About Us
Our Founding
Each year, millions of students stack up on academic prep books and required class books, then throw them out once the school year ends, never to be seen again. Books are bought then ignored, left to collect dust on untouched shelves or deep in the back of closets. Meanwhile, other students are still unable to afford or access books and works of literature. Noticing this, a group of dedicated students came together to create the San Antonio Book Pool, a non-profit designed to help less-privileged students gain easier access to books.
What We Do
San Antonio Book Pool collects books and donates them to individuals and other non-profits such as Family Service, Boys and Girls Club of San Antonio and San Antonio Youth to be distributed to places in the San Antonio area which might otherwise have difficulty getting the books they need. Whether used or unused, books of many kinds are accepted, such as children’s books, literature books (Shakespeare etc.), textbooks, and test prep books. We believe everyone should be able to access books easily and enjoy them freely.
Our Team
Eric Zou - President
Eric Zou is a member of the Basis Shavano’s class of 2024. He has been prominent in community service since 2018 as one of the original tutors of the San Antonio Math Include. In school, his favorite subjects are math and physics, and he has been involved in several STEM competitions such as Mathcounts and Science Bowl. In his spare time he likes to garden, play chess, play Terraria with his siblings, and practice piano and flute.
Edward Bao - Director of Development
Edward Bao is a member of BASIS Shavano’s class of 2026. He has volunteered with diverse groups of people in San Antonio like the San Antonio Math Include, American Council for the Blind, and the Wounded Warrior Project. Outside of school, he enjoys competing in the National Science Bowl every year. His hobbies include sketching and playing chess.
Yash Saboo - Web Designer/Developer
Yash Saboo is a member of Basis Shavano’s class of 2024 and is a volunteer web designer and developer at San Antonio Book Pool. He likes creating aesthetic websites and helping out the local community, so he loved creating San Antonio Book Pool’s website. In his free time, he enjoys gardening and debating.
Anish Kalva - Representative at Health Careers HS
Anish Kalva is a member of Health Careers High School’s class of 2025. His favorite subjects are math and science, and in his free time, he likes to sketch and play video games.
Jessica Malakhova - Representative at Health Careers HS
Jessica is a member of the Health Careers class of 2025. She is JV tennis team member and is a masterful piano player, having competed in the Charleston International Piano Competition. She is passionate about music and reading and would like to spread the positivity both activities bring. Additionally, she has participated in her school’s academic UIL team for science, spelling, and math, and has participated in orchestral UIL.
Asher Cho - Representative at Saint Mary's Hall
Asher, a member of the class of 2027 at Saint Mary’s Hall, actively participates in extracurriculars like MUN, Science Bowl, Speech and Debate, Region Orchestra, and the Contest Math Preparation Group. With a future goal to establish an interest group and initiate a new DECA chapter at SMH, Asher enjoys reading, watching YouTube, listening to music, and working out during free time. Excited to contribute to the community, Asher looks forward to making a positive impact at both the San Antonio Book Pool and Saint Mary’s Hall.
Derek Wei - Representative at Reagan HS
Derek Wei, a sophomore at Reagan High School, Class of 2026, is the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of LearnLabs, a nonprofit dedicated to efficiently empowering individuals in the art of learning through various labs. Serving as the Class of 2026 Historian and an MAΘ Committee Member at Reagan, Derek is actively involved in clubs such as DECA, CyberPatriots, and Key Club. Beyond school, Derek finds enjoyment in reading books, listening to podcasts, playing video games with friends, hosting events/parties, and researching fun topics.
Louis Geer - Founder & Former President
Louis is part of Basis Shavano’s class of 2023. He is the founder of San Antonio Book Pool and the Basis Entrepreneurship club. He’s an avid Boy Scout, musician and is very involved in STEM activities including his school’s Science Bowl and UIL. He’s proud of the growth of Book Pool and hopes to see it continue to expand the help it provides to greater San Antonio and South Texas.
Tanya Lertpradist -Former Director of Web Design
Tanya is part of BASIS San Antonio Shavano’s class of 2023. Since she was a child, she could always be found with her nose buried in a book. Now, she hopes to encourage more children to read by allowing greater access to books through SABP. In her free time, Tanya enjoys creating art, playing tennis and basketball, and practicing the violin.
Sophia Choucair - Former Director of Public Relations
Sophia Choucair is part of Basis Shavano’s class of 2023. She is very passionate about sports and plays basketball, tennis, and soccer. She’s a very adventurous person and loves to hangout with friends and go visit new sites in her free time. Sophia is so excited to have this position and be working with San Antonio Book Pool in the future.
Sunny Vuong - Former Director of Literacy
Sunny is a member of BASIS Shavano’s class of 2023 and has served as NJHS/NHS Vice President and President for the past three years. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Interstellar Literary Review, an online journal dedicated to showcasing writers internationally. As a writer, she is passionate about sharing her love for literature through writing, teaching, and making literacy more accessible to underserved youth. In her free time, Sunny is an avid soccer player, zombie film connoisseur, and fashion enthusiast.
Mitha Ananth - Former Representative at Reagan HS
Mitha is part of Ronald Reagan High School’s class of 2023. She enjoys going out with friends, playing volleyball and traveling. She loves trying new foods as well as going to new and exciting places. Mitha wishes to go to college outside of Texas to see new places as well as live on her own. She is part of multiple clubs and organizations at Reagan High School and can’t wait to be part of San Antonio Book Pool!
Daniel Wang - Former Representative at Health Careers HS
A member of the class of 2022 Health Careers High School, Daniel discovered his love of reading in the first grade when his sister introduced him to the Harry Potter series. Since then, he has competed in his elementary school’s Battle of the Books and in the high school State-level Medical Reading division of HOSA – Future Health Professionals and has volunteered to read newspaper articles and magazines for the Society for the Blind. Whenever he’s not studying, he enjoys playing the piano and cello, running, drawing, and reading.
Kaleigh Cansino - Former Representative at Advanced Learning Academy
Kaleigh is a member of the class of 2022 at the Advanced Learning Academy and is pursuing a teaching career. She’s heavily involved in her school community as her schools marketing intern. You can find her working within her community while helping lead the SAISD Student Coalition. Her passions are student advocacy and organizing. She spends her free time spoiling her 2 cats and spending time with her family.
Thanks to our partner Communities in Schools! Their mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.
