Ecuador
Project Lead | Taylor Shimkus
Email: shimkus3@illinois.edu | Pronouns: She / Her
Hello! I’m Taylor and I’m a senior studying Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. When I’m not studying, I enjoy cooking, listening to music, skateboarding, playing board games, and hanging out with friends. I’m also on the synchronized ice skating team!
Project Lead | Rory Presto
Email: rif2@illinois.edu | Pronouns: She / They
Hi, I’m Rory! I’m a Sophomore in Civil and Environmental Engineering, looking to primarily study structural engineering. I am also involved in Concrete Canoe, and I enjoy painting, fencing, and rock climbing in my free time.
Guatemala
Project Lead | Ariel Byun
Email: arielb2@illinois.edu | Pronouns: She / Her
Hello my name is Ariel Byun and I am a senior in bioengineering and a project lead for the Guatemala Water project! Some things I like to do in my free time is draw and watch YouTube videos! I hope you come check out the project!
Project Lead | Emily Lin
Email: emilypl2@illinois.edu | Pronouns: She / Her
I’m a grad student in Environmental Engineering. In my free time I like to longboard and collect houseplants.
Project Lead | Aya Otmani
Email: aotma2@illinois.edu | Pronouns: She / Her
Hi I’m Aya, a junior in aerospace engineering. I’m a project lead on the Guatemala project. I enjoy traveling and playing sports like soccer and taekwondo!
Hopkins Park
Project Lead | Advay Sudarshan
Email: advays2@illinois.edu | Pronouns: He / Him
Hi, my name is Advay and I am a senior in Mechanical Engineering. I love quizzing to a point I have prepared hundreds of my own questions!
Project Lead | Zachary Werth
Email: zwerth2@illinois.edu | Pronouns: He / Him
Hello! My name is Zachary Werth, and I’m a project lead for the Hopkins Park project. I’m a senior studying aerospace engineering, and outside of EWB, I’m involved in Tau Beta Pi and AIAA. In my free time, I enjoy photography, hiking, and playing ultimate frisbee.
Project Lead | Nikhil Bhalla
Email: bhalla4@illinois.edu | Pronouns: He / Him
Hi! My name is Nikhil Bhalla and I’m a freshman studying Computer Engineering. Outside of EWB, I am also involved in IEEE and iRobotics. In my free time, I enjoy bouldering and playing chess!
Project Lead | Jackson Friedman
Email: jnf5@illinois.edu | Pronouns: He / Him
Hi, my name is Jackson and I am a sophomore majoring in engineering mechanics and minoring in mathematics. I’m involved with Society for Engineering Mechanics and Project4Less. A few of my passions are folding origami, skateboarding, and playing basketball.
Malawi
Project Lead | Riley Kelch
Email: rjkelch2@illinois.edu | Pronouns: He / Him
I’m Riley, a senior studying Civil Engineering, I’m the project lead for the Malawi project! In my free time, I like to go on runs, draw, listen to music, and binge-watch reality competition shows.
Project Lead | Dominick Tadewald
Email: dlt4@illinois.edu | Pronouns: He / Him
Hello! I’m Dominick Tadewald, a senior in Civil Engineering and a Malawi project lead. My hobbies include backpacking, traveling, photography, reading, and listening to music much louder than I probably should.
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Engineers Without Borders - UIUC 