About us

Nina Gupta: Soon to be updated…

Dan Schneider is studying Social Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is entering his junior year. This experience is a precursor to his future goals of teaching Anthropology at the university level. Dan is also in the process of becoming an intervention counselor in the fight against domestic violence. His hobbies include playing guitar, writing, and catching up with family and friends.

Adam Kuranishi is a junior at the University of Illinois at Chicago. A Political Science major, he aspires to attend law school after undergraduate studies in pursuit of a career in Human Rights Law. Currently, he is an intern at the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing in Chicago, and serves as Editor-in-Chief for the University’s publication on global issues, One World Magazine. His hobbies include traveling and spending time with friends. He is also an avid baseball fan.

Gayatri Bajpai is a senior studying philosophy at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Her family lived in Dehradun for a few years, and every summer holiday she comes back to visit them. As a volunteer of the Latika Vihar foundation, she has facilitated art projects, games, and supervised a special amusement park outing. After working with the children, she has a new love for bumper cars and rediscovered the joy of scraping her knees. Her relationship with the students is tremendous, and her Hindi proficiency and philosophical background is a wonderful asset to the program. We are grateful for her contribution, and we are happy to have her on our team.

Alex McKeag is a veteran of nothing and a novice of everything.  A fourth year anthropology major, Alex enjoys knowing and understanding a culture’s habits and quirks.  He spent two months in Senegal, West Africa and hopes to return again, either by his own accord or with an organization such as the Peace Corps.  Aside from the immediate future, he does not know what course his life will take.  He enjoys the season of spring, psychology, and playing Frisbee.

Jessi Grant changes her mind everyday. Today she wants to go to grad school for journalism. Tomorrow she might go to grad school for astronomy. Currently, she plans to double major in photography and social anthropology at The University of Illinois at Chicago. Jessi tries to involve herself in as many activities as possible, so as to find outlets for her wide range of interests. Among these are serving as an editor of a literary arts journal, volunteering with Hosteling International Chicago, and futile attempts at playing the ukulele. She considers ProjectFocus her favorite because it has taught her how to use one of her passions to connect with and educate others.

Ipek Hacioglu has a great appreciation for her surroundings. Each day, she reads fashion magazines, browses photos on flickr, and takes walks through Chicago’s East Village neighborhood. She has many aspirations of traveling, writing, and emersing herself into the creative world. This may be why she is currently having trouble narrowing her focus at The University of Illinois at Chicago. Yet, Ipek knows for sure that she loves meeting new people and learning from her diverse group of friends.