Introducing FORA's Fall 2020 Volunteer Staff

• Adrianna Nehme is a Junior at The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools in Chicago, Illinois. She holds a passion for playing tennis outside of school as well as on her varsity high school team and writing for her school newspaper, the Midway. In her free time, she loves to play new pieces on the piano, spend time with her friends and family, and go for walks in the city.

• A sophomore in high school from California, Annika Vinekar aspires to work in immigrant and refugee social work, education, and policy advocacy. In her free time she can be found playing the violin, sketching, cooking, studying Spanish, working out, or watching documentaries.

• Austin Bennett grew up in Maryland, about an hour outside of Baltimore and Philadelphia. He graduated from Towson University in May 2020 with a bachelor in social sciences and a political science minor. His key areas of focus were with international relations, humanitarian aid, education, and security. He has always had a belief of helping others, especially those internationally. After a semester abroad in Oslo, Norway during his undergrad, Austin decided he wants to pursue a masters in human rights or peace and conflict studies back in Norway in Fall 2021. He hopes to eventually immigrate to Oslo and work with international government organizations to create policy, and do field work to help those affected by conflict. Austin hopes to continue learning international relations and gather the experience needed to eventually start his own nonprofit and teach international relations in university in Norway.

• Born and raised in Massachusetts, Hannah Mok is currently a junior in high school. With an interest in humanitarian and non-profit work, she hopes to major in international relations in the future and pursue a career path in that field. When she has free time, Hannah enjoys playing guitar and viola, reading books, going to the beach (when she has the chance), and spending time with friends and family.

• Jenna Rogers just finished her BA in International Relations last spring and has since been tutoring refugees in English while studying for the GRE and interning at FORA! She is from the Chicago area and loves helping refugees in the city. In her free time she loves reading, exercising and being with friends and family.

• Jessica Hsu is an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin. She is based in Madison, Wisconsin, while completing her final year studying Philosophy and Global History. She hopes to get involved in field research and pursue a Masters in Conflict and Security. During regular times, she could be found at art galleries, book launches, and educational events. She is an avid café-goer and enjoys being close to nature and visiting historical sites.

• A Hong Konger at heart and a global citizen in practice, Karen Chung came to FORA in search of healing – both for herself and others. She sees every interaction with her students as an opportunity to undo the impact of past trauma as well as to build strengths and foster growth. She brings to this work years of diverse teaching experience, and is most excited when her passions for education and theatre intersect. She thinks the beauty of FORA’s work can be best reflected by the aspiration of her third-grader tutee: ‘to be a teacher so my students can teach their children and they can teach their children.’

• Lishan Shen acquired her Master’s degree in Economics from University of Wisconsin Madison. She aspires to pursue her PhD in education economics. She is passionate about using data and econometric models to address education inequality problems. In her spare time, she likes hiking, photographing, and watching movies.

• Natalie Moe is in her senior year at Marquette University, double majoring in public relations and English writing intensive. She enjoys all things communications. She is originally from the Chicago suburbs, but has enjoyed her past few years living in the wonderful city of Milwaukee. Natalie would like her future career to be in the nonprofit industry advocating for human rights issues. In her free time, she enjoys writing, reading, hanging out with friends and family, and playing with makeup!

• Nicole Ring is a global citizen with a dedication to social justice and refugee advocacy. Born in London, Nicole has lived an international lifestyle, living in five different countries before settling in the San Francisco Bay Area. This past May, she completed her Bachelor’s degree at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Her studies reflected her passion for both politics and history which she plans on bringing into her career with the long-term goal of working in consulting positions that center on protecting marginalized communities. Outside of work, Nicole enjoys baking, travel, and staying active by walking her 100lb Bernedoodle.

• Pascale Fung was born and raised in San Diego, California and is currently a sophomore at Canyon Crest Academy. She has taught first graders creative writing, tutors students, and enjoys spending time helping others. Pascale hopes to work in the medical field as she has always been interested in the healthcare industry. In her free time, she loves to bake, crochet, learn new things, read, travel, play volleyball, and loves spending time with her family.

• Rose Adams is a current AmeriCorps member in California. She volunteers with FORA in addition. She has two degrees in education, and her passion lies in guiding and educating children with exceptionalities, whether that be learning difficulties, language barriers, or other challenges. She believes everyone has a story yet to be written, and she hopes that through her work she is able to give them the keys to unlock multitudes of possibilities for their story. She fights for equity and celebrates diversity and believes every human being has a right to quality education so they may understand their world.

• Samiha Syed is currently pursuing her Associate of Science Degree at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She plans to pursue a career at the intersections of healthcare, nonprofit and NGO work, and human rights advocacy. She is currently involved in extracurricular engagements including: Illinois Community College Board Student Advisory Council, College of DuPage Student Leadership Council and College of DuPage Board of Trustees. She is passionate about human rights and service efforts in underprivileged communities and the third world. One of her most recent projects involves supporting nonpartisan civic engagement and voter participation initiatives.

• Sally Wu is currently the Director of Curriculum Development for a research lab at Northwestern University. She received her PhD in Learning Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her BA in Psychology from Haverford College. Her research focuses on designing interventions that support STEM education and learning with technologies. In the future, she plans to continue pursuing work that supports instructors and students in and out of the classroom, plus volunteering as much as she can! In her remaining free time, she loves to read, play board games, try obscure sports, and upcycle/recycle things in the house.

• Graduating this fall with a Bachelor's degree in Medical Anthropology and Human Biology from Stanford University, Wint Thazin is dedicated to a career in social impact research to address health, education, and social inequality. Her areas of expertise include refugee and immigrant studies, multicultural education, non-profit organizations, and women and children's health. She also enjoys painting as a form of activism, calligraphy, long-distance running, and cooking Burmese recipes.