The Mentor Program sponsored by Macalester International Student Programs selects returning U.S. and international students to serve as mentors to incoming international students and domestic Ametrica participants. Students will meet their mentors during pre-orientation and will consult with them regularly throughout the semester. Mentors provide a student’s perspective on both academic and personal life at Macalester. Their job is to help international students feel comfortable at Macalester and answer their questions about policies and procedures related to life in the residence halls, campus facilities, registration and academic procedures, as well as questions about U.S. culture and off-campus opportunities in the Twin Cities Metro community.
Where have the ISP mentors been all summer? Check out the 2022 Where in the World Video to find out!
Andrea Liu (Class of 2023) is originally from China and lived in the Chicago area for three years prior to Macalester. She majors in Asian Studies. She enjoys reading, swimming, eating, and being goofy with her friends. She looks forward to meeting everyone in the fall!
Connie Zhang (Class of 2023) is a Senior majoring in Statistics with a concentration in Community and Global Health. She is from Beijing, China, and moved to Seattle, Washington when she was twelve. In her free time, she likes to go on long runs, read, and watch movies. She also enjoys spicy food and baked goodies!
Ethan Hyslop (Class of 2023) is a Senior born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. While his home is only 20 minutes from Macalester, he loves traveling and learning about new cultures! Ethan participated in the Ametrica project as a first-year, and has enjoyed being part of the ISP community ever since. At Mac he Majors in Sociology, and has a Minor in Data Science. He spends most of his free time with friends, either exploring the excellent restaurants and museums of the Twin Cities, playing pool in the campus center, or hosting super smash brothers tournaments at his apartment. He also enjoys cycling, martial arts, and discovering new music. Ethan is excited to serve as a Mentor Dean and Ametrica Facilitator for the class of 2026, especially his mentees!
Uditi Chandrashekhar (class of 2024) is from a few different places in India. She is a physics and psychology double major who hopes to be able to minor in Educational Studies. She is a board member for MASECA, the on-campus South Asian student organization. She loves to travel, read, have conversations/discussions over coffee.
Xiang Li (Class of 2024) majors in Economics and plan to double major in Statistics and minor in Asian studies. She likes to try baking in her free time and travel with her friends. She is looking forward to meeting people from different cultures and making new friends as a mentor.
Aalyan Arif (Class of 2024) is a junior here at Macalester, majoring in Computer Science and Economics. He is very passionate about a lot of nerdy stuff, which includes Astronomy, Programming and following the stock/crypto market. Aside from the nerdy stuff, he really enjoys gaming (specifically Nintendo), watching sports like Soccer and Tennis, and following several fandoms. A fun fact to know about Aalyan is that he is always HYPED UP!! He is SUPER excited to work with you all this coming semester and to make sure you have a wonderful first semester.
Jie (Rachel) Lu (Class of 2024) is a rising junior from JiangSu Province, China. She is a psychology major with a philosophy minor and considering doing a legal studies concentration. In her free time, she likes to read, play tennis, and go roller skating with friends. She also loves to explore new restaurants and learn new recipes. She can’t wait to meet her mentees this fall and is ready to help their transitions into college life!
Zhihao Liu (Class of 2024) is majoring in Media and Cultural Studies as well as International Studies. He is also pursuing a Music minor. He was born in Nanjing, China but had spent five years in Philadelphia before coming to Macalester. On campus, he sings for the Macalester Chorale and the all gender A capella group “Mac of All Trades”. He is also planning to play the guitar in the Jazz and Pop music combos this fall. He enjoys singing, playing classical guitar, watching films, and playing grand strategy video games. He welcomes cultural and political conversations from all perspectives and is eager to learn new world views from them. He looks forward to get to know his mentees, have intelletcual conversations, and just have fun!!!
Joe Ntayagabiri (Class of 2024) is a junior majoring in Neuroscience. She was born in Burundi and grew up in Kenya. She really enjoys dancing, learning to play different African musical instruments and badminton. She is part of Mac Cyphers (dance group on campus) and the African Music Ensemble. She’s excited to show her mentors all kinds of on campus activities.
Ko Horiuchi (Class of 2025) is from Tokyo, Japan and has also lived in London, UK. He is a Psychology major and considering double-minoring in German Studies and Education. Ko loves playing the violin and is currently teaching himself the piano. He also likes reading and taking walks around campus. He is excited to show his mentees around his favourite places on campus!
Nibia Becerra Santillan (Class of 2025) is from Callao, Peru. She studied in Arusha, Tanzania, for two years right before coming to Mac. She is planning to major in Biology but is looking for new interests and is open to change! Nibia loves dancing, especially Traditional Peruvian dances, baking with friends, reading, and trying new things. She is looking forward to meeting new students through the mentorship program and as a program assistant at the ISP office.
Joanna Zeng (Class of 2025) is Anthropology and Media Cultural Studies double major. She is also a member of the African Music Ensemble. She enjoys watching movies and doing outdoor activities in her free time. She is looking forward to driving her mentees to explore the twin cities during weekends! (if they want of course :D)
Cindy Yan (Class of 2025) a sophomore majoring in psychology. She is also currently a member of the Chinese Cultural Club. She was born in China, Shanghai, and has lived there since before coming to the United States. She enjoys listening to K-pop and watching TV series and documentaries in her spare time. Two of her favorite TV series are Inside No.9 and Sherlock starred by Benedict Cumberbatch. As a mentor, she looks forward to guiding incoming students along their way as they gradually figure things out during the very first semester of their college life. She is also thrilled to help incoming students adapt better to their life here at Macalester College.
Putrimolia (Putri) Cahyudi (Class of 2025) is a sophomore majoring in Political Science and International Studies. She was born in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia but she also calls Central Java, Indonesia home. During her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, and sometimes taking photographs. She also loves spending time outdoors, drinking coffee, and going on walks. She’s excited to see and welcome you all to Mac this month!
Rola Cao (Class of 2025) is a rising sophomore with Psychology and Anthropology at Macalester College. She grew up in Nanjing, China, a city with 8 million population and 2 thousands years of history. In her free time, she is a part-time Tarot fortune-teller and enjoys making scrapbooks. She looks forward to learning more about your story and sharing more about US culture and Macalester campus culture!
Cynthia Zhang (Class of 2025) is a sophomore majoring in Economics and also thinking of double major Statistics. She was born and grew up in Tianjin, China. She enjoys reading, doing handcrafts, cooking, movies and taking long walk. She loves to provide people with help when they ask for. She is looking forward to meet all the new students as a mentor and help them start their college life.
Min Seo Kim (Class of 2025) is a sophomore majoring in Economics and Religious Studies. She was born in Seoul, South Korea, but grew up in multiple states in America. She enjoys reading, watching television, and hanging out with friends and family in her free time. She also likes exploring cafes and walking around nature parks. She is so excited to meet everyone this fall and help her mentees adjust to their new life at Mac.
Christine Oduor (Class of 2025) is a rising sophomore majoring in Mathematics. She is an international student from Kenya. She enjoys taking nature walks, watching basketball, and dancing in private. She’s really excited to meet the new students as a mentor and welcome them to college life at Macalester and life in Minnesota.
Maria Sanchez Linares (Class of 2025) is a sophomore with an undeclared major, potentially majoring in Data Science and minoring in Economics. She was born and raised in Valencia Venezuela. She will be co-charing the Adelante! Board this Fall semester and we will be working on events for the community of Latin American international students. In her free time she enjoys watching series, going to the gym and exploring the Twin Cities, especially food touring. She’s really excited to meet the incoming cohort of international students and she is looking forward to sharing her experience at Mac with them, as well as spending time with her fellow mentors and to get to know them better.