Our Team


Veda Vadyar		 Veda Vadyar is a junior Information Systems major. She is hoping to double major in Human Computer Interaction or Decision Sciences, and hopefully minor in Chinese. She was born in Hyderabad, India, but moved to East Brunswick, New Jersey at a young age. Including numerous on-campus organizations and working part-time in research, Veda is extremely interested in helping impoverish nations become technologically savvy, and hopes her education will help her pursue this goal. She joined the Global Business Brigade in order to broaden her horizons in terms of business knowledge as well as interacting with international bodies that make changes in the daily lives of others. She is extremely excited in going to Panama as a person who will be able to contribute to change and success.
   

Jin Seop Kim		 Jin Seop Kim is a senior majoring in computer science.  He was born in Seoul, South Korea.  While growing up, Jin Seop mainly lived in Korea, but also spent 3 years each in India and China.  He came to United States for college for two years, then returned to Korea to complete his mandatory service in the Korean military. In the summer of 2011, Jin Seop worked in a highschool for orphans in Rwanda as an IT consultant. He improved the IT infrastructure to offer the students more access to technology. In the past, he participated in Habitat for Humanity China, where he helped rebuild a village destroyed by a flood.  He also participated in a community service club called "Helping Hands," where he taught English to mentally handicapped people.  Jin Seop decided to participate in the Panama project because his life goal is to make his contribution to bringing greater happiness to the world, and the Panama project is ideal in achieving this goal.
 

Asha Rose Thomas		 Asha Rose Thomas is a junior double majoring in Business and Global Studies with a concentration in Finance from Erie, PA. In high school, Asha co-founded a student organization called Exposure. Their goal was to promote tolerance, spread awareness, and encourage the acceptance of diversity. The organization is currently on its third year and is still going strong with over 350 members. Why she chose this project: Asha has always been fascinated with different cultures as well as with helping other people; being able to combine the two is what really drew her to this project. She was also able to form a connection between her two majors. Implementing business practices at a global level—being able to apply what she learns in the classroom to real life situations—is what she loves about this project. To Asha, Knowing that we have the power to change people’s lives is invaluable. Upon graduation, Asha hopes to join the Peace Corp for a few years and eventually work for a non-profit or NGO. 
   

Oshamimi Mayaki		 Oshamimi Mayaki is a junior Economics major in the college of humanities and social sciences. Growing up in Nigeria she became interested in the difficulties associated with economic development in countries such as hers. Oshamimi feels that she can apply her past experiences to the Panama project which provides development solutions at the grass roots level.
   

Jennifer Martinez		 Jennifer Martinez is an American-born Dominican from the Bronx, NY. She is a junior Civil and Environmental Engineering student in the Carnegie Institute of Technology at CMU. In HS Jenny  was a part of a couple of community service groups which participated in Breast Cancer/Aids walks in NYC and worked in soup kitchens, but she wanted to be a part of something bigger. When she came to CMU, Jenny applied for GBB Panama over the other international opportunities on campus because it was unique. While the other projects were geared towards English lessons and building houses, GBB Panama focused more on equipping businessmen with the tools necessary to have a successful and sustainable business.  Not only was it interesting, she knew that she would learn new skills that she could utilize in her future.
   

Anisha Vyas		 Anisha Vyas is a Junior majoring in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Business Administration, Biomedical Engineering and Multimedia Production. She's currently involved in Mayur SASA, Carnegie Mellon Dance Marathon, and being a mentor in E-Tower for incoming freshman! In her free time, Anisha reads everything she can on animation and entertainment technology! She LOVES GBB:Panama. It was honestly one of the best experiences of her life and she couldn't be more excited to go back again this spring break.
   

Pralav Bhansali		 Pralav Bhansali is a sophomore pursuing a double major in Decision Science and Business Administration from India and is a returning member to the team from last year. Pralav is always looking for something interesting and he found the Panama Project to be the ideal choice to fulfill his need for adventure and expand his vision to do something for the greater good. He has been involved in several service projects back home organizing Breast Cancer Awareness and Check-Up Camps, Blood Drives and educating children in the slums of Mumbai.
   

Christina Yoon		 Christina Yoon is a sophomore double majoring in Materials Science Engineering and Biomedical Engineering from Los Angeles, CA. In high school, Christina has been to a number of church mission trips, where she taught English to refugees from underprivileged countries, worked with children, and helped fix homes. She was actively involved in her high school's divisional Key Club, and spent a few of her summers volunteering in the emergency room at the UCLA Medical Center. Christina chose to join the Panama team because she wants to gain first-hand experience helping people outside of the U.S. and to broaden her horizons by learning new skills that will help her in the future. She's excited to leave a lasting positive impact on the lives of the people she meets on this trip
   

Sonal Chakrasali		 Sonal Chakrasali is a sophomore majoring in Communication Design. Sonal loves cats, koalas, ice-cream, helping people, chocolate, travelling, and raspberries. She is often found laboring away deep into the night in a place filled with lots of sharp objects, paper, and cutting mats; this place called studio is her first home and a place where she is learning and experiencing communication design for the second year. Though she burrows in this cave for most of the year, Sonal emerges from it in order to participate in several student organizations. She actively tries to avoid the perils of specialization and her goal is to learn as much about everything in her limited time at Carnegie Mellon University. Sharing knowledge and experiences are what really get her excited and her culture and environment are very much a part of her identity that she loves to share with anyone who will listen. Partaking in the Panama project means making new friends, helping a community, and taking away so much knowledge that can be used to approach so many other problems.
   

Karthik Annaamalai		 Karthik Annaamalai is a freshman majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in finance. He was born in Tamil Nadu, India but grew up near San Francisco, California. In high school, Karthik participated in Boy Scouts of America and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Throughout the process, he was involved in numerous community service activities such as building homes for Habitat for Humanity and serving food at local shelters. Karthik decided to join the Project Panama because he thought it would combine his passion for community service and his interest in business.
   

Sanika Natu		 Sanika Natu is a freshman majoring in Business Administration. She is hoping to take a track in Marketing and minor in Decision Sciences or double major in Psychology. She was born in Mountain View, California and has lived htere all her life. Sanika is also a pledge for Alpha Kappa Psi and hopes to use the business skills she acquires through this organization on the SIFE Panama trip. In the past Sanika did service in Panama through Amigos de las Americas where she facilitated a community project and taught health classes for the local elementary school. Sanika is extremely excited about the SIFE Panama trip because she loves exploring different cultures and creating sustainable projects for various commjunities. Through this project Sanika can integrate both her major, business, and her passion, culture, to work towards her goal to making a change in the future.
   

Eugene Wong		 Eugene Wong is a third year student majoring in Architecture with a minor in Business Administration. Born in New York but lived in Hong Kong and Singapore, Eugene developed a deep appreciation for the world’s cultural diversity and has decided to join the Panama Team in the hope of broadening his international experiences, as well as having a lasting positive impact in people's lives. Eugene is actively involved in his fraternity Pi Kappa Alpha as well as other organizations such as CMU UNICEF and Asian Students Association.
   

Charles Mbaraguru		 Charles Mbaraguru is a junior majoring in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Business Administration. Born in Houston, Texas but raised in Nigeria, has given Charles quite a global view and an appreciation of different cultures on their own. With his international background and interest in world cultures, Charles hopes to be a useful member to the South American community that he will hopefully be a part of in the spring. Besides The Panama Project, Charles is a part of other organizations on campus including Alpha Kappa Ps coed Professional Business Fraternity, ROTARACT Service Organization, and the National Society of Black Engineers, just to name a few.
   

Erin Jung		 Erin Jung is a freshman majoring in Mathematics. Being involved in many different organizations and programs in high school broadened her views of volunteering in many different ways. Helping people in unprivileged countries always has been something that she has been interested in, so being in SIFE Panama is one of the things she is most passionate about here at CMU. She is looking forward to going on this trip and also preparing for it. She cannot wait to be part of the impact the team will be making in Panama.
   

Maya Geleroff		 Maya Geleroff is a sophomore majoring in Economics and Business Administration. She was born and raised in Miami, FL. At school, Maya is involved with various organizations such as Dancers' Symposium, the Society of Hispanic and Professional Engineers, and SIFE Panama. While she is not busy with school, Maya enjoys dancing, singing karaoke with friends, taking photos of flowers, and cooking.
   

 

  

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