Claremont McKenna College

Sara Birkenthal
Originally from Westfield, NJ, Sara enjoys attempting to speak in Arabic and getting into heated political debates in her free time. A lover of travel, the Middle East, the Constitution, and progressive politics, Sara spent both semesters of last year off-campus. She spent the fall in Washington, D.C. on the Washington Program and the spring studying abroad in Morocco. Having returned to Claremont for her senior year, you can find Sara drinking iced coffee and working on her thesis or helping students with their writing at the Center for Writing and Public Discourse, where she works as a writing consultant. Sara is excited to join the CWPD team and help students improve their writing techniques.

Christie Capper
Christie Capper is from near San Francisco, CA. She enjoys drinking chocolate milk, playing ping pong, and jumping--into fresh water lakes, newly raked piles of leaves, and piles of snow. She is currently a Management-Engineering student, but likes discussing other topics such as current events and politics. She would love to help you with your essay, regardless of the subject! Please come visit!

Kenneth Cunanan
Kenny Cunanan hails from the always interesting travel destination of Los Angeles California, and is planning to major in something that interests him.  (Un)fortunately, most of the majors at the school interest him, so he's going through an intense vetting process, which will be completed by next semester (hopefully).  He loves hearing himself talk, but what he enjoys more than talking is listening to other people share their stories.  This tendency manifests itself primarily in late night conversations with his precocious roommate Nadeem.   When not working as a consultant for the Center for Writing, Kenny works as a consultant for SOURCE and as a graphic designer that makes weird little posters for various organizations.  Elsewhere, he can be heard laughing at his own jokes and belting lyrics from various musicals.  

Elizabeth Duckworth
Elizabeth (who is far more likely to respond to Ducky) is from a northern suburb of Chicago, Illinois. When she is not helping peers craft concise, powerful essays she enjoys encouraging future students to commit to CMC while leading tours for the admissions office, organizing the club field hockey team's defensive unit, obsessively studying for Organic Chemistry, and spending time "wired in" while writing code for her computer science class. While not in a consulting session she would be more than happy to discuss the inherent supremacy of dogs over cats, almost any show on television, or the plight of lemurs in Madagascar. She is looking forward to seeing the reader of this bio in the Center for Writing and Public Discourse!

Nadeem Farooqi
Nadeem is from the distant land of Rancho Cucamonga, California. Currently a Government and Economics major, he enjoys engaging in philosophical and political discussions late at night with his roommate, Bruno Mars (known informally as Kenny Cunanan). When not giving tours and travelling for competitive club tournaments, Nadeem spends his time debating, watching movies, researching international and domestic politics, dancing, singing, hanging out with friends, and telling many (very, very, very, VERY many) cheesy puns and jokes. With extensive experience in argumentation and discussion characterizing his academic career, Nadeem is excited to serve as a consultant for the Center for Writing.

Lauren Gonzalez
Lauren is from Sacramento, California. She is planning to major in Chemistry (though that plan occasionally involves a Literature major). In her free time, she drenches herself in Chopin’s Nocturnes, loses her shoes, and attends as many Ath dinners as possible (usually while wearing shoes). She would be glad to assist with any variety of writing assignment!

Carly Goodkin
Carly is from Bellevue, Washington. She divides her time between art, Pedal Spin, AquaFit and dance (at some point, you may even see her in a Reverb hip hop performance). Carly loves Claremont, but she left her heart in Madrid where she lived and studied this past summer. Having taught as a tutor and a choreographer throughout high school, Carly is enjoying the opportunity to continue working with other students as a writing consultant.

Laila Heid
Laila is from Bellevue, Washington. Although she is still undecided, Laila is strongly considering dual majoring in Government and Psychology with a Leadership sequence. Laila's academic interests, however, extend beyond these areas of study. She has studied French for eight years now and has even had the opportunity to participate in an exchange to Nantes for several weeks. In addition, Laila is currently studying Portuguese at Pomona and is hoping to study abroad in Brazil next spring. Laila is also extremely passionate about the performing arts and is an active participant in the CMC theater group, Under the Lights. Laila is excited to join the team at the Center for Writing and Public Discourse and help her peers in any way she can!

McKenzie Javorka
McKenzie is from a little town called Kalispell, tucked up into the Rockies in northwest Montana. She knows her way around a grizzly bear and has taken on a mountain or two in her day, but don't let that scare you. When she's not in the wilderness, McKenzie studies Psychology and Literature, and aims to earn her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology after graduating from CMC. She is an avid reader of many genres, but does hold a soft spot for Jane Austen and Shakespeare. When she isn't helping students with papers at the Center for Writing and Public Discourse, she can be found raising money for the school at Phonenite or doing psychology research with Professor Krauss's lab team. McKenzie is an active member of SPEAR, CMC's environmental club, and during her free time enjoys doing ballet and modern dance, playing her guitar and singing, or simply being outdoors.

Kyle Jenkins
Kyle is an Economics/Accounting major who hails from the city of Laguna Beach, California. In his free time, he enjoys playing the guitar, hanging out at the beach, and longboarding around campus. He recently returned from a semester abroad in Quito, Ecuador, where he developed a fascination with the cultural and political landscape of Latin America. He hopes to one day go into international business in order to travel abroad as part of his job.

Anna Joseph
Anna is a Religious Studies and International Relations dual major, and she will try to utilize that knowledge in some yet undetermined field of law. She is originally from New York City and spent her junior year in the United Kingdom, but is glad to be back in sunny California! Anna particularly enjoys discussing the coming presidential election, international headlines, and last week’s episode of Dexter.

Aliza Kellerman
Aliza is closer to completing her Religious Studies major than fulfilling her GE's. She is looking forward to spending a semester abroad in Rome, where she will consume as much gelato and pasta as possible while hoping to come back somewhat fluent in Italian. She enjoys editing papers of every creed and color, but she is partial toward Philosophy papers and anything Religious Studies related.

Simon Ma
Simon is majoring in Biology and Economics. His interests include dancing, writing, and rooting for his favorite sports teams. As an avid Broncos fan, Simon wholeheartedly believes that Tim Tebow will develop into the best quarterback to ever play the game of football. Simon spends his weekends studying Organic Chemistry and volunteering at the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. In addition to assisting students at the Center for Writing and Public Discourse, Simon works as a Lab TA for General Chemistry. He has taken numerous science courses, and is very familiar with the structure of lab reports.

Gracie Mahan
Gracie is from the great plains of Lubbock, Texas! She is dual majoring in International Relations and Literature, and she spent this past summer working in a federal genetics laboratory in Texas. Gracie has always had a love of writing, and she has been tutoring since she was a wee little lassie. Gracie also works for the Children's School, and she spends the fall and spring semesters teaching writing seminars at Pomona High School.

Regina Mullen
A Literature and International Relations dual major from Menlo Park, California, Regina enjoys hiking, Mexican food, Latin American literature, and cats.  Apart from working at the Center for Writing and Public Discourse, Regina plays for the CMS volleyball team, works in the equipment room, and hopes to study abroad in Prague.  Some more of her favorite things include spending time with her brothers and eating breakfast for dinner.  She’s also never met a Harrison Ford movie she didn’t like.  Regina is happy to help students of every discipline with papers at any stage of the writing process and is available to help with beginning level Spanish papers as well.

Russell Page
From the land of green chile and hot air balloons (Albuquerque, New Mexico), Russell is a History and Government major who loves discussing any issues related to his beloved Land of Enchantment. On campus, he runs varsity cross country and track for CMS, which means, simply, that he is a masochist. As the Web Editor for the Claremont Port Side, he drives web content for the progressive publication. A proud non-conformist, he was a punk rock lead singer in a former life. He has involved himself in politics through internships for the Obama campaign and in the Senate Office of the Honorable Tom Udall. This past summer, he helped mentor children of American servicemen stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany. At the Center for Writing and Public Discourse, Russell hopes to help students master the craft of writing so they can express themselves and learn critical thinking skills.

Shree Pandya
Shree is a Government-Economics dual major. In addition to consulting at the Center for Writing and Public Discourse, she works for the Keck Center of International and Strategic Studies and is a research assistant for the Government department. Her academic interests include (but definitely aren't limited to): sustainable development, History, Government/International Relations, Literature, and Gender Studies. In her free time, she can be found strumming her guitar idly or reading decidedly nonacademic science fiction and fantasy novels. That, or watching reruns of Castle or Firefly.

Claudia Raigoza
Claudia was born in sunny Hollywood, California. However, her claim to fame came a bit later in life as a model in a couture fashion show, which helped raise funds to benefit the local school district. Currently, majoring in Government and Spanish with a sequence in Leadership Studies, stardom has dictated a more realistic role for her. After interning for doctors and rocket scientists (literally) on a virtual collaboration project for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and JPL/NASA, “algorithms” and "research" have taken on new meanings. When she is not proof-reading papers in two languages, Claudia is busy working as a Research Assistant and Student Coordinator for KLI. With time-management on her side, she is able to enjoy Stags Soccer games and co-authors a blog which recounts the days in the life of a sassy Maltese named “Ladybug.”

Clare Riva
Clare is a Maryland native who loves CMC but misses seasons. She supplements her time at the Center for Writing with jobs at the Ath and the Admissions Office, so you can often find her wandering around north campus yelling out CMC facts. She also serves as Senior Class President and spent the past two summers interning in Washington, D.C.  As a philosophy major, she gets undue enjoyment from reading and structuring arguments of any kind, so bring her your paper in whatever subject! It will seriously make her day.

Alyssa Roberts
Hailing from the mountain-framed city of Denver, Colorado, Alyssa is a Government major who spends her free time baking cupcakes, citing the Constitution, and perfecting prose. Throughout her primary and secondary education, her newspaper editor father butchered her five-paragraph essays until they bled red ink. Though traumatized by the constant criticism of her spelling skills, this experience shaped Alyssa into a superior copy-editor and argumentation consultant. Combining her love of writing with her passion for progressive politics, Alyssa serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Claremont Port Side. She has also interned at the White House, the Center for American Progress, and on various campaigns. Her favorite punctuation mark is the en dash – use it wisely.

Anne Rynearson
Anne is from New Hampshire. A Government major, she has an interest in K-12 education policy. Anne is eager to assist students at any stage in the writing process. Since she also works for the Office of Annual Giving, Anne is a great source for students who want to craft an email to get their parents to send them cash.

Veronica Salas
Veronica hails from Mesa, Arizona and hopes to dual-major in Economics and International Relations with a focus on Latin America. When she is not at the Center for Writing and Public Discourse, you might find Veronica laying poolside or sprawled on the grass with a book in hand. Her academic interests outside her major include the Spanish language, analyzing rhetorical strategies, creative writing and queer/feminist theory. At CMC, Veronica has served as an America Reads tutor at Vista Valle Elementary School, volunteer at Pomona High School with the Education Task Force, a sponsor for first-year students through Chicano/Latino Student Affairs, and a grant-writing and development consultant with SOURCE, a student-run non-profit consulting organization that services the Claremont community.

Nora Studholme
Nora is from far-away Charlottesville, Virginia. She is a double major in Economics and Anthropology with her sights set on someday working in and with developing nations. While Nora dreams of someday running her own business, one of her most fond ambitions is to get old and sit on her porch in a rocking chair, spending each day writing in the sunshine. For now, she is delighted with teaching yoga, writing articles and editing for “The Forum," and adoring CMC and life in general. Bring her a paper of ANY topic, and she will be genuinely excited and you will have made her day!

Clancy Tripp
Clancy Tripp is from Indiana where she is surrounded by cornfields and the state beverage is water.  She is currently a Literature and Media Studies major who takes, in the registrar’s opinion, entirely too many Creative Writing classes.  She also works for The Forum and recently began her own CMC-centric satire site called The Golden Antlers.  She is a staunch defendant of the Oxford comma but will still be friends with you if you forget to use it.  She looks forward to tutoring you!

Chloe Whang
Chloe is from Seoul, Korea. She is majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. Chloe plans to go on to graduate school right after college but later hopes to be "that lucky girl" who takes over the most coveted seat behind the news desk at KBS, a major TV station in South Korea. While not working at the Center for Writing, she can be found walking around campus with her pink "sunbrella,” taking impulsive road trips to the beach, or exploring different cafes around Claremont. She looks forward to working with her peer writers on a variety of writing assignments.