Meet the ESCAPE Team

ESCAPE Staff

Nicole Sandonato (she/her)

ESCAPE Program Director

Home: Boston, MA

Could talk about forever? Burnout prevention, Beyoncé, & creating spaces of authenticity.

Hailey Ahn CAS’27 (she/they)

ESCAPE Retreat Coordinator

Home: North Potomac, MD

Could talk about forever? Brooklyn 99, Seventeen, etymology, dogs

Tasha Koch, SFS’27 (she/they)

ESCAPE Retreat Coordinator

Home: Eagan, MN

Could talk about forever? The Duomo, the importance of learning to mend things, and planning random fun events to hang out with friends

Ariel Armas, SFS’28 (he/him)

ESCAPE Outreach and Access Coordinator

Home: Enid, OK & Guadalajara, Mexico

Could talk about forever? Twitter conspiracy theories and my NFL fantasy team

Ethan Bird, CAS’28 (he/him)

ESCAPE Student Musician

Home: Laytonsville, MD

Could talk about forever? Déjà vu, good restaurants, and faith

ESCAPE Team 36 Leaders

Aaron Halder (he/him)

College of Arts and Sciences ’28

Home: Queens, NY

Could talk about forever? Halo lore

Abbie MacLeod (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘29

Home: Menlo Park, California

Could talk about forever? Tap dance, women’s basketball, and Reneé Rapp!

Abigail Hahn (she/her)

School of Foreign Service ‘27

Home: Charlotte, North Carolina

Could talk about forever? Democratic theory, the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, and the interrelation of place and self

Abigail Hancock (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘29

Home: Laguna Beach, CA

Could talk about forever? Urban Planning

Amelie Nordstrom (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘29

Home: Stockholm, Sweden & San Francisco, CA

Could talk about forever? Classic design, music, women’s figure skating in the Olympics

Annie McGraw (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘29

Home: Hoboken, NJ

Could talk about forever? The importance of indie bookstores, Taylor Swift’s Red album, Derry Girls

Blessing Nguyen (she/her)

School of Foreign Service ‘28

Home: Virginia

Could talk about forever? My dog, volleyball, and the ocean!

Braeden Lenehan (he/him)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘28

Home: New York City

Could talk about forever? Why birds are the coolest and why Ohio is a great state.

Brooke Bergin (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘27

Home: Dallas, TX

Could talk about forever? Traveling, faith, and my favorite books

Caroline Chou (she/her)

McDonough School of Business ’27

Home: Potomac, MD

Could talk about forever? Hermit crab poetry, Ateez lore, Hadestown, highly-specific Spotify playlists

Caroline Sippel (she/her)

School of Foreign Service ’27

Home: St. Louis, MO & Reston, VA

Could talk about forever? Rock music, caffeinated drinks, and my dog

Cecily Luby (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘29

Home: Philadelphia

Could talk about forever? My favorite TV show “The Good Place”

Celestia Zhao (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘29

Home: Beijing, China

Could talk about forever? Detective films, Pets, Chinese Heritage

Celise Lin (he/they)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘29

Home: New York, New York

Could talk about forever? Storytelling and how to find ourselves in the media we consumer (aka Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, for those who know ball)

Charlotte Park (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘27

Home: Overland Park, Kansas

Could talk about forever? Dreams (literal and figurative), ice cream, and the Midwest

Chloe Bierria (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘28

Home: Atlanta, Georgia

Could talk about forever? I could talk about anime forever! I have completed over 100 shows and my number 1 is Soul Eater.

Dani del Rosal (she/her)

School of Foreign Service ‘27

Home: Miami

Could talk about forever? My experience growing up as a twin and my love of good food

Ella Chernauskas (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘29

Home: Bronx, NY

Could talk about forever? The Amish, cats, french onion soup, and canoeing

Elle Marinello (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ’28

Home: Covington, Louisiana

Could talk about forever? Movies, Greek Mythology, and Snoopy from the Peanuts.

Elliott Schusky (he/him)

School of Foreign Service ‘28

Home: Southern Illinois

Could talk about forever? Linguistics

Iris Cho (she/her)

School of Health ‘29

Home: Mukilteo, WA

Could talk about forever? Korean pop-culture and how to catch mice in dorms

Jakob Weir (he/him)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘29

Home: Brooklyn, NYC

Could talk about forever? Public transit, biking, board games (especially social deduction games)

Jaylen Peng (he/him)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘29

Home: Princeton, NJ

Could talk about forever? Why being good at tennis is hard

Josie Hwang (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘27

Home: Singapore

Could talk about forever? Pokemon Go, public transportation, types of clarinets

Julia Bui (she/they)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘29

Home: DC 

Could talk about forever? Meteorites & bts

Julia Lewis (she/her)

McDonough School of Business ‘29

Home: Middletown, CT

Could talk about forever? The Tour de France and my favorite cyclists

Juliana Melara-Recinos (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘27

Home: New Bedford, MA and Silver Spring, MD

Could talk about forever? MASSACHUSETTS SUPREMACY!!!!, Our infinite universe…✨✨ El Salvador (hehehe), and My family <3

Katherine Chow (she/her)

School of Foreign Service ‘28

Home: North Potomac, MD

Could talk about forever? The New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show

Katie Claes (she/her)

School of Health ‘29

Home: Cincinnati, Ohio

Could talk about forever? Why Ohio is the best state ever, strawberries, and claymation movies

Manuel Brito (he/him)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘29

Home: Santa Ana, California

Could talk about forever? Putting myself out there and connecting with everything—people, nature, and myself.

Megan Klingler (she/her)

School of Foreign Service ‘29

Home: Atlanta, Georgia

Could talk about forever? Caravaggio, American History, and what food I’m cooking next!

Nadia Goldman (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘29

Home: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Could talk about forever? Philosophy, music (classical, AJR, etc.), faith, figure skating, and bees.

Natalia Gonzalez-Chelala (she/her)

School of Foreign Service ‘29

Home: Houston, Texas

Could talk about forever? Poetry, rock bands, and voting systems

Rio Hevia Silveira (they/he)

School of Foreign Service ‘27

Home: Miami, FL & Santiago, Chile

Could talk about forever? The politics of sci-fi and fantasy books (especially dystopian fiction)

Rylie Hannon (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ’27

Home: Fountain Inn, South Carolina

Could talk about forever? My time as a summer camp counselor, my little brother, my chocolate lab (Mousse!), and Taylor Swift!!!

Saachi Rajgarhia (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘29

Home: Holland, Michigan

Could talk about forever? Lake Michigan, math’s vast applications, my friends, the beauty in a coffee date

Samantha Balida (she/her)

School of Nursing ‘29

Home: Florida 

Could talk about forever? Music, cooking, and baking

Serafin Burgulla-Marca (he/him)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘28

Home: Bolivia

Could talk about forever? Latin American history, Bolivian politics, and AI dystopias scenarios.

Sophia Alexandrou (she/her)

School of Foreign Service ‘27

Home: White Plains, NY

Could talk about forever? Wiener dogs, Cyprus, musical theater

Tej Rana (he/him/his)

School of Foreign Service ‘28

Home: Centerport, NY

Could talk about forever? My favorite shows, comics, movies, etc. & Philosophy

Violet Lowry (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘29

Home: Mascoutah, Il

Could talk about forever? Music!

Yasmin Diallo (she/her)

College of Arts and Sciences ‘28

Home: Atlanta, Georgia

Could talk about forever? How cheesecake is the most wonderful dessert!