INTERNATIONAL REACH AMBASSADORS 2022-23

Hometown: Safwa, Saudi Arabia
Major: Environmental Science, Undergraduate

Hi! My name is Duraid Abukhamseen. I speak Arabic and English. I love watching sports, learning about new cultures, and trying new things. I really hope to share a piece of my culture with the UW community and learn more about the cultures around me.

Hometown: Ondo State, Nigeria (Lived in Lagos State)
Major: English (Composition and Rhetoric), Ph.D. Candidate

Bawo ni? Yinka is my name and I speak Yoruba, English and Pidgin-English. I love sharing about Yoruba Traditional Clothing and inviting others to participate by trying them on. I also love to talk about our native foods and the Yoruba traditional wedding. I look forward to a cultural exchange that projects the richness of the Yoruba culture and gives a peek into the rich and diverse cultures in Nigeria. I am also fascinated about experiencing other cultures thriving in UW-Madison.

Hometown: Recife, Brazil
Major: Portuguese Literature, M.A.

E ai, tudo bem? I am Letícia and I speak Brazilian Portuguese and English. I am excited for this fall of 2022 because I’ll start learning Spanish! I hold a B.A in Journalism and an MBA in Marketing. I love traveling and going to music concerts. I’ve been to 9 of the 26 Brazilian states and I am eager to continue exploring the United States! As a Reach Ambassador, I am interested in talking about Brazilian history, religions, cuisine, festivities, customs, literature, cinema, and music! I can’t wait to make new friends and learn with you all! Até logo!

Hometown: Malaysia
Major: Chemical Engineering

Apa khabar? My name is Chia and I speak Malay, Chinese, English, Teochew, and Hokkien. I am immensely grateful for being able to live in a beautiful, diverse, and multicultural country called Malaysia. I love sharing Malaysian food with my friends in America and sometimes invite them over to make traditional desserts together. We make ‘ondeh-ondeh’ which is a traditional dessert made with pandan (screwpine leaf) infused dough and filled with Gula Melaka or palm sugar. I look forward to sharing the uniqueness of Malaysia with more people at UW-Madison.

Hometown: Imo, Nigeria (born and bred in Lagos, Nigeria)
Major: Botany, Graduate

Hello! My name is Joan (Jo!!), I speak English, Pidgin English, Igbo, and Yoruba (spent all my life in western Nigeria, haha). My interests include Traveling, watching crime investigation documentaries, and anime, and having good conversations. I hope to share my experience as a Nigerian student here in Madison and connect with other international students! I hope for people to see and learn about my country directly through “my eyes” and not from what they might have heard or read.

Hometown: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Major: Computer Science, Undergraduate

Hi! I am Fara, and I speak Malay, English, and basic Mandarin. I can also read Arabic and Korean. I am interested in performing arts, traveling, and languages. You can probably see me singing and/or dancing on stage during cultural events organized by the Malaysian Students Association of UW-Madison! As a REACH ambassador, I am eager to share the rich culture of Malaysia with the local Madison community on top of experiencing other cultures as well.

Hometown: Concepción, Chile
Major: Geoscience, Graduate

Hi, I’m Francisca and I speak Spanish and English. I love to travel and my main interests are glaciers and volcanoes. Knowledge of the way the universe is shaped and the way our planet contains so many mysteries is something that has always interested me. As a Reach ambassador, I would like to talk about Chile’s landscape and general culture. I expect to connect with people from different cultures and backgrounds.

Hometown: Barranquilla, Colombia

Major: Spanish Linguistics, graduate

¡Hola! My name is Estefanía, and I speak Spanish, English, French and basic German. I love learning languages, eating, and dancing! The only food I do not like is spicy, but I can try everything else. I would like to learn more about other cultures, traditions, and food. I am looking forward to sharing many interesting aspects of my country and culture such as music, dancing, and food with the UW-Madison and Madison community, so everybody knows a little bit more about Colombia.

Hometown: Punjab, India
Major: Business Administration, MBA in Supply Chain Management

Namaste! My name is Dipika, and I speak Hindi, Punjabi, and English. I love to travel and explore various cultures, cuisines, and people to find amusing similarities across the globe between cultures, beliefs, and people’s emotions.  As an international student at UW-Madison, I can’t wait to share my culture with other students and meet people from all around the world! I’m down to meet up, talk, try out new things, and most importantly, learn what I don’t know. I am also very passionate about women in technology and STEM areas, so feel free to reach out if that is something you would like to talk about.

Hometown: Pülfringen, Germany
Major: Second Language Acquisition, Graduate

Hallo, I am Patricia from Germany and I speak German, English, and some Spanish. This is the third time that I am living in the USA, and I love sharing my language and culture with others. I am interested in education, music, and sports and enjoy traveling. I hope to share my knowledge and experience with interested people on and off campus and connect with others because we can all learn from one another, and global awareness is key in today’s globalized world.

Hometown: Mumbai, India
Major: Computer Sciences, Statistics, Undergraduate

Hi! I’m Arjun from India, and I speak English, Hindi, Tamil, and Marathi. I love to learn about different cultures mainly since I have travelled with my parents to over 30 countries. My aim is to efficiently apply my skills in Computer Science to improve ease of technology use in third world countries. I would love to present anything relating to technology and culture. I wanted to become an International Reach Ambassador so that I could share my culture with the UW-Madison community and network with ambassadors from other countries. I look forward to my term!

Hometown: Kenema, Sierra Leone
Major: Educational Policy Studies, Graduate

Hi! My name is Aruna, and I speak Mende, Krio and English. My interests are books, cultural traditions, soccer, nature and landscapes. I am eager to meet people from diverse cultural settings within the UW and Madison communities and share about my country, culture and experiences.

Hometown:  Singapore
Major:  Computer Science, Undergraduate

Hi! My name is Ankit and I speak English and Hindi. My interests include sports like basketball and badminton, discovering new music of (almost) any genre, and meeting new people and learning about their cultures. I would love to share about Singapore’s variety of food, languages, and traditions. I’m excited to meet people from all walks of life and share about my hometown and my experience as an international student.

Hometown: Bratislava, Slovakia
Major: Pre- Pharmacology/Toxicology, Undergraduate

Hi! My name is Henrieta, and I speak Slovak, German, and English. My interests are baking, reading, and spending time outside during winter. As an international student at UW-Madison, I can’t wait to share my culture with other students and meet people from all around the world! I look forward to share my experience here in Madison and initiate conversations about inclusion and representation.

Hometown: Zhengzhou, China
Major: Material Science & Engineering, Doctoral

大家好!Hello everyone! My name is Nuohao and I speak Chinese and English. I’m very glad to meet friends from all over the world and introduce our culture and interesting things to everyone. I love playing the piano and enjoy lots of sports like basketball, table tennis, and badminton, especially playing with new friends. I believe through the cultural exchange we can get a view that how big the world is, and by standing together, we’ll feel how close the distance between each other could be.

Hometown: Telangana, India
Major: Fine Arts- 4D, Graduate

Namaste! My name is Praveen Maripelly, and I speak Telugu, Hindi, English, basic Gujarati and German. My interests include community well being, arts, cultures and traditions, social engagement and languages. I would like to connect with communities from different cultures and backgrounds, and share aspects of my culture to UW Madison and the community.

Hometown: Almaty, Kazakhstan
Major: Pre-Business, Undergraduate

Salem! My name is Alan Mashen, and I speak Kazakh, Russian, English, and basic French. I am interested in speaking about the history, language, and culture of Kazakhstan. As a Reach ambassador, I want to promote my country and share my experiences as an international student with the local community.

Hometown: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Major: Political Science and International Studies, Undergraduate

Asalam Alaykom! My name is Joud like that Beatles song! I speak Arabic, English, and a hint of French. Exchanging cultures and connecting with people from all around the world is something I’m very passionate about. I hope to share my knowledge about Saudi culture, and traditions, and shed a light on the false stereotypes associated with it! Oh! And my interests include reading, digital arts, and the occasional crocheting. Masalamah!

Hometown: Benin City, Nigeria
Major: Plant Pathology, Doctoral

How far na! My name is Maxwell and I speak English and Nigerian pidgin fluently. I understand Ika, Igbo, basic Yoruba and little Hausa (kadan kadan). I am interested in sharing (to young people and adults) about Nigerian culture, environments, foods, and lifestyles. With a focus on correcting stereotypes that people might subconsciously hold. I hope to use this opportunity to integrate with different American communities and share first-hand experiences in Nigeria that will offer a correct representation of the realities.

Hometown: Busan, South Korea
Major: Political Science, undergraduate

안녕하세요! My name is Jinwan, and I speak Korean and English. My interests include international politics, watching movies, and multiple sports. As a Reach ambassador, I hope to share socioeconomic and cultural aspects of Korea and build a more inclusive environment for international students on the UW campus.

Hometown: Mumbai, India
Major: Biomedical Engineering, doctoral

Hi, I’m Veda and I speak English, Marathi, Hindi, and a little French. I am passionate about travel, food, languages, reading, and textiles/fashion. I hope to connect with people and facilitate a dialogue regarding cultural differences and how we can be more understanding of each other.

Hometown: Brazil
Major:Psychology & Dance

Oi gente (Hi everyone)! My name is Rayane(Hi-ah-ne) and I’m fluent in Portuguese and English. My interests are reading, anything art-related (especially performing arts), making desserts, traveling, and playing with pets. I love learning about new cultures worldwide and can’t wait to share more about Brasil and my experience as a Latine Global badger.

Hometown: Bandung, Indonesia
Major: Food Science, M.S.
Hai! Apa kabar? (that’s how are you in Bahasa Indonesia). My name is Vanessa Soendjaja and I am from Indonesia. I speak Bahasa Indonesia, English, and basic Mandarin. I am also trying to learn Korean (so I can watch my favorite Korean dramas without subtitles). I am so thankful to have grown up in such a diverse and beautiful country with SOOO much delicious food and I can’t wait to share my experience with everyone at UW-Madison. I am also looking forward to learning more about other countries and cultures from people I will meet through REACH.

Hometown: Guangzhou, China
Major: Human Development and Family Studies, Undergraduate
Hi everyone! My name is Yawei. I can speak Mandarin Chinese and English fluently. I can also speak a little bit of German, Japanese and French. Learning languages are so fun! After spending my early childhood years in Texas and California for seven years, then moving back to Guangzhou for 11 years, I have been able to greatly understand two unique and special cultures thoroughly. Furthermore, this life experience has allowed me to perceive the world from many different perspectives and has contributed to my growth mindset. As a Reach Ambassador, I can’t wait to share more about my thoughts, my life experiences, and my wonderful Chinese culture with everyone.