Past Fellows for Meeting the Moment
This page contains the past fellow cohort of the Meeting the Moment program. Use the links below to navigate through the years.
2023-2024 Fellows
Cristina Barnard (She/Her) is a continuous learner and an explorer of life. Cristina is pursuing an MA in International Educational Policy Analysis, and she holds an undergraduate degree in Economics. Cristina is passionate about promoting a more inclusive society through education. Cristina’s heart extends beyond her academic field of study. Art has been deeply engrained in Cristina’s life all her life. She has engaged in theater, creative writing, and ceramics. Cristina’s main source of inspiration is nature. She thinks of art as a vehicle to explore intuition, shared wisdom, and joy. Cristina loves embodiment practices and meditation. She finds in these practices a path toward self-awareness and connection with others.
Hello everyone! My name is Eva Saenz and I'm a current Junior studying Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity and Psychology. I'm really excited to be a part of this class this quarter and can't wait to meet everyone! On my free time you can usually catch me going on a long walk, practicing music, or trying to learn a new hobby. I grew up in a valley of Washington State and as a product love being outside, love biking around with friends, and love a good apple. Happy to be back on campus and be with you guys for this class, can't wait to see what's to come!
Julia Yu (she/her) is a second-year M.A. student at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA). She completed a B.S. in Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience, and B.A. in Vocal Performance from the University of California, San Diego before coming back to her home in the Bay Area to integrate her two interests at Stanford. She can usually be found either in the Neuromusic Lab conducting EEG research or practicing for singing performances in Braun Music Center. Throughout the school year, Julia will also be practicing different meditation techniques with the Buddhist Community at Stanford and singing with the Stanford Memorial Church Choir which performs for Sunday University Public Worship. When it comes to wellness, Julia hopes to explore how we can strengthen our mind-body connections to promote our well-being. She is looking forward to learning alongside and helping people who are choosing to Meet the Moment during her time as a Fellow.
Sehajleen Kaur ’24 (she/her) is a senior majoring in Science, Technology, and Society. Her interests include languages, tech policy, music history and production, comedy, and understanding systems and how people interact within them. She’s excited to explore new wellness perspectives in our class.
2022-2023 Fellows
Suyoun Choi ’24 is a junior majoring in Biology and potentially minoring in Psychology. He was born in Seoul, South Korea and raised in Beaverton, Oregon. His passions and hobbies include cancer biology research, swimming, cooking, eating, and playing the piano for fun. As a self-described grower and scientist, his curiosity drives both his exploration of the world of molecular biology and his dedication to open minded interactions with others as he searches for his path to help those around him be the happiest and healthiest versions of themselves.
Luke Lamberti '24 is a junior majoring in History and minoring in Spanish. He was raised in suburban Illinois. He's passionate about the Stanford co-op community, puzzles, the humanities, and fighting for a better world.
Evani Radiya-Dixit (she/they) is an artist and a scientist. She is pursuing a master’s in Sociology and completed her bachelor’s in Computer Science at Stanford. Her interests intersect with technology, accountability, and social justice. As a poet at heart, Evani sees art and meditation as ways of healing. In her spare time, you can find her dancing to some joyful jams, going on a marvelous morning run, or listening to a plethora of podcasts.
Kate Kingsley ’25 is a sophomore studying International Relations and Psychology, and minoring in TAPS: Dance. Born in NYC, Kate has seen it all and believes in unity in diversity (hence the major in IR and Psych — studying people across the world, but finding our commonalities). She has danced her entire life but recently got into yoga during her gap year when she spent 5 months living in Costa Rica. This summer she lived at an ashram in the alps and looks forward to applying her newfound knowledge of ancient Indian philosophy to teaching wellness techniques in our class. Between studying, dancing, and being a yogi, Kate spends the rest of her time laughing with children, giving warm hugs, cooking yummy food, and basking in the sunshine.
Gabriela Lipson '24 (She/ Her)
is a junior studying health psychology and vocal music. Gabriela believes in the capacity of the arts and music to guide empathy, embolden imaginations, uplift human narratives, and speak to aching hearts. Gabriela is very passionate about disability rights and environmental justice. As a student researcher in Dr. BJ Fogg's Stanford Behavior Design Lab, Gabriela is dedicated to leveraging design and technology to create a more compassionate, healthy, and just world. Additionally, Gabriela has been a yoga teacher for over five years and has taught weekly yoga classes to Stanford students. Gabriela hopes to shine a light on the experiences of non-traditional students at Stanford. Gabriela spent several years working as a communications officer and ideation coach before matriculating at Stanford, scripting and co-creating videos and stories about science, environmental conservation, and resilience. Gabriela hopes to pet every single dog living on Stanford's campus this year.
2021-22 Fellows
Cahron Cross ’23. Pre-COVID, Cahron was an avid hugger of friends. Now he resorts to zoom-mojis, socially distant hand waves, head nods, and hidden smiles behind polyester masks, but there’s love behind it just the same. He has dabbled in numerous creative fields from hip-hop music to speech and debate, and his knack for self-deprecating humor is only eclipsed by his ineffectiveness in writing bios.
Regina Kong ’23 is a junior majoring in Comparative Literature and Art Practice with a minor in Earth Systems. She was raised in Berkeley, California and now calls midcoast Maine one of her homes. A seeker of stories, art and beauty, Regina loves connecting with new people and places. Recently Regina spent a summer in the Sierra Nevada, where she worked along rangers and scientists to conduct wilderness restoration for the JMT Wilderness Conservancy. Regina spends a lot of her time meditating on the relationship between humans and the natural world, as well as (in no particular order) trees, poetry, clawhammer banjo, trailrunning, boatbuilding and love letters.
Alina Wilson ’24 is a sophomore exploring human biology and medical humanities. She believes in the power of narratives–and their potential as tools for meaning-making, connection, and healing. Her interests intersect community health, narrative medicine, and relational organizing. In her free time, she can be found attempting to play the drums, practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, trying new things on her reverse bucket list, and creating playlists for friends. sc
My name is Alinea Lei Ann Tucker (they, we, she) and I was born in Long Beach, California. I took time away from Stanford in 2018 and began learning in community with traditional midwives, doulas, and abortion providers. Now I'm a coterminal graduate student in Earth Systems - Environmental Communication. I have deep roots with the African & African American Studies Program and the Institute for Diversity in the Arts here at Stanford. You can call me Mama Crab -- it's how I'm known in community. I talk about old old stories, bodies, water, soul-recovery, and spacetime. I should name that I'm creole and can't help but hoodoo (you do?). I'm here for your fullest expansion.🦀
Alden Laird O'Rafferty '24 is a sophomore studying Materials Science and is passionate about renewable energy/ sustainability (solar cells! batteries! energy efficiency!), teaching middle schoolers, and mentorship. She took MTM in Fall 2021 and found it a beautifully sacred space to reflect and share in safe community. She's looking forward to helping create that space for others and emphatically spreading her obsession with self-compassion She enjoys singing with friends, coaching a middle school debate team, backpacking, giving hugs, going to bed early, and basking in delight.
Suyoun Choi ’24 is a sophomore majoring in Biology and potentially minoring in Psychology. He was born in Seoul, South Korea and raised in Beaverton, Oregon. His passions and hobbies include cancer biology research, swimming, cooking, eating, and playing the piano for fun. As a self-described grower and scientist, his curiosity drives both his exploration of the world of molecular biology and his dedication to open minded interactions with others as he searches for his path to help those around him be the happiest and healthiest versions of themselves.
2020-2021 Fellows
Adesuwa Agbonile ’21 is a senior at Stanford majoring in Economics and minoring in Creating Writing. She has always loved telling stories - whether that be through making an audio story, writing fiction, or reporting for a newspaper. She's particularly interested in how storytelling can spur social change — especially in the arena of racial justice. In her free time, Adesuwa likes to write, read, listen to R&B music while dancing along to it, and watch bad reality TV.
Darnell (DeeSoul) Carson ’20 is a senior majoring in Cultural/Social Psychology with a minor in Creative Writing (Poetry). He has been writing poetry for eight years now and believes not just in the power of our storms, but also in the joy at their center. At any given moment, he can be found running between several commitments, sharing poetry, or playing an egregious amount of video games. He is interested in the way identity intersects with art, and how art helps us to understand the experiences of others. He is Co-Director of the Stanford Spoken Word Collective, so if you ever need any poetry recommendations, he's your guy!
Luciana Frazao MS ’21 is a Master’s student in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. Her work emphasis is on robotics and human-centered design. She graduated in 2017 in Industrial Design at Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil.
Kory Gaines ’21 is a senior, majoring in African and African American Studies and Political Science. In those majors, they focus on Black art and cultural expression and political philosophy respectively. They are from Washington, D.C. and Prince George's County, MD. They are interested in the arts for the arts' own sake and for the interplay between arts and politics. They enjoy running, bingewatching shows on Netflix, reading, writing poems, listening to music, and dancing for fun.
JJ Kapur ’22 is a junior at Stanford majoring in Theater and Performance Studies and Minoring in Psychology. Currently he is back home and taking classes over Zoom in Des Moines, Iowa—where he was born and raised. When asked, “Is this heaven?” JJ’s reply is always: “No, this is Iowa.” JJ loves exploring the intersection of theater and psychology, especially how the theater can be used as a platform for healing. JJ’s desire to bridge both fields of study led him to found “Sikhs in the Spotlight”: a youth-led organization that uses theatrical vignettes to shine the spotlight on issues affecting the mental health of Sikh Americans. When JJ’s not writing Zoom theater skits, you can find him sipping a cup of chai with his family, watching pre-2005 Spongebob episodes, or learning a Beatles song on his guitar.
Elaine Lai is a PhD candidate in Religious Studies at Stanford University specializing in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, with a focus on the Great Perfection tradition. Before Stanford, she spent ten years studying and working in China, Taiwan, India, Hong Kong and Nepal where she received many teachings from various Buddhist teachers, and trained intensively in yoga and martial arts. In the world beyond academia, she serves as the co-president of the Buddhist Community at Stanford (BCAS) where she facilitates inter-faith dialogues on the intersection of compassion, identity and justice. Elaine is interested in supporting all movers and shakers in the world thirsting to create a different paradigm of being, one which is truly free. Dark chocolate and peanut butter toast are her favorite foods.
Rachel Lam ’20 (any pronouns) is a graduate from the Psychology department. They are Anigiduwagi enrolled Cherokee Nation and a first-generation Malaysian-American. This year they are working for Stanford’s Office of Religious Life/The Stanford Storytelling Project, the City of Seattle, and on a Cherokee language textbook project. Their interests intersect community health, art practices, and languages.