Elizabeth Constable is a freshman from New York, though her family is from Hawaii. Her dream is to double major in Anthropology and International relations, as with this background she can make the greatest impact trying to positively affect the indigenous people of the Pacific Islands. In her free time, she loves to dance with Stanford's Polynesian dance group.
Emma Broderick was born and raised on the island of O'ahu, Hawaii. She has always had a love for culture, for nature, and for the sun. She believes that education has the capacity to do amazing things and has spent many hours tutoring those back home as well as in East Palo Alto. Stanford has allowed Emma to continue her interests in sustainability, education, and the perpetuation of Hawaiian culture.
Gregory Carter graduated from Stanford University winter quarter of 2009 with a degree in Linguistics. Languages fascinate him, as does the culture that accompanies them. From his first experience abroad in Japan during the summer of 2003 to the linguistic conference he attended in Kingston, Jamaica last summer, he has immersed himself in the various cultures of the world and studying their language and communication habits has become one of his hobbies and a passion he continues to cultivate. Education is another of his long-held interests, and he is excited to be joining Panango to test the waters and see what being a teacher is all about.
Anthony Bosman was born and raised in Orlando, Florida. Now a freshman at Stanford, he is looking forward to majoring in mathematics. He loves any type of activity, especially service, that lets him put my faith into action.
Autumn Albers is a sophomore from Danville, California, and is pursuing a degree in human biology. When she isn't playing softball and has free time, she loves to read, draw, and do jigsaw puzzles. Gregarious and enthusiastic, Autumn loves meeting new people and cannot wait to go to Karkar Island!
Hayley Tobin is a sophomore psych major and a member of Stanford's varsity sailing team. She thrives off of trying and discovering new things, and is incredibly excited that this summer she will have the opportunity to meet the people of Karkar and share English with them while learning about their culture and languages.
Suzan Ahmed is a senior finishing a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Human Biology at Stanford. Suzan has always enjoyed helping others and looks forward to being able to give back after having been given the amazing opportunity to learn at Stanford. She loves to dance and is in the on-campus hip-hop dance troupe Dv8; her other campus activities include staffing at the Bridge Peer Counseling Center and serving as the Cultural Awareness Associate in Naranja dormitory. Eventually, Suzan plans to pursue graduate studies and a career in clinical psychology, but until then she is excited to be a part of the Panango team and hopes to gain fulfilling and unforgettable experiences from this summer that will enable her to better help many more people throughout her life.
Julie Smith is a sophomore majoring in Earth Systems through the Anthrosphere track. She was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and even though she grew up in an urban city, she loves the outdoors. At Stanford, she is on the Stanford Ski Team, tutors at EPATT twice a week, and is involved in SPOT, the Stanford Pre-Orientation Program. In her free time, she loves to ski, backpack, and hike.
Olivia Ishibashi is a junior at Stanford majoring in Human Biology with an area of concentration of cultural and biological aspects of community health. She loves traveling and has volunteered in Guatemala for a summer and studied abroad in Paris last fall. She hopes to teach English as well as health education while in Papua New Guinea.
Erica Toews is a junior at Stanford and is double majoring in English and Philosophy. Outside school, she tutors an elementary school kid two days a week, tutors prisoners in San Francisco, and chills with the patients in the Menlo Park Veterans Affairs Hospital. She is very enthusiastic about teaching in Papua New Guinea this summer and getting to know a culture completely different from her own.
Stephen Miranda is a freshman from New York. At Stanford, he is a pre-medical student and aspires to be a surgeon and harbors a passion for Classics. Teaching gives Stephen a real sense of self-worth, as he helps someone grapple with an idea, watching them take it and make it their own. He is excited for the new and challenging experience of traveling and teaching in Papua New Guinea.
Yihana Ritter is a sophomore studying political science. Her passion for human rights has not only not only led her to Panango's education program, but has also sparked her interest in health equity as a human right. During her free time in Karkar this summer, she hopes to conduct research on the response to HIV/AIDS in PNG.
Nick Mendoza is a freshman from beautiful San Diego. He is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys ocean kayaking, hunting, fishing and spearfishing, all activities he is very excited to continue on Karkar. Nick is interested in a career in third-world microfinance/ social entrepreneurialism or oceans management and sustainable resources, though for now he wants to travel and experience as much of the world as possible.
Rutger Rosenborg is a freshman at Stanford University. He is passionate about music and has been playing guitar since the age of 10. As of yet, he is undecided what he will major in, but is leaning towards biology or psychology with a concentration in neuroscience. He and Nick will be making a research documentary about the trip.
Kapono Chang, Stanford '11, studies traditional health and medicine at Stanford. On Karkar, he taught 6th grade math and science at Taleng Primary School.
Jessica Hawkins, Stanford '11, studies Mechanical Engineering at Stanford. On Karkar, she taught English to 3rd-5th graders at Kidoka Primary School.
Katherine Heflin, Stanford '11, is an American Studies Major with an International Policy focus. She enjoys discussing politics, rowing lightweight, and her career aspirations including becoming a political adviser. She grew up in Topeka, Kansas, but attended boarding school for all four years of high school at Choate Rosemary Hall, in Wallingford, Connecticut.
Heather Heistand, Stanford '08, studied Anthropology and journalism at Stanford. On Karkar, she taught 7th grade English and science at Taleng Primary, an incredible experience that inspired her to return to Karkar in 2009 and ultimately led her to apply to teach in the Peace Corps. She plans to return to live and teach in PNG someday soon.
Christa Morris, Stanford '10, is a HumBio major. As a Panango co-founder, she traveled to Karkar on the initial reconnaissance trip and then back to lead the trip in 2008. On campus, she is a member of Spoken Word and promoter of all things PNG.
Julie Nager, Stanford '11, is still undecided on a major. On Karkar, she taught English to 1st-5th graders at Langlang Primary School.
Rick Ramirez is twenty years old and six years out of his prime, and currently a junior at Stanford University studying Mathematical and Computational Sciences. He has recently transformed his room into a Papua New Guinean relic and currently has plans to apply his spear fishing skills to the bottom dwelling fish of local lakes. He loves the outdoors, backpacking, tennis, hucking a disk around, and getting way too deep in philosophical discussions. He fell in love with Papua New Guinea and rejects modern conveniences...like civilization (thanks Onion Atlas for making my exchange so entertaining).
Andy Schneider, Stanford '08, studied International Relations at Stanford. On Karkar, when he wasn't spear fishing, he taught English at Ilu Bangame Primary School. Andy spearheaded the Panango Policy Analysis Group, which presented a detailed report of observations on education, infrastructure, and government oversight policy and practice to the Madang Provincial Government upon leaving PNG. Post Panango, he interned for Ambassador Paki in Washington D.C.
Dani Uribe, Stanford '11, is a Political Science major at Stanford. On Karkark, she taught economics and social science at Karkar Secondary School.
Ryan Williams, Stanford '08, studied Math and Computational Science. He taught math at Karkar Secondary this past summer before taking up a position at Google in New York.