Meet the Executive Board
Here is our Executive Board for the 2020-2021 School Year
Mia Navarro
President
4th Year
Major: Computational and Systems Biology
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TBE allows students of marginalization to experience what all deserve to see. Showing students the importance of education, let alone STEM, is often times all it takes to reroute students toward a college career path. I love cultivating the passion for STEM within mentees, and seeing them ready to learn is so rewarding.
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Fun fact: I have been golfing since I was 13!
Kirsten Landsiedel
Internal Vice President
4th Year
Major: Statistics and Economics
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I love getting to meet amazing mentors and mentees, and seeing all of their hard work shine on the day of the science fair!
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Fun fact: I got a high-five from Bill Nye!
Madelyn Romberg
External Vice President
4th Year
Major: AOS/Math
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My favorite thing is getting to be both friends and a mentor with my mentees.
(Yay for new friends!)
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Fun fact: I also play club field hockey at UCLA.
Humza Khan
Internal Affairs
4th Year
Major: Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics
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I think there's a dichotomy to kids that really comes out during site. There's the funny, laid-back mode that you can see at the beginning of site when all the mentors are saying "Hey!" and catching up after a week of separation. There's the side of the kids when they're thinking: with the furrowed brows, the questions, the whole nine yards. I want to go into some form of teaching and mentorship as a career--forming these academic and personal bonds with the kids is probably what is most meaningful to me here at UCLA.
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Fun fact: At the Bay Area equivalent of TBE (The Golden Experiment), one of my kids accidentally set a solar panel on fire. Teamwork is powerful.
Luke Elissiry
Science Fair & Recruitment
4th Year
Major: Chemistry with Specialization in Computing
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TBE helps fulfill my passion of spreading my love of science to others. I love seeing students, many of whom had started the program with little scientific experience, develop into enthusiastic scientists eager to share their hard work with UCLA professors at our science fair.
Fun Fact: I love to go backpacking and have summited Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states.
Aditya Pimplaskar
Science Fair & Recruitment
4th Year
Major: Computational and Systems Biology and Mathematics
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I enjoy getting to interact with bright and motivated students from the middle schools where we mentor. I have had the privilege of engaging in productive discussions about science with my students, and promptly shifting gears to having water balloon fights with them. I'm proud of how we get to help students cultivate scientific curiosity while also building friendships with students. ​
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Fun Fact: When I'm not involved with science, I enjoy putting together and learning new musical arrangements on the keyboard and guitar.
Asha Agarwal
Curriculum
2nd Year
Major: Neuroscience
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My favorite part about TBE was getting to know all of the kids and mentors throughout the year!
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Fun Fact: I danced for almost 14 years before college.
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Alice Chien
Curriculum
2nd Year
Major: Human Biology and Society
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My favorite part about TBE is being able to interact with all of the awesome mentors and mentees! I love seeing how the mentees grow in confidence and enthusiasm as the program goes on, and I definitely learn a lot from them as well!
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Fun Fact: I write my "S" from the bottom to the top!
Ram Ayyala
Marketing
4th Year
Major: Neuroscience
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Seeing that penny drop when the kids are trying to understand a topic is probably the most rewarding experience.
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Fun fact: I owned a beta fish named Porkchop that my parents replaced 10 different times without me knowing
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Camryn Dean
Marketing
4th Year
Major: Psychology Major
My favorite part of TBE is watching the students become so invested in their experiments as weeks go by, and seeing how excited they are to present their hard work at the Science Fair!
Fun Fact: I Irish danced competitively for five years when I was little!
Manasvi Paudel
Social
4th Year
Major: Biology
My favorite part about TBE is seeing how innovative mentors be. when taking a mentee's passion and turning it into an experiment!
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Fun Fact: My favorite book series is the Inheritance Cycle (Eragon) and I'm sticking by it!
Tate Bertea
Social
4th Year
Major: Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
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My favorite part is seeing the students turn into experts in their experiment's field. These kids are so smart!
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Fun Fact: I am the only redhead in my family for 3 generations. I guess those recessive alleles were just being shy for a bit.
Liana Santos
Treasury
4th Year
Major: Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
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I love being apart of the inclusive community that TBE strives to create. Most of all, I love working with the mentees so that they are able to feel supported and hopeful -- at first about their own projects and interests -- but later expanding to their future careers in STEM
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Fun Fact: I wear children's size 2 shoes!
Gray Harman
Treasury
3rd Year
Major: Psychobiology
I love being able to work with children and see the difference that we are making in each one. The bonds created through the Bruin Experiment are so special and seeing these children become confident in their futures and excited about science is so rewarding.
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Fun Fact: I have 6 chickens at my house and we get eggs from!
