Alex Shih is a graduate student in the Sloan School of Management and Engineering Systems Division at MIT. Before coming to MIT, he worked in software and systems engineering for a government contractor and was involved in strategy and implementation of ventures addressing impoverished communities in urban settings. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University. When he is not working or studying, he enjoys Bhangra dancing, independent films and music, and long distance running. He will be running his second marathon in Chicago this coming October.

Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Anna Premo is currently in her 4th year in a joint Bachelors/Masters program in the Department of Urban Studies and planning at MIT. She is returning to MEET for her second summer as a Y1 instructor. Anna loves drawing, doing cartwheels, playing her harp, and dancing all the time.

After graduating from MIT in 2000, Ben Chun moved to San Francisco where he worked for large and small technology companies over the next 5 years. He enjoys programming as an activity, but really enjoys working with people. So, he became a high school teacher, at first in mathematics (geometry and calculus), and now he teaches computer science courses (including AP). Ben also enjoys motorcycling and rock climbing.

Ben Schlesinger just graduated in June with an MBA from MIT Sloan. For the past year, he has led MEET’s efforts at Sloan in addition to serving as a Vice President of the Entertainment, Media, and Sports Club and as a managing director of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Ben spent the 2009 summer working in Corporate Marketing for Verizon. He was responsible for viewing Verizon’s product strategy and evaluating the link between the product pipeline and the company’s longterm strategy. Prior to Sloan, Ben worked at McKinsey & Co. on the Global Telecom, Information, Media, and Entertainment team. Ben has a BA in Politics from Brandeis University.

Clare Bayley is a rising senior at MIT studying computer science. She has been programming for 6 years and has been nationally recognized for some of her work with mobile applications. She works primarily with Java and PHP, though she likes a chance to try something new. Besides technology, Clare’s biggest passion is photography.

Originally from a small town in Indiana, Eric graduated from MIT this year with degrees in both Aerospace Engineering and Physics. His current plans involve him going BACK to MIT to pursue a PhD in Aerospace Engineering. He loves robots, especially robots that explore space and other planets. One day, Eric hopes to follow in the tread marks of the robots on Mars by becoming an astronaut.

Eugene Wu is a 3rd year graduate student in EECS and MIT specializing in data management. He likes to doodle, read fiction, and eat delicious food. He also enjoys active activies such as running, biking, and playing ultimate frisbee.

Jenny Cheng is a junior at MIT majoring in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She has lived in many places around the world, including China, Australia, Canada and the United States. In her free time, she enjoys video games, art, and general ruckus. She also loves meeting new people.

A southern California native, Justin Sharps graduated in June from MIT with a degree in Chemical Engineering. IN his free time, he enjoys running, playing tennis, and learning about new languages and cultures. After the summer, Justin plans to find an internship in the field of alternative energy.

Aaron Bornstein received his B.S. in Mathematics and concentration in Economics from MIT in 2003. He currently works as an independent technology consultant based in New York City. His 13 years in the software industry have included diverse experiences including co-founding two software startups and working at Fortune 500 corporations and venture capital firms. Aaron enjoys cooking, playing baseball, and listening to new music.

Aline Lerner was born in the former Soviet Union and has lived in such awesome places as Brooklyn, Berkeley, and the Milwaukee area. She graduated MIT with a Cognitive Science B.S. in 2004 and spent the next 2.5 years cooking professionally. She is currently living in San Francisco where she works as a software engineer and goes salsa dancing whenever she gets the chance.

Brennan Sherry just completed his Masters in Engineering degree at MIT and will work in California next year.  In college he played American football and lacrosse, another American sport.  He also plays basketball which he played in high school. Being at MEET is the farthest and longest amount of time he has ever been from his mother.

Christine Corbett Moran just graduated from MIT with a double major in Computer Science and Physics. Next year she has a nice job at BBN Technologies in Boston. She’ll also start her own company with a few friends. They hope to make the world a better place using computers. She loves languages, physics, reading, traveling and meeting new people.

Emre Açıksöz comes from the only city in the world that is located on two continents: Istanbul, Turkey. He graduated from MIT in 2007 with a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He has interned at many different companies, working on diverse projects, and will soon join Oracle in Silicon Valley as a software engineer. He speaks Turkish, English, French, and German and has travelled the world over.

Xun (Helen) Hou, born in Beijing, China, is a rising sophomore at MIT. She is interested in Physics, Biology, and programming. Beyond academics, she enjoys traveling, photography, and intramural sports.

Jorge Urrutia del Pozo was born and raised in Madrid, Spain, but has lived in such awesome places as Paris, Montreal, Florence, Jerusalem, New York City and of course, Cambridge, MA. In June 2007, he graduated with an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. His professional experience includes work as a consultant for The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), as well as other companies such as MTV, EMI Music, DHL or Societe Generale. Jorge enjoys music (with a focus on Guitar Hero!), soccer (a true Atletico de Madrid fan) and running.

Josh Lim is a second year undergrad student at MIT studying Math and Computer Science. He likes to play games and solve puzzles: Halo, Civilization, Wi Sports, (real) basketball, (real) badminton, poker, bridge, crosswords, Rubik’s Cube, etc.

Mike Borohovski is a junior at MIT majoring in Computer Science, minoring in Music/Theatre. He attened circus school for a year and magic camp for 2 years. He also loves soccer, singing, and talking about anything and everything.

Ted Golfinopoulos is a graduate student in MIT’s Electrical Engineering department. He loves the sciences, music, literature, philosophy, learning and teaching, and multicultural activities, especially when food is involved. He enjoys soccer and spending time with his wonderful family spread out on both sides of the Atlantic and both US coasts.

Originally from Knoxville, TN, Tom Kollar majored in Mathematics and Computer Science and minored in Psychology at the University of Rochester in 2004. He is currently a robotics PhD student in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab at MIT. Tom enjoys soccer, traveling, concerts, movie-making,  snowboarding, rock climbing, diving, and sailing.