Meet your Orientation Mentors! They are students who have attended WIE Orientation as freshmen, and are excited to be back as leaders to answer all of your questions about UIUC! You will have plenty of time to talk with them at Orientation, but for now, you can join our Facebook group to start asking questions and getting advice from them!
Name: Jackie Letzter
Year: Senior
Major: Chemical Engineering
Jackie is the Recruitment Director in the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and the Head Engineering Learning Assistant for the ENG 100 program. She loves WIE orientation because it is such a great opportunity for freshmen to get acclimated to campus before classes start and meet some new friends! Jackie hopes to enter manufacturing when she graduates and work on making processes more sustainable, affordable, and safe for workers.
Name: Morgan Scholtes
Year: Sophomore
Major: Bioengineering
My name is Morgan and I am a sophomore in Bioengineering. I attended WIE Orientation last year and I made some of my best friends there! It was a great experience and I’m so glad that I did it. On campus, I participate with the Illinois Leadership Center a lot, and I work as a CARE tutor. I also am a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society, the Society of Women Engineers, and Alpha Omega Epsilon (an Engineering Professional and Social Sorority).
Name: Katherine Kiang
Year: Senior
Major: Bioengineering
Hello! My name is Katherine, and I am a senior studying bioengineering. I am super excited to be one of this years WIE Orientation mentors. Three years ago I was sitting in your shoes, about to embark on my college journey. Since then I’ve gotten involved in everything from research to consulting to STEM outreach through the Society of Women Engineers and Biomedical Engineering Society. I was also a part of Innovation Living Learning Community, which allowed me to go on a trip to meet Silicon Valley CEOs. This past summer I had the amazing opportunity to intern at a pharmaceutical company. Outside of class and extracurriculars I work to discover the best gluten free food in the Champaign Urbana area and enjoy spending time with friends. I can’t wait to meet you all and help make sure you have the best WIE Orientation possible.
Name: Christina Mardyla
Year: Senior
Major: Chemical Engineering
Hi! My name is Christina, and I’m going to be a senior in chemical engineering. I am also minoring in computer science. This summer, I am working at Dow Chemical in Midland, Michigan, as an information research intern. I’m really excited to have an internship that combines both my major and minor! On campus, I’m on the officer board for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers as ChemE Car chair. In my free time, I like to read (I’m a huge Harry Potter fan!), knit and crochet, and tutor high school students in the community. I’m excited to be a WIE mentor this year and I can’t wait to meet all of you in August!
Name: Devashri Nagarkar
Year: Junior
Major: Computer Science
I am a junior in CS minoring in Statistics and Technology and Management. I love WIE Orientation! On the first day, I met my best friend (now roommate) and so many other great students and staff- everyone is looking out to help you and make college a great experience! I am involved in Society of Women Engineers, Women in Computer Science, OTCR (consulting), and have done HackIllinois, CS@ILLINOIS Sail, and ACM in the past. This summer I worked at Microsoft and in the past have worked at Argonne National Laboratory and Northwestern Mutual. I love answering any questions you might have and eating Chipotle, so if you ever need anything feel free to reach out to me!
Name: Julia Francesca Santos
Year: Sophomore
Major: Systems Engineering & Design
Hi! I’m Julia Francesca Santos, an SED major at UIUC. I’m involved in Greek life as a member of IL Zeta Pi Beta Phi, IlliniThon (fundraising money for our local pediatric hospital), Engineering Council Service Committee, and IISE (and ISGE) for Industrial and Systems Engineers. WIE Orientation helped me find a group of girls to always reach out to when going through the trials of freshman year, and I can’t wait to help others feel welcome to an amazing second-home in Champaign.