ISAB Members

Manya (she/they) is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences studying economics and political science. She is from Jaipur, India, and is interested in global health and development. At Penn, Manya is involved with the Penn Debate Society, the Philomathean Society, and the International Development Club, and they work part-time at the Center for Advanced Study of India. She cares deeply about improving the experience of international students here, who often have unique personal and logistical struggles in transitioning to life at Penn. In her free time, Manya likes to read, foster cats, and people-watch in cafes.

Yamin is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, intending to major in Mathematical Economics with a minor in Consumer Psychology and Statistics. She was born and raised in Mandalay, the second-largest city in Myanmar. At Penn, she is involved in the Daily Pennsylvanian and the Association for Women in Mathematics. Outside school, she loves watching mukbang videos, learning languages, cooking, and solving puzzles.

Yamin joined ISAB to help international students transition and acclimate to life at Penn. She hopes to bring her experiences and suggestions on integration-related issues.

Naseebullah Andar, born and raised in Afghanistan, is a junior at the College of Arts and Sciences, considering majoring in economics and biology. A Penn World Scholar, he is involved, among others, in the Penn Debate Society, TEDx Penn, and Afghan Student Association and plays for Penn’s Cricket Team. He is also a peer advisor and a student leader for the Intercultural Leadership Program.

His hobbies include playing chess, watching movies, learning new languages, and memorizing random numbers. He likes reading different genres, from philosophical writings to historical narratives and science fiction, and he likes to write and do poetry in different languages.

Believing that a united world makes a better world, he also strives to make long-lasting connections and voice the sounds of the silent masses. He cherishes being part of ISAB to advocate for youth empowerment, social justice, and collective progress.

Andrés is both, a 4th-year undergraduate majoring in Economics and minoring in Data Science and Statistics, and a 1st-year accelerated Master’s student studying Computer Science. He is involved in research at Penn where he enjoys tackling Machine Learning tasks in several fields.

He grew up in Lima, Peru, and attended the same British-Peruvian school for 16 years. Due to this, he experienced the difficulties of transitioning from his safe space back home to the unknown world of U.S. college life. Ever since he started college, he has seen it as his duty to decrease the stigma surrounding mental health in the international community and leave behind a legacy where no international student feels helpless or alone.

Outside of academics, Andrés enjoys visiting new restaurants, practicing French, and discovering new indie artists on Spotify.

Bona Lee is a proud Igorot from the Cordillera region of the Philippines. This fall she started her M.S.Ed in the International Education Development Program at the Graduate School of Education. She is also a new fellow at the Family Service Center. Before moving to Philadelphia, she taught in Vietnam for 13 years and in China for two years. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, singing, watching and playing board/card games, traveling, and socializing over coffee even though she believes herself to be an introvert!

She is an ardent advocate of equality and equity, particularly in education. Coming from a marginalized background, she would like others not to go through the pain of discrimination and prejudice due to one’s nationality. She is aware that adversaries are inevitable, but she believes that if we can make situations of humanity better, why not?! This conviction serves as her overarching compass for getting involved in organizations such as ISAB.

Daira is a Master of Public Administration student at Penn. She was born and raised in Lima, Peru. She has spent the last 3 years studying for her undergraduate degree in Economics at the University of Warwick in the UK (England) where she worked in several clubs and organizations focused on women’s professional development and international students. After graduating this past July, she is back to “her side of the world” and she is very excited to contribute to Penn’s international community. If you are on campus, you might see her studying at the Grad Center, organizing the next Latin American Graduate and Professional Assembly (LAGAPSA) event, or running to her next meeting/commitment.

She loves traveling, shopping, dancing to Latin American music, writing, and watching soccer games (especially when Peru plays or any premier league game).

Nick was born and raised in Kenya. He is ambitious, enthusiastic, curious, diligent, and self-motivated with interests in the intersection of business, economics, education, renewable energy, and politics. He is particularly passionate about community service as a way of improving the lives of the underprivileged and advancing social and economic empowerment in developing countries. He has his prospects set on venturing into government, business, and the nonprofit sector.

Currently, he is a first-year student at the Wharton. In his words, he is looking forward to an education that will further refine his interests and lead him into a career of transformative leadership. In addition to improving his technical knowledge in areas like renewable energy, infrastructure financing, and international financial transactions, a Wharton education will help him develop business and leadership skills that will enable him to address economic and social challenges at home and across the globe.

Alexandar is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences and is considering majoring in Mathematical Economics. He grew up in Sofia, Bulgaria but he attended an international school in the UK for three years. There he encountered many of the difficulties and challenges international students face – from traveling and logistics to integration and culture shock. Alexandar is passionate about bringing internationals closer together and has been on the organizational teams of many cultural events at his school aimed at highlighting the uniqueness of different cultures. He joined ISAB because he believes that the best way to aid international students in their academic and cultural journey at UPenn and beyond is through advising and working with institutions to make lasting change. Apart from academics Alexandar is an avid “Star Wars” fan, likes to hike and loves listening to classical music and rap.

Louis is a sophomore at the College studying political science. Born and raised in Beijing China, Louis later moved to Auckland, New Zealand, and studied there for 7 years before coming to the US. At Penn, he is involved with the Penn Political Journal and Penn Undergraduate Law Journal. Besides that, Louis enjoys playing amateur violin and tennis, as well as occasionally going to a Philorch concert.

Having lived and studied in a new country twice, Louis knows the struggles international students face when transitioning to a new environment, and he wants to use his efforts to improve the experience of Penn international students.

Nhlanhla Mavuso is a dual degree student at the University of Pennsylvania’s Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER) class of 2026, studying Computer Engineering at the School of Engineering, and Physics at the College of Arts & Sciences. His current research is on designing self-healing computer chips that reconfigure themselves for better energy usage. Nhlanhla is also passionate about education access and equality and serves as a computer science coordinator on the Moelis Access Science (MAS) Board. In his role, he helps to design initiatives to improve STEM education at Penn and in Philadelphia public schools. In his free time, he enjoys running along the serene Schuylkill riverbanks.

Terhi is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences exploring the intersections of natural and social sciences. She grew up in rural Finland, and spent two gap years on an island in Sweden - a perfect location during the pandemic.

Terhi joined ISAB to make the Penn experience the most wholesome international student experience in the Ivy League, and is currently working on the transition period to college life. She is very much into post-its, and will probably ask you to write your best integration tip on one. Other times you can find her drinking too much bubble tea as it does not exist in Finland :( or buying books she doesn't have time to read (maaaybe during the winter break?).

Born and raised in Spain, Lucía moved to the US to study for her undergraduate degrees in Neuroscience and Health and Societies at the University of Pennsylvania. Currently in her second year, she is involved with multiple on-campus organizations such as the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, and the Penn Museum, or clubs like Doublespeak, a literary translation magazine.

Lucía is very passionate about using languages to improve education accessibility, working on eliminating language barriers to knowledge while learning more languages herself. Because of this, she has been working as a TED Talks translator for over 5 years to raise awareness on this issue. She is also involved in the public health and healthcare accessibility field and is excited to work with ISAB creating healthcare navigation initiatives for international students in the US.

Yihan is a first-year master's student at the Graduate School of Education. She is from Shandong, China. After her undergraduate education in a small liberal arts college, Yihan understands the unique challenges international students face and is passionate about bringing changes to promote an amicable atmosphere for international students at Penn. Pursuing a degree in psychology, she hopes to facilitate a nuanced approach to support the well-being of international students. In her free time, Yihan likes to hike, swim, and go to karaoke and she is currently exploring more fun stuff in Philly!