduated from AHC’s College & Career Readiness (CCR) program — with Bernie in the audience.
“I like to say that Seid and I have grown up together at AHC because I followed him to the Teen Tutoring Program, and later, we moved into the College and Career Readiness program,” Bernie said.
Bernie has volunteered with AHC for over 15 years, nine of which have been with Seid. For Seid, working with the same tutor over time provided consistency and trust.
“I really liked it because after the first couple of times I’d met Mr. Bernie, or we had our sessions, I got really comfortable with him, so there were certain things I could talk to him about and I wasn’t afraid to ask questions when I was around him,” Seid said.
Seid said one of the biggest lessons he learned from Bernie was the importance of putting in the work — something that continued during the summers.
“When he was younger, Seid’s mother was instrumental in keeping me updated and involved during the summers,” Bernie said. “She would take Seid to the library where he and I would spend hours working math worksheets to better prepare him for the next school year.”
It wasn’t just about academics for Seid. He also learned about friendship.
“My favorite part [of] working with Mr. Bernie is he’s not only my tutor, he was a friend also, so I always had someone to talk to when I had things on my mind. He was always there to help me with homework and even life situations, especially during COVID.
— Seid, 2025 CCR graduate
Bernie said he values deep, long-term relationships and has enjoyed learning alongside Seid.
“I’ve learned so much about his challenges, his experiences, and his life perspective,” Bernie said. “All these things only help make me better…”
Seid plans to attend George Mason University in the fall to major in health administration. Bernie said Seid moving on is bittersweet.
“I already miss him, but I am so extremely happy and proud of him,” Bernie said. “I also get a very warm feeling that I had the honor to participate in that part of his journey, at least in a very small way.”
Seid is excited for his next chapter and said he plans to stay in touch with Bernie.
“Because we used to see each other outside of Gates of Ballston at the central library, I feel like whenever I need help with maybe a college assignment or maybe just to check up on him, we can meet over coffee or see [each other] in the library,” Seid said.
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