Introducing our newest board members!
Anant Vasudevan is a freshman majoring in Arts, Technology, and the Business of Innovation. He loves to talk about traffic management and urban planning.
Given the choice of anyone in the world, with whom would you want to have a coffee chat? I’d want to chat with Muhammad Yunus — the Nobel Laureate who pioneered micro-finance. Hearing about the life-threatening challenges and travail he had to overcome to popularize his breakthrough social innovation would be an inspiration and the experience of a lifetime. Also, I’m passionate about social innovation, so getting his insights on actualizing solutions for social problems would be extremely valuable.
What is your most treasured memory? Getting stranded due to flash floods in Uttarakhand. We had scaled the peak of Mount Kedarkantha, but by the time we reached our base camp, it was underwater. We camped on higher ground for a few extra days because all the roads had been compromised by landslides, but they were the most amazing few days as we huddled together in tents, played poker and Mafia, and ate Maggie noodles.
Ari Sokolov is a freshman majoring in Computer Science/Business Administration. She has founded her own business — Trill Project—which is an anonymous and safe social network.
What is your most treasured memory? Sitting in the front row of the Steve Jobs theater while Tim Cook spoke right in front of me. I’m a huge Apple fan!
What would constitute a “perfect” day for you? Scootering on the beach in Santa Monica, coding at Alfred’s, heading to the Broad for a special exhibit, and ending the night with roof hopping in DTLA.
Bryan Huang is a freshman majoring in Computer Science. In his spare time, he likes to experiment with Adobe Illustrator and make his own Snapchat filters.
Song of the summer? “DDU-DU DDU-DU” by BLACKPINK
What is your most treasured memory? Catching my first fish with my Grandpa at the pond outside his home. It’s one of my favorite memories because it reminds me of summer and childhood.
Dan Accordino is a freshman majoring in Architecture. He likes to collect and memorize street maps of American cities.
What would constitute a “perfect” day for you? Getting up at a reasonable hour and feeling well-rested, roaming and exploring the city, hiking in the mountains, resting and then going out in the evening. Basically, what I’ve been doing on Saturdays so far since I’ve been out here.
If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want? Body. I get bored very easily, so I would need to keep working. I’d love to use my knowledge and wisdom to keep designing buildings and developing properties (like I dream of doing) forever. And I’d love to see as much of the world as I can and travel.
Eileen Toh is a sophomore majoring in Global Health. Throughout the day, you can find her reporting on critical issues and events at USC for the Daily Trojan student newspaper.
Given the choice of anyone in the world, with whom would you want to have a coffee chat? Sacha Pfeiffer, the only female journalist on The Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team when the publication singlehandedly uncovered the child sex abuse scandal at churches. Sacha is a person first, journalist second. She empathizes, hears the victims’ stories, and works her best to portray them in a way that seeks justice for all victims.
What would constitute a “perfect” day for you? I would go to the kickboxing gym and exercise along to the melodies of the Mamma Mia 2 soundtrack and some middle school bops. Really specific, but it would be such a fun experience!
Elise Nguyen is a freshman majoring in Computer Science (Games). She is interested in learning more about having human-centered design as a philosophy for life.
If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want? Body, for sure. I get to be super wise AND physically capable of doing anything I want!!!
What is your most treasured memory? Going to BTS’s concert! It was the first time I got to see BTS and also my first concert and I couldn’t stop smiling the entire night.
Prim Phoolsombat is a sophomore majoring in Computational Linguistics. If she had a time machine, she said she would go back to the time when someone first decided to milk a cow just to see what they were thinking.
What would constitute a “perfect” day for you? Prim. Family. Friends. An island. A sprinkle of skydiving, scuba diving, parasailing, maybe a million puppies, and endless coconut water. The day ends with a beach barbecue and worthwhile fireside conversations as the stars come out. Amazing.
Song of the summer? The song of EVERY summer: Life is a Highway, Rascal Flatts.
Quinn McCarthy is a freshman majoring in Computer Science/Business Administration. If he were an animal, he said that he would probably be a monkey.
Given the choice of anyone in the world, with whom would you want to have a coffee chat? I know this answer is very cliche, but I would definitely want to sit down with Elon Musk and pick his brain. I find him fascinating and he is working on so many things to try and better the world we live in. He seems like a guy that I could definitely learn a lot from.
What is your most treasured memory? My most treasured memory was game 7 of the 2011 Word Series. I was at the game in St. Louis with my dad and grandpa and I will never forget watching Allen Craig catch the game winning out for the Cardinals and giving my dad the biggest hug ever. Being able to share that with my dad and grandpa is an unforgettable experience.
Sophie Callaway is a junior majoring in Communication. She loves learning more about film production and analog photography, as well as listening to comedy podcasts.
Given the choice of anyone in the world, with whom would you want to have a coffee chat? Strong three-way tie between Tim Ferriss, Judd Apatow, and Tavi Gevinson.
If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want? Body. Sometimes I feel like the mind is a double edged sword & some of my greatest joy comes being able to DO the things I’m passionate about with those I love.
