KAIMANA LUM
University of California, Los Angeles, B.S., Chemical Engineering

While at UCLA, Kaimana focused on her chemical engineering degree while actively participating in the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). Within BMES, she served as a community outreach chair, organizing events for elementary and middle school students on the UCLA campus. Additionally, Kaimana managed volunteering events at a Title I middle school in North Hollywood, where she taught basic CAD, coding, and circuitry to make STEM accessible and inclusive for students from all backgrounds. Balancing volunteering and school work at UCLA, Kaimana successfully presented an academic poster on a multicomponent reaction for the BMES National Conference in Seattle in 2023. Kaimana enjoys weightlifting, doing yoga, cooking, and hanging out with friends in her free time. She grew up speaking Japanese and learned English upon moving to the United States in 2011. This fall, Kaimana will be starting her role as a Formulation and Process Engineer at Procter and Gamble.

MARCUS LARSEN-STRECKER
National Taiwan University, M.A., Chinese-English Translation and Interpretation
Tufts University, B.A., International Relations and Asian Studies

From a young age, Marcus has been fascinated by other languages and cultures, and has traveled widely throughout Latin America, Asia, Europe and Africa. After completing his bachelor’s degree in international relations and Asian studies at Tufts University, Marcus moved to Taiwan, which he has made his home ever since. Along the way, Marcus has led student programming throughout Asia, while completing a master’s degree in Chinese-English translation and interpretation at National Taiwan University. More recently, Marcus has been known to divide his time between translating Taiwanese literature, interpreting for a variety of Buddhist scholars, and leading an interactive history course called “Discover Taipei” at an experimental high school where students uncover the stories hidden in their midst. Marcus’s love of people, nature, and the outdoors fills him with a curiosity and excitement for the unknown. When he is not translating or traveling with students, you will likely find him practicing yoga—and often more yoga—or embarking on his next adventure.