Clare Ntumsi (She/Her)

Academic Year: Senior

Email: Cntumsi [at] terpmail.umd.edu

Clare wanted to join something that would be able to help raise awareness and connect individuals in the neuroscience major, so she became a Neuroscience Ambassador. She is currently on Molecular, Cellular, and Physiological Track and is from Gaithersburg, MD.

Her favorite part of the brain is the brain stem because she always hold people up. :)

Farheen Ahmed (She/Her)

Academic Year: Senior

Email: farheen6055 [at] gmail.com

Farheen became a neuroscience ambassador to help students in the major find their place in the program. She wants to help neuroscience students meet one another and contribute towards planning events and creating a sense of community in our major! 

Farheen lives half the year in Houston, Texas and the other half in Northern Virginia. She is a  Neuroscience major and also the secretary for Neuroscience Honor Society along with being a Neuroscience student ambassador (She clearly loves Neuro)! When she is not studying, Farheen is either hanging out with her friends or reading Colleen Hoover books!

Farheen’s favorite part of the brain is the frontal lobe because it prevents her from making bad decisions (sometimes).

Anca Bouvier (She/Her)

Academic Year: Junior

Email: anca.bouvier [at] gmail.com

Anca wants to help new and prospective neuroscience students grow accustomed to and become familiar with our community and program. Anca is apart of the Molecular, Cellular, and Physiological Track. She is the vice president of the UMD gymnastics club and also from Rockville, MD.

Anca’s favorite part of the brain is definitely the thalamus! She  thinks sensory processing is very cool :)

Jennifer Tabet (She/Her)

Academic Year: Senior

Email: jtabet1 [at] terpmail.umd.edu

Jennifer became a neuroscience ambassador because she is passionate about building a tight-knit community and creating opportunities that help her peers reach their goals. 

Jennifer is apart of the molecular, cellular and physiological track and is originally from Baltimore County, Maryland. Jennifer is also a member of A.W.A.R.E. (A Worldwide Arabic Resource Effort), WeSkate, a BioFIRE Peer Mentor, research trainee at the Torii/Hashimoto-Torii research group at Children's National and research assistant at the Neurocognitive Development Lab on campus.

Her favorite part of the brain is the corpus callosum because it helps each hemisphere communicate with the other!

Noah Mercado (He/Him)

Academic Year: Senior

Email: nmercado [at] umd.edu

Noah became a neuroscience ambassador because he wanted to play an active role in growing the neuroscience community at UMD! He also wants to be a resource and a mentor to any new students coming in to the neuroscience major.

Noah is a neuroscience major on the MCP track and am also pre-med. Noah is from Baltimore County, Maryland. Other then being a neuroscience student ambassador, he is also a part of the American Red Cross Club, AMSA, and FCA. In his free time, Noah likes hiking, reading, and playing piano.

Noah’s favorite part of the brain is the corpus callosum because it connects the two hemispheres of the brain into a functioning whole. Each hemisphere has its own unique functionalities and way of interpreting things, and the corpus callosum allows for those things to be integrated!

Joyce Milandu (She/Her)

Academic Year: Senior

Email: joylmilandu [at] gmail.com

As a Neuroscience Ambassador, Joyce wants to aid in creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone, especially as a Black woman in STEM. Fostering a community in the Neuroscience major is important to her and she hopes to do so during the time she is a Neuro Ambassador. 

Joyce is from Gaithersburg, MD and is on the MCP track. She has a cat named Calypso and they  both love matcha ice cream! Joyce is currently volunteering as a patient counselor for a student-led organization called Peace and Contentment Volunteer Program.

Joyce’s favorite part of the brain is the gustatory cortex because it allows her to be the huge foodie that she is. She loves discovering new restaurants and cafés, and also cooking meals with friends.

Caleigh Moreland (She/Her)

Academic Year: Junior

Email: caleigh.moreland [at] gmail.com

Caleigh became a neuroscience ambassador to help out students who are new to the program because she knows how overwhelming planning your courses and choosing your major can be.

Caleigh is from Bethesda, Maryland. She has Irish danced for 16 years and ran track in high school. She loves going to the beach or on vacation, and like to hang out with her friends in her free time. Her favorite part of the brain is the amygdala because it's crucial for survival instincts, something that is super important in life!

Eric Yang (He/Him)

Academic Year: Senior

Email: eyang126 [at] terpmail.umd.edu

As a Neuroscience Ambassador, Eric wanted to connect more with the NEUR major community and get a chance to help others in his field advance their understanding of career paths in the future.

Eric is from North Bethesda, Maryland and on the molecular, cellular, and physiological track. In his free time, he occasionally go to jiu jitsu club. His favorite part of the brain is the basal ganglia because it has interesting mechanisms for initiating and coordinating movement.

Esha Saxena (She/Her)

Academic Year: Senior

Email: esaxena [at] terpmail.umd.edu

Esha became a neuroscience ambassador because the major’s close knit community and guidance are part of the reason why she was able to acclimate so well to college and love UMD. The major is truly unique and offers a plethora of diverse course options- making it worthy of being explored. Esha hopes to contribute to provide current and prospective students with the same enjoyable experience as she had and am extremely excited to help promote and better a major that she is so passionate about.

Esha is from Ellicot City, MD. She is on the MCP track and is a member of the Phi Delta Epsilon pre-medical fraternity and student researcher at WOW lab in UMD SPH.

Her favorite part of the brain is the hypothalamus because it is involved in controlling hunger, and she is a huge foodie :)

Rithika Krishnamoorthy (She/Her)

Academic Year: Senior

Email: krritu02 [at] gmail.com

Rithika became a neuroscience ambassador with the goal of meeting new people within her major and to act as a mentor to those that are new/interested in pursuing the major. Due to neuroscience being a newer major at UMD, she hopes to facilitate connections among other neuroscience students, collaborate with other ambassadors to organize events, and foster a sense of community within the major.

Rithika is a Neuroscience major on the MCP track and a General Business Minor. She grew up in Middletown, Maryland but  was born in Athens, Georgia. Aside from being a neuroscience ambassador, Rithika is a member of Nu Rho Psi (the neuroscience honor society), UMD future women dentistry society, Delta Epsilon Mu (a pre-health professional fraternity), and RAM! Outside of school, she loves to travel with her family and hang out with friends as much as possible!

Her favorite part of the brain is the hippocampus because it helps her remember all of her favorite memories.

Brianna Gayle (She/Her)

Academic Year: Sophomore

Email: bgayle [at] terpmail.umd.edu

Brianna became a neuroscience student ambassador because she wanted to show people why the neuroscience major at UMD is practical and worthwhile.

Brianna is on the molecular, cellular, and physiological track as well as premed. She is from Yardley, PA and likes to read, bake, and spend time with her friends and family.

Brianna's favorite part of the brain is the DLPFC because it shows activity when someone makes a moral choice over a self-serving choice.

Perfect Sare (She/Her)

Academic Year: Junior

Email: psare [at] terpmail.umd.edu

Perfect loves her major and wanted to be someone that could show other students all the opportunities that come with being a Neuroscience major at UMD. 

Perfect is on the Behavioral and Cognitive track and is pursuing pre-occupational therapy. Her hometown is Annapolis, MD. She is currently in the Gemstone Honors Research Program, a Counselor in Training, and active in the Pre OT Club. Her favorite part of the brain is the limbic system! It is heavily involved in the development of human behavior and she finds it all so interesting.

Maha Idsassi (She/Her)

Academic Year: Sophomore

Email: midsassi [at] terpmail.umd.edu

Maha decided to become a neuroscience ambassador to provide guidance and support to fellow students in the major by sharing her knowledge and experience to help them succeed. She believes that being a neuroscience ambassador is a fulfilling opportunity that allows her to combine her love of neuroscience and helping others with the ability to make a positive impact on others.

Maha is a freshman from Laurel, Maryland pursuing the Molecular, Cellular, and Physiological track. She is also a part of the FIRE program and alongside her studies, Maha is actively involved in the American Red Cross Club. In her leisure time, she likes to crochet and read books while spending time outdoors.

The most fascinating area of the brain for Maha is the prefrontal cortex, which regulates cognitive control processes, such as our behaviors and emotions. It is her favorite part of the brain because of its unique capacity for integrating information from several areas of the brain, allowing us to make critical and creative decisions.