Andrew Danowitz

Welcome Rains Residents! My name is Andrew, and I'm one of the Frontier CAs . I did my undergrad at Harvey Mudd, and I'm now a 5th year PhD student in Electrical Engineering at Stanford. When I'm not working, I enjoy hiking, playing guitar, dancing, running, hitting the gym, playing tennis, watching movies, and hanging out. I'm always looking for cool stuff to do, so if you have any ideas for events, drop me a line or come over and say hi.

Calvin Wang

Hi everyone, and welcome to Rains! My name is Calvin and I live in the Frontier, the best location in Rains! I was born in the beautiful coastal city of Yantai, China. Halfway through high school, I moved to Houston, TX, and later attended college at UC Berkeley (Go Bears!). Currently I am a second-year Master's student in Human Computer Interaction, aiming for a career in user experience/product management. In my spare time, I enjoy social dancing (Richard Powers!), table tennis, and bowling. When the weather is nice, I like going outdoors biking, hiking, or skiing. I'm excited to be a Rains CA, and I look forward to meeting you!

Colleen Rosania

Hey everyone, and welcome to Rains! I'm Colleen and a CA for the best neighborhood of all, the Plains of Rains! I'm a third year Aeronautics & Astronautics PhD student here at Stanford specializing in structures and materials, specifically composite materials such as carbon fiber reinforced polymers. Originally I hail from Alexandria, VA and I did my undergrad degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Rochester in New York before coming to sunny and amazing Stanford. When not breaking things in lab (experiments are awesome!) I enjoy swimming, social dance, and watching or reading as much sci-fi as possible. I'm super excited to be a CA this year, meet all of you and run fantastic events!

Etosha Cave

Welcome to Rains!! I am a mechanical engineering student from Houston, Tx. I love spicy foods and great conversations. For fun, I like to listen to stand-up comedy and to spend time in the city. I am excited to be a CA this year and to reside in MCTH. My fellow CAs and I are looking to make Rains the most social graduate place on campus!

Hrishi Goel

Hi everyone! My name is Hrishi R Goel and I am excited to be a new CA for the Hood neighborhood (Go Hoodlums!). I've started my schooling in Mumbai, India and did my junior and senior year of high school in Singapore. Got my Mechanical Engineering undergrad in Gatech, Atlanta (Fear the bee!!) and after working for about 3 odd years in India have come to Stanford to pursue my Masters in Management Science & Engineering. I'm as laid back guy and love being part of putting together cool events for residents to enjoy. So if you have any ideas, please let me know! We are lucky to be living in Rains where so many unbelievable graduate students reside and as you can tell new cultural experiences intrigue me and I will try and bring as much as Stanford's diverse cultural experiences to you. So, if you have ever are unsure about anything please dont hesitate to reach out!"

Javier Stober

Hi! My name is Javier and I'm a 3rd-Year grad student in Aero/Astro Engineering. I had the good fortune of being a University of Florida Gator for undergrad, before coming out to the Bay Area. My academic background and interest is in all things propulsion, but I particularly fancy experimental hybrid rocket propulsion. Ask me about it, and our conversation will have no end. When not launching rockets, I thoroughly enjoy learning about different cultures, road-tripping aimlessly, and musical theater.

I'm super-psyched to be serving the Rains community as a CA and look forward to the opportunity of supporting Rainsians in any capacity. Don't hesitate to shoot me an email or stop me to say hello :)

Joe Funke

Hey! I'm Joe, one of the Plains of Rains CAs. I'm from (the great state of!) Ohio and did my undergrad at the Franklin Olin College of Engineering, a new and small school outside Boston. Afterwards, I came directly to grad school here at Stanford, where I'm now beginning my 3rd year in Mechanical Engineering. I play with cars and computers, both in the lab and for fun. Outside of that, I'm always looking for new experiences and hope I can introduce you guys to some great things to do here at Stanford!

John Taggart

Welcome to Rains! My name's John, and I'm one of the CAs for the Beach House neighborhood. I'm a second year grad student in Management Science & Engineering, focusing on energy systems. Prior to Stanford, I went to undergrad at Princeton University and then worked for two years in Washington, D.C in science and tech policy. I'm a fan of pretty much anything that doesn't involve staring at a computer screen, and takes advantage of California's perpetually perfect weather. In my free time (when there is any, and often when there isn't), you'll likely find me running the Dish, tossing a frisbee in front of Willis, playing a pickup soccer game, or hiking up in the Santa Cruz mountains. I'm looking forward to seeing you at the awesome Rains events we've got in store for you this year, and if you ever have any questions, or suggestions for fun activities, just let me know!

Julie Blumreiter

Hi my name is Julie but you can call me Badger if you like. I'm from Wisconsin, and yes... I do love cheese and the Green Bay Packers.. and I'm also Lutheran (so cliché). I'll be a CA in Hilgard this year, as well as a 4th year PhD student in Mechanical Engineering. My research focus is making car engines more efficient... but I probably won't help you soup up that Accord you're driving. I like watching football, baking, playing board games, and keeping active with things such as biking, weightlifting, yoga, volleyball, racketball, etc. I hope to plan lots of active events in Rains! I also hope to make volunteer opportunities more accessible to Rains residents. Contact me with fun event ideas and we'll make it happen!

Karla Gleichauf

Hey there! I'm Karla and I'm a CA in the Frontier. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, I attended Rice University before I came out to Stanford. I am a 5th year PhD student (already?!) in the Environmental Fluid Mechanics Laboratory in Civil and Environmental Engineering, which means that I really enjoy studying and being in the water. Besides water, I love baking, running, traveling, cooking, and spending time in the amazing California weather! Rains has been a great place to make new friends and unwind after lab, so I hope to continue running fun events for you guys!

Konrad Karczewski

Hey! I'm Konrad and I'm a CA in the best place to live on campus, MCTH (and unlike everyone else that says that, I have data to back me up). I'm a 4th year in the Biomedical Informatics program, but really spend most of my time in the Genetics department, thinking about what your genome can do for you. I grew up outside Philadelphia and went to undergrad at Princeton. Yes, I spent a lot of time in New Jersey and the Jersey shore. No, my life wasn't like that. I love running and biking, especially the Dish and the foothills. Oh, and hiking, skiing, golf, sailing, windsurfing. That and going out downtown and throwing parties. And festival-type concerts. And vegetarian food (and vegan food, though completely giving up cheese is not something I'm prepared to do). And wine. And discovering fun new things. I look forward to meeting you all and a great year with you and my awesome co-CAs. Let me know if you have any ideas for activities!

Kunal Sahasrabuddhe

Hello and welcome to Rains! My name is Kunal Sahasrabuddhe, and I am a CA for the Plains of Rains, the most awesome and happening neighbourhood in Rains! I am a fourth year PhD student in applied physics, currently working with a material science group on solar energy conversion. I've spent most of my life in India, where I was born and raised, so if you want to know more about the country, come ask me. I've been in the US since starting college at UC Berkeley (Go Bears!) back in 2004.

I like to sing and dance, and love cooking and watersports. I'm also always up for go karting; the thrill and adrenaline are hard to match! I love putting together and attending all sorts of fun events, so you'll probably see me around Rains events quite often. I like to try new things too! If you have an idea for an event, for something you love doing and would like to share with others, let me know!

Laura Campo

Hey there! I'm Laura, and I'm a CA in the Midtown neighborhood of Rains. I'm a fourth year PhD student in the Mechanical Engineering department, where I do experiments to study shock dynamics in high speed flows. I lived in a whole bunch of different places when I was growing up, so I never have a good answer for where my hometown is (but will tell you the whole saga if you're willing to listen!). I went to undergrad at Rice University in Houston, TX, and then spent a year at University of Cambridge before coming to the beautiful Bay Area. In my free time, I enjoy swimming, running, hiking, skiing, photography, and cooking/baking. I'm really looking forward to putting together some awesome events for you this year. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to drop me a line!

Lauren Howe

Hey everyone! My name is Lauren, and I'm one of your CAs in Midtown. I'm a 2nd year PhD in Social Psychology (studying morality), and grew up in Virginia, where I was proud to be a Wahoo for undergrad :) I lived in Germany for a couple years studying abroad and teaching English, so I love travelling and practicing my German. In my spare time I enjoy doing anything outdoors (especially hiking and swimming), learning how to cook, reading as much as possible, and live music -- although I'm interested in almost everything and will try pretty much anything once! Mostly I love getting to know people, so drop me a line anytime, and let me know if there's anything you'd like to see happen around Rains!

Madeleine Udell

How do you do! I'm Madeleine, and I'm quite pleased to meet you. I'm a fourth year in Computational and Mathematical Engineering, aka iCME, aka Applied Math, studying optimization, high-dimensional statistics, and model selection in complex networks. In my less ethereal life, you'll find me climbing the courtyard lemon trees in pursuit of elusive ripe fruit, and running in dangerously minimal footwear, and in my moderately ethereal life you may notice some harp music wafting out of my window. Graduate school is no walk in the park, either academically or socially, but living in Rains makes it at least a walk in a forest with well-tended trails. Your CAs are here to help you meet other students in diverse disciplines and to create opportunities to talk when you're feeling less-than-rosy, and we'd love to hear any recommendations for how we can do it better. If you're needing a cup of tea, recommendations for on-campus tangerine trees, or a friendly ear, please do let me know!

Mahalia Miller

My name's Mahalia Miller and I'm a head CA here in Rains along with Andrew Danowitz. I'm from Wisconsin originally and went to MIT and Cambridge University for undergrad. I came to California to study earthquake engineering and now I'm focusing on seismic risk analysis of transportation networks. In my free time I enjoy running, hiking, cooking for friends, and traveling. If you have any suggestions for Rains events or how we can be a support network, please don't hesitate to contact me. I look forward to meeting you!

Sarah Barrett

Hey there! I'm Sarah Barrett and I'm a second year PhD student in Geophysics. I'm unbelievably jazzed to be one of The Hood CAs in Rains this year. There are so many interesting things to do at and around Stanford, and I'm super excited to plan lots of new and crazy events! I love traveling, coffee, yoga, coffee, running, coffee, and trying new things (like for me, playing tennis!). If you ever see me out and about be sure to say "hello!" - I'll see you around!

Sayuri Yapa

Hi, and welcome to Rains! I'm pumped to be a CA in the Beach House this year. I'm originally from upstate NY, but have called California home for the past couple years and am a 4th year in Mechanical Engineering. In my spare time, I compete for the Stanford Taekwondo Team, run, swim, and will try almost any new sport (I've recently tried surfing, climbing, and mountain biking - all were awesome!). I also love to draw, paint, cook, bake, and feed people, and am looking forward to hosting some fun events for you all. See you around Rains, and feel free to let me know if you have any suggestions for events!

Scott Arcenas

Howdy, and welcome to Rains! My name is Scott, and I'm neither an engineer nor a scientist of any sort. In fact, I'm a second-year PhD student in the Classics Department, focusing primarily on Greek political and legal history, during the 6th-4th centuries, B.C.. Originally from Casper, Wyoming, I now both live and serve as a CA in the Multicultural Theme House (MCTH!). In my spare time (and yes, grad school really does leave you spare time!), I enjoy any and all water sports, hiking, fishing, cooking, eating-basically anything that involves food, the outdoors, or (preferably) both. I look forward to meeting you all, and please don't hesitate to contact me, if you have any questions or concerns.

Sharon Briggs

Hi!! I'm Sharon and I am a returning CA in MCTH this year. I am a third year in the Genetics Department studying the X chromosome in stem cells. I am originally from West Virginia and went to college at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, which has made me a huge Steelers fan!! For fun, when I am not watching football, I love playing soccer and most other sports, reading, going to brunch, watching Stanford sports teams, drinking milk, being outside, traveling, organizing things, going out with friends in Palo Alto and SF, and baking! I'm excited for this year and hope you are too!!

Vladimir Troyansky

Warm welcomes to Rains! My name is Vladimir and I am a CA for Hilgard, the biggest neighbourhood in Rains! I am a second-year PhD student in History and I am focusing on Modern Middle Eastern and Ottoman history, so the chances are you will hear me digressing about the awesomeness of the Arab Spring (and hummus) at some point this year. I completed my undergraduate and Master's degrees in bonny Scotland, at St Andrews and Edinburgh. When I am not in Green Library or organising something really cool in Rains, I am probably chilling in Starbucks. I love travelling. Prior to coming to Stanford, I lived in Syria, Egypt, Israel, and Turkey for short periods of time. I am very excited about this coming year! Hilgardians, please, remember that if you have any questions, queries, complaints, suggestions - any whatsoever, whether about your residential experience or graduate life in general - I am here for you! Get in touch! Let's make this year awesome!