Associate Advisor Steering Committee
If you live in a campus dorm, then you have the opportunity to work closely with a member of the Associate Advisor Steering Committee and other associate advisors outside of your advising group. The Committee leads in providing an in-house support system and after hour academic resources for freshmen campus-wide. Members are associate advisors who act as liaisons with the UAAP, Graduate Resident Tutors (GRT) and Housemasters to help freshmen get the help they need in their residential communities.
2012-2013 Steering Committee Members
Baker House
I’m Michael Hwang (mshwang@MIT.EDU), from Seattle, WA. I’m a Course 20 senior, and a Course 15 minor on the side. I love serving as an Associate Advisor to help make the freshman year transition to MIT as smooth as possible. I’ve been privileged to work again with Associate Provost and Professor of EECS Martin Schmidt (winner of last year’s Outstanding Freshman Advisor Award). I spend a lot of my time on the Charles River as a coxswain for MIT’s varsity lightweight men’s crew team. Off the water, I also have a passion for cancer research, and have been privileged to participate in several UROPs during my time here. I am also serving my second term as an undergraduate representative for MIT’s Institute Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid, an awesome experience.
Bexley Hall
I'm Olivia Papa (opapa@MIT.EDU), from Winter Park, Florida. I'm a Course 7 junior double majoring in Biology & Management as well as a minor in Economics. This is my second year as an associate advisor, and I work with Ms. Lisa Desforge in a traditional advising group. I'm always happy to answer freshmen’s questions regarding academics, athletics, extracurriculars. Currently I am working in Koch Institute Lab as part of the UROP program. I spend a large amount of my time running Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track for MIT. I am involved in Greek Life here at MIT. I love becoming involved with various groups on campus. It allows me to meet very unique people with different interests and becoming more unified with the campus as a whole. In addition to sports and Greek Life, I am part of the Biology Undergraduate Student Association and SAAC as well as tutor both MIT and high school students.
Burton-Conner
I'm Katie Lee (katieleemit.edu), from Fremont, CA in the Bay Area. I've lived in the same city for my whole life, so I'm thankful for my advisor and associate advisor for helping me make the transition in my first year at MIT. I will be working with Prof. Chris Magee of Engineering Systems Division. I am excited to answer freshmen's questions and help them transition to MIT. I am a sophomore majoring in Course 10 and minoring in management and energy studies. I also serve as the Day-Of Logistics Director for the MIT Fall Career Fair, a counselor for Camp Kesem, a camp for kids whose parents have cancer. I am an active member in my sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. Apart from academics and activities, I enjoy baking, hanging out with friends, and playing water polo.
East Campus
I'm Gustavo Goretkin (goretkin@MIT.EDU), born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and raised in Hollywood, Florida. I'm in my 4th year undergrad majoring in Course 6-2. I am considering Course 18. I have been an associate advisor since Fall 2010, advising with Professor Leslie Kaelbling, who was my freshman advisor. I currently am working on two UROP projects, one in the Department of Biological Engineering and the other in CSAIL at the Learning and Intelligent Systems group. I am looking forward to going to graduate school. I speak Portuguese fluently and I've studied German and French. I'm currently learning American Sign Language with a couple of my friends. I play piano recreationally and sometimes saxophone and flute. I was bass singer in the Chorallaries for two years. I am also a tutor for HKN, the Course VI honor society and on the EECS Undergraduate Exeperience Taskforce.
MacGregor
I'm Andrew Yang (acyang@MIT.EDU), from Los Angeles, CA. I'm all over the place academically, with Course 2 and Course 3 majors and public policy and biomedical engineering minors. I absolutely love being an associate advisor-- listening to freshmen’s thoughts, giving advice, and doing anything I can to help them to succeed. I spend a lot of my time in a synthetic biology lab, engineering bacteria to do what I want, like reading patterns and making biomaterials. I also love rowing. In high school, I'd only played basketball and volleyball but MIT athletics was extremely welcoming to teach me. I now co-captain the heavyweight team and the sport has become a lifestyle. Outside of MIT, I'm very interested in social policy and spent the past summer interning in the U.S. Senate and traveling across the U.K. studying International Relations. I light up whenever I'm mentoring, tutoring, or giving lectures to local middle and high school students about science and math.
New House
I'm Anna Ho (annayq@mit.edu) from…well, it's complicated. I was born in Singapore, moved to London when I was nine and have an American accent. This is my first year as an Associate Advisor and I am working with Ms. Kara Brown, a new advisor in the UAAP. I arrived at MIT thinking I wanted to major in Brain and Cog Sci to become a neurologist, but ended up declaring a major in Physics. I spent this summer doing research on pulsars at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, while volunteering and giving talks at the local McCormick Observatory, which has all but convinced me that the astronomer-teacher/public speaker life is for me. During the school year, I juggle taking classes in a variety of departments with teaching neuroscience and physics through ESP, being sports chair and MedLink for my living group (French House), and blogging for MIT Admissions. Sophomore year, I also performed in the Musical Theatre Guild's IAP and Spring productions.
Random Hall
I’m Arianna McQuillen (kresh426@mit.edu), from Alexandria, Virginia. I’m a sophomore pursuing a major in course 2, but occasionally being distracted by interesting classes in course 3. For my freshman year, I had Concourse advising which I found to be an exciting experience. It really changed the way I look at the world and I hope to continue that collaboration with the humanities. Since I’ve been working on my dorm Exec Comm, I’m thrilled to be working more closely with students as an associate advisor! I look forward to keeping students happy and healthy! In my spare time, I do volunteer work with Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed fraternity, and with People Making a Difference. I also enjoy painting murals of my favorite anime characters and exploring the city with friends.
Senior House
I'm Katia Paramonova (paramoed@mit.edu), a full-blooded Russian raised in Pittsburgh, PA. I am a senior, passionately majoring in 22: Nuclear Engineering (I had no choice, by father and grandfather were nucE's as well!) This is my third year as an associate advisor and I have had lasting friendships with my advisees. I am working with Ms. Lauren Avalos who is the Associate Director of Admissions. I am involved in a Nuclear UROP studying how radiation influences copper, organizing waffle nights with SaveTFP, helping build a stronger relationship between MIT/US with Russia, learning the acoustic guitar, running, and acrylic painting. I've lived in many parts of campus and in Boston, participated in random activities like trash can drumming, and can only say that the more random experiences you make your time at MIT- the better!
Simmons Hall
I'm Christina Stuart (cstuart@mit.edu), from Long Island, New York. I am a junior majoring in 6-3: Computer Science and Engineering. This is my second year as an associate advisor.
In my first year, I had the chance to help any new freshman that I met within my dorm. I made sure that they were adjusting to MIT and answered any questions that I could. I enjoyed sharing my own experiences with freshmen to help them get the most out of their time at MIT. I enjoy music, dancing, reading and hanging out with friends. I also love going into Boston to explore new places. In general, my working style is to be as organized and on top of my work. I like to plan things out on calendars to try and finish my work early.
