“I moved to New York City from Lima, Peru, by myself when I was 18. In order to support myself, I found a job as a waiter, and I fell in love with the food industry.”

“Opera gives you a chance to really dive into human nature and the reasons people do the things they do, what drives them. A lot of arts come together — dance, song, acting, music, set artists, costume designers, composers, writers — to do this one thing.”

“Lassonde is the place where I can make my dreams a reality. Seeing my grandfather suffer a stroke and lose his motor skills and independence, and being wheelchair bound was heartbreaking. This is why I want to utilize Lassonde’s resources to create a wheelchair pulley system.”

Professors Rob MacLeod and Christopher Butson are both avid bikers and advocates for sustainable transportation.

“I landed at the U through my love of paragliding. In 2001 I was sitting on the side of Mt. Olympus, ready to launch one afternoon and I met a professor here in atmospheric science who was also flying paragliders. He said “I heard you’re into programming – Are you interested in working at a university?” I said sure.”