Hyuntaek (Tag) Lee is a PhD student in Information and Media, focusing Advertising and Public Relations. He got his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at Yonsei University of Seoul, South Korea. He got his master degrees at Dongguk University, South Korea and Arizona State University. As a seasoned journalist, Lee has worked at the Chosunilbo and the JoongAng Ilbo, South Korea. Lee was the first board of director from Asian country at Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE). Lee taught at Yoonseyoung Journalism School, Ewha Womans University, South Korea. He received the Honorable Mention at IIE (Institute of International Education) Center for International Opportunities Empower Award 2024, Educator of Color Scholarship for Data Journalism Bootcamp by IRE, and Outstanding Graduate Student Award by Arizona State University. As an alumnus of Obama Foundation’s Asia Pacific Leader 2025-2026, he aspires to serve community establishing supportive circumstance. In the Leadership Fellowship, Lee aspires to connect student parents of MSU.
Kevin Yu (any pronouns) earned a BA degree in Psychology from UCLA and an MSW degree from the University of Southern California. Kevin is currently a PhD student in the School of Social Work at MSU. As a macro social worker, Kevin has engaged in program evaluation and leadership development for government and nonprofit organizations. As a leadership fellow, Kevin will work to disseminate the work he has engaged in as part of the School of Social Work Doctoral Student Organization to make it available to other doctoral programs. He will also advocate for student voices in national social work organizations.
Catherine Baffloe is a Health and Risk Communication master's student at MSU and a professional nurse from Ghana with over four years of clinical experience. She is dedicated to delivering compassionate, patient centered, and culturally responsive care, with a strong focus on health education and patient advocacy. Catherine currently serves as an Assistant Community Director at Mason Abbott, Snyder Phillips Hall, and advisor for the MASP hall government, where she supports student development, community engagement, and resident well being. Her interests focus on health education, patient advocacy, and improving healthcare experiences for diverse and underserved populations. Through her training in nursing and health communication, Catherine seeks to bridge clinical care and effective communication to support better health outcomes at both individual and community levels. In her free time, Catherine enjoys listening to music, watching movies, and reading books, which she values as sources of relaxation, reflection, and personal growth.
Logan Garland is a 2nd-year chemical engineering PhD student at MSU in the Woldring Lab at the IQ Building. He works to develop computational and experimental tools that can model the interactions between membrane transport proteins and the substrates they transport. He graduated from the College of Engineering at the University of Iowa in 2024 with his BSE in Chemical Engineering and a minor in Chemistry.
Amir Hossein Rasoli Jokar is a PhD candidate in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State University and a member of the Spartan Stuttering Lab under the mentorship of Dr. J. Scott Yaruss. His research focuses on the lived experience of stuttering, including variability, quality of life, and person-centered outcomes. He is particularly interested in understanding how people who stutter navigate everyday communication and how clinical practices can better reflect their perspectives. Amir’s work integrates quantitative and qualitative methods to examine topics such as the disability paradox in stuttering, coping with variability, and social-emotional development. He is also actively involved in international research collaborations and leads initiatives that support PhD students and early-career researchers in the field of stuttering.
Junyu Sun is a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Marketing. Before joining Michigan State, he worked in the Vice President’s Office at Missouri State University, where he coordinated student leadership training and managed social media promotion for international student recruitment. In that role, he led several leadership development initiatives through workshops, collaboration with university and local administrative offices, company visits, and volunteer events. He currently serves on the President’s Advisory Council, where he contributes student perspectives on university initiatives and advocates for greater international student engagement, as well as increased awareness of resources available to graduate students.
Yesim Akar-Hozman is a second-year PhD student in the Educational Psychology and Educational Technology program. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics Education and her master’s degree in Educational Technology at Bogazici University in Türkiye. Previously, she worked as a mathematics teacher and later as a software developer in international companies. Currently, she works as a research assistant, supporting faculty in integrating computing and digital literacies into education. She also serves as a teaching assistant, teaching a course on learning and motivation theories to future educators at MSU. Her research focuses on educators’ digital competencies, AI in education, and classroom discourse. As a Leadership Fellow, Yesim aims to support PhD students’ motivation through the lens of expectancy–value theory, helping them better understand their goal orientation and sources of self-efficacy, and sustain motivation, confidence, and focus throughout their graduate program.
Reagan Ayala (They/Them) is a current graduate student within the Student Affairs Administration Program in the College of Education. A passionate advocate for student leadership and equity, Reagan is committed to amplifying diverse voices and fostering inclusive environments that promote growth and enable all students to thrive. Prior to their time at Michigan State University, Reagan received their BA in Interpersonal Communication from Indiana University South-Bend, where they worked on initiatives across campus, in their local community, and at the state level to support first-generation, low-income, and diverse student populations access and inclusion in higher education. As a Leadership Fellow, Reagan intends to increase awareness and a sense of community amongst Queer graduate students across programs, providing avenues for students to build stronger connections and engage in thoughtful dialogue with one another.
Arman Khoshnevis is a Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering. He earned his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. His research focuses on data-driven and probabilistic modeling of complex polymeric materials. His work integrates rheology, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty quantification, and machine learning to better understand complex material behavior under a wide range of operating conditions. In addition to his research, Arman is actively engaged in undergraduate education as a teaching assistant and instructor of record, and he is currently a Colleges Online Learning Academy (COLA) Fellow, where he is developing evidence-based and inclusive teaching practices. Beyond his academic work, Arman has been involved in student leadership and community engagement, serving as Treasurer of the Iranian Student Association at MSU and as Vice President of Scientific Association of Mechanical Engineering Department at Amirkabir, in addition to contributing to outreach and volunteer initiatives. As a Leadership Fellow, he is interested in strengthening graduate student support systems and contributing to initiatives that enhance mentorship, professional development, and overall student well-being within the academic community.
Maruf Md Ikram: is a PhD student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University and is pursuing a dual PhD with the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders. His research focus is on the mechanical modeling of voice production. He is an enthusiastic cook who enjoys experimenting with new recipes and flavors. Maruf is also an avid cricket player and fan and loves to travel and hike in his free time.
Ayaka Lingard (she/they) earned BS degrees in Social Work and Family Studies from Weber State University and an MSW degree from the University of Utah. Post graduation, Ayaka worked in substance misuse and chronic pain research as well as in clinical therapy as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker focusing on mindfulness-based interventions. Ayaka’s research interests are multicultural intergenerational interventions, aging, social connectedness, mental health in aging populations, perceptions of aging, and psychedelic assisted psychotherapy.
Ly Duong (she/her) is an educational practitioner, space holder, and first-year Ph.D. student in the Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education program. With over a decade of experience in environmental and sustainability education across Vietnam and the U.S., she co-designs learning spaces rooted in nature, community, intention, and reciprocity. A Fulbright scholar with an M.S. in Leadership for Sustainability Education from Portland State University, Ly is also a certified Forest Therapy Guide and the founder of Tune in the Meadows, an initiative that fosters connection through slowness and deep ecological embodiment. Whether guiding forest walks, designing experiential curricula, or engaging in community-based research, Ly invites others to notice everyday wonders and reimagine education as a space for (re)connection—with ourselves, our ancestors, the land, our communities, and the possibilities of healing, belonging, and collective flourishing.
Jeevan Karki is a doctoral student and teacher educator in the Department of Teacher Education at MSU, specializing in language and literacy education. His scholarly interests revolve around (in and out of school) literacy practices of bi/multilingual students, inclusive and equitable language and literacy education, language policy and practices, children’s literature, asset-based pedagogies and teacher education. As a multilingual educator, he brings over 17 years of professional experience across public and private schools, colleges, and nonprofits, serving diverse learners. In particular, he has worked as a K-12 English educator in schools, college composition instructor, teacher educator in non-profits and higher education, instructional designer in community-based nonprofits and taught English to children, adolescents and adults in Nepal and the U.S. He has held some leadership roles in professional blogs such as (eltchoutari.com), youth clubs in high-school and colleges and youth based local social service organizations aiming to serve underserved population. He is excited to be part of the Leadership Fellowship program and look forward to engaging in collaborative learning, exchanging ideas, and exploring meaningful initiatives to support the graduate student community.
Kunti Adhikari is a PhD student and Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of Teacher Education within MSU’s College of Education. Her research interests include language and literacy practices of bilingual/multilingual learners, with a specific focus on children aged 5-12. Her scholarly pursuits extend to curriculum development, reading materials, language policies, literacy instruction, teacher education, and other relevant educational issues pertaining to this group of children. Kunti holds a Master's degree in English Education from Tribhuwan University, Nepal and a second Master of Arts Degree in TESOL from MSU. Her professional experience includes service as a K-12 English language teacher, a Teacher Educator at the Centre for Education and Human Resource Development, and a Curriculum/Textbook Designer. Prior to commencing her doctoral studies at MSU, Kunti served as a Director at Curriculum Development Centre within the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology in Nepal. She is a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. As an international graduate student, a multilingual parent of a bilingual child, and a Fulbright scholar, Kunti brings a distinctive interdisciplinary, collaborative, and transnational perspective to her research and teaching learning approaches.
Joanne Cheng is a Ph.D. student in Second Language Studies at Michigan State University. She received her M.A. in TESOL from the University of Mississippi and her B.A. in Language and Creative Writing, with a concentration in Chinese Education, from the National Taipei University of Education in Taiwan. Her teaching experience includes instructing Chinese at an HBCU, as well as teaching ESL to K-12 students, postsecondary learners, and adults in a faith-based ministry. Prior to her arrival in the U.S., she taught English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to adults at community centers and public elementary schools in Taiwan. Her research interests encompass the relationship between socio-affective factors and learners’ speaking performance, identity, the use of games in classroom learning, and teacher education. As a leadership fellow, she aims to enhance graduate students' health and well-being awareness by promoting the establishment of regular exercise routines. She believes that prioritizing physical health not only boosts academic performance but also fosters a greater sense of community among peers.
Hye-In Yang is a first-year Ph.D. student in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education, specializing in bi/multilingual education. Drawing on her previous experience teaching English as a foreign language to middle school students and working as a teacher educator for in-service teachers in South Korea for four years, she hopes to conduct research that supports both pre- and in-service teachers in pursuing multilingual education for social justice. Through these experiences and ongoing reflection, she has come to see her scholarly identity as a future Christian scholar—someone who believes that being truly outstanding begins with being genuinely caring toward the people and communities she engages with. Inspired by the advice of a role model who once told her, “Give your 5 to 10 years to your participants,” she has decided to become a caring scholar—one who takes the time to walk alongside her participants over the years, supporting their lives in meaningful and practical ways.