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The Backpacking Club at UCLA is bursting at the seams with passionate, responsible outdoor enthusiasts. Connect some names to faces and take a look at this year's staff:
2021-2022 Staff
ALEX FOYT
4th year Biology major
Fourth year biology student from Upstate NY interested in student research and outdoor shenanigans!
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JUNIPER ZAYANTE
4th year Linguistics and Psychology major
Juniper is a 4th year from Northern California excited to be on TUBC staff this year! Her favorite national park is Mount Rainier in Washington, and she’d love to lead a trip there as soon as its safe!
JOSE ABEROLA
3rd year Civil Engineering major
Jose is really excited to be a part of TUBC! A trip he really wants to go is backpacking across the Channel Islands.
KAVYA KATRAGADDA
3rd year Human Bio and Society major
Kavya is a third year pre-human bio and society major. She is super excited to be a part of the backpacking staff this year! Her current all-time favorite trip is hiking up Half Dome this summer with her mom. Funny story: we couldn’t get our own permits, but thanks to a fortunate series of coincidences, we still got to summit the dome (also going down the cables >>> climbing up). When she's not swamped with school, she loves to read, bake, and busy herself with random arts-and-crafts-y projects. And, of course, she loves to spend time outside.
ILIANA MARRUJO
3rd year Applied Mathematics major
Iliana (Ili) has spent most of her life in the outdoors, camping, hiking, backpacking and climbing. Growing up, she spent most school holidays in Yosemite and the Eastern Sierra and continues to spend her summers in the Sierra camping, exploring and bagging peaks. One of her most notable outdoor achievements are hiking Mt. Whitney in a day (she summited for the first time at age 11 and has gone back and summited several times since). In the future, she hopes to complete the Triple Crown by thru-hiking the PCT, AT and CDT.
NOLAN LOK
3rd year Chemistry major
Nolan is super excited to be on staff this year! His all time favorite and wildest trip was to Fraiser Flats. There really is nothing better than facing a bunch of unexpected craziness with company you enjoy! He also loves to run and cook, specifically breakfast foods! He can't wait to meet more of you and make lots of memories on Zoom, and eventually in person!
SAMMY WOMACK
3rd year Business Economics major
Sammy is so honored to be working with TUBC this quarter! She enjoys (almost) getting hypothermia on alpine swims, eating lots of peanut butter on & off trail, and spending time with all of the beautiful people at TUBC. Next on her bucket list is Olympic National Park!
BROOKE BARANEK
3rd year Environmental Science major
Staff bio coming soon!
NATHAN DENG
2nd year Bionengineering major
Nathan loves nature and the outdoors. He has been to 44 National Parks (USA + Canada), 42 National Forests (USA), and ~20 Wilderness Areas (USA). In 2021, he hiked the Bridge to Nowhere Trail in Sheep Mountain Wilderness and explored the pinyon-juniper woodlands of Los Padres National Forest. Nathan is glad to be part of TUBC staff this year!
JESS MCKAY
2nd year
Staff bio coming soon!
RHONA MCCHESNEY
2nd year
Staff bio coming soon!
StafF ALUMNI
TYLER BOND
Economics major and Public Affairs minor Alumni
Tyler is the author of the Backpacker's Bible and is passionate about using the club platform to make the outdoors accessible to people of all backgrounds. His all-time favorite hikes include Thousand Island Lake, Pear Lake, and Cone Peak!
ERIC BILOTTA
Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology Major Alumni
Eric's favorite trips this summer were either the Hetch Hetchy loop or Ruby Lake to Mono Pass. In Backpacking Club, he helps with trip planning, permit help, and gear recommendations for club members!
ABBY BROSTROM
Geography Major Alumni
Abby is a geography major and GIS minor alumni. She grew up in Wisconsin, where she and her sister spent most of their time outside, camping, running, biking, swimming, and skiing. She always misses the greenness when she's in LA, so taking trips with TUBC is one of her favorite things to do. Her current hobbies include crossword puzzles, cuphead, and decomposition
SOFIE MADSEN
Bioengineering Major Alumni
Sofie's first backpacking trip was at the beginning of 2020 to Big Sur with the club. I returned home from that trip very sore and my feet were covered in blisters, but I knew I had just found a hobby for life. I am new to this whole scene, but I've learned a lot in a short amount of time on the trail and at home⎼ thanks YouTube. If you have any questions about how to get started, I am more than happy to help!
EVAN SNYDER
Computer Science Major Alumni
Evan's favorite outdoor adventure: Summiting Mt. Baldy at 6:30am in 50mph wind.
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SIMON NG
Bioengineering major Alumni
Since joining this community, Simon has made such amazing friends, enjoyed the most breathtaking views, and gotten so dirty that he’s pretty sure it wasn’t LNT. This community feels like a home to him, and he wants to help it grow. Favorite trip: Kearsarge Pass, July 2019
ERICK AMEZCUA
Human Biology and Society major
Erick is a nature-roaming, stargazing, ponderer of the universe. Talk to him about space-time, philosophy, consciousness, or anything else. He's always down to share ideas. If you want to hear what he thinks, check out The Elderllama Podcast... For now, welcome to TUBC. This is going to be epic.
JO TARCZYNSKI
Environmental Science major
Jo thinks that California Redwoods are objectively the best tree! (And she guesses Joshua trees are a close second).
MALIA ZORASTER
Business Economics major
Malia is a business economics major who loves the outdoors. When she’s not on a crazy outdoors adventure, she enjoys dancing and creating jewelry for her Hawaiian jewelry business -- Maia Hawaiian Jewelry.
JONATHAN BALK
Aerospace Engineering alumni
A recent graduate from UCLA working to continue supporting the club.
STELLA FORS
Chemistry alumni
Stella is a recent graduate with UCLA's Class of 2020. Since just after TUBC's inception, she has worked hard in her ex-role as Internal Affairs Officer and in her current role as TUBC's guest yogi to establish an accepting community of wellness at trips and meetings. She is also an expert at refusing to check the map and getting lost, and has perfected this skill while trail running and hiking in the mountains surrounding Los Angeles. She is a firm believer that swimming breaks are required, as well as bringing hummus and peanut butter on the trails. She is sad to leave TUBC and her trail comrades, but looks forward to supporting the organization from the sidelines!