Meet the Staff

The MIT Camp Kesem staff can be reached at mit@campkesem.org. Please send us any questions or comments — we would love to hear from you! Otherwise, look below to meet the organizers behind Camp Kesem MIT 2013.

Co-Chairs

Hamsika Chandrasekar [Kiwi]

Hey everyone! I'm Hamsika, a.k.a. Kiwi, and I'm a senior studying Computational Biology and Neuroscience. I love reading, dancing, singing, and drawing–but most of all, I love Camp

Can't wait for CK 2013!!

Angela Ma [Horton]

Hellloooo!! I'm Angela, but at Camp Kesem, I'm a giant Who-hearing elephant called Horton (my favorite bedtime stories were Dr. Seuss's!). I'm a junior studying Chemistry and Biology. I love singing Disney songs in the shower, listing to angsty classical music, cooking and baking, and of course, being at Camp! The past two years with CK MIT have been incredible, and I'm so excited to see how ridiculously awesome and amazing the coordinators and counselors are going to make Camp Kesem 2013! (I also really like using exclamation points.)

Coordinators

Camper Care
LuRae Dycus [Bubblegum]	Hey all, LuRae here, better known as Bubblegum at camp I'm currently a junior majoring in biological engineering in the hopes of becoming an oncologist and cancer researcher. My favorite thing in the world is laughter, and apart from that I enjoy listening to music and playing guitar, or making candles and knitting scarves (I'll make a good grandma!). I'm superrrr excited to be in Camper Care this year, and I can't wait for next summer's camp!!
Antuan Weeks [Mufasa]	Sanibonani! (Or hello there!) I am Antuan Weeks–aka "Mufasa"–and I am a junior in the Economics department, looking to focus on development issues around the world. Born and raised in Georgia, I have a natural affinity for the outdoors, enjoy playing music on various instruments, and I love building things with my hands. I've done summer camps basically all my life, and Camp Kesem has been the greatest experience, hands-down! Looking forward to another awesome year
Administration & Programing
Katie Lee [Gizmo]	Hey! My name is Gizmo, but some people call me Katie Lee. By day, I am a sophomore majoring in computer science, but by night, I am a craftmaster who is often spotted singing camp songs while delivering loaves of banana bread around campus. I enjoyed being the arts counselor last year, and I can't wait for another great year of camp!
Dylan Soukup [Tiger]	Hello everyone! I'm Tiger, but for some odd reason they wrote Dylan on my birth certificate. I am currently a junior studying biology. When I'm not working on camp planning, you can find me driving an ambulance, trying to learn picture/video editing, eating, or hanging out with my friends and fellow CK counselors. Trust me when I say, the word 'excited' doesn't even begin to describe my feeling towards CK 2013! This will be my second year on the admin and camp programming team and I cannot wait to make this year even better than last! CK 2013 can't come fast enough!
Vikas Velagapudi [Crush]	Hi, my name is Vikas, but you can call me Crush! I'm so excited to help plan Camp Kesem 2013!
Fundraising
Ramkumar Venkateswaran [Pi]	Pi is a senior majoring in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT. He has been involved in Camp Kesem since freshman year and absolutely loves going back each year. For his first two years he was a coordinator for the youngest age group (aka the best group!). Last year he helped plan the Olympic themed camp with his partner in crime, Tiger. He is now looking forward to designing new fundraising events that are both fun and successful. From the whole fundraising team, CLAM (Camp Love and More).
Preeti Singhal [Strawberry]	Hi! I'm Preeti (a.k.a. Strawberry) and I hail from good 'ole Texas! I'm currently a sophomore majoring in Biology and Neuroscience. I love to dance, sing in the shower, laugh, and hang out with my campers! This will be my second year at camp, first year as a coordinator. I absolutely cannot wait for CK 2013!
Catherine Cheng [Mulan]	Hi! Some people call me Catherine, and many of the boys still call me Ping, but I mostly prefer Fa Mulan (or Mumu). After saving China from the Mongol invasion, there wasn't a whole lot to do, so I came to America to study both Civil/Environmental Engineering, and Mathematics. Outside of school, though, I bring honor to my family and the fundraising committee. I am so excited to be a coordinator again, and I can't wait for my third year at camp!!
Student Support
Evan Moore [Skittles]	Yo! My name is Evan Moore, aka Skittles (I LOVE CANDY). I'm currently a junior planning to take over the world with the rest of my fellow Computer Science majors. I was born in Georgia but raised in Louisville, Kentucky; a southern gentleman through and through. I can be an extremely goofy person at times. Outside of the class and Camp, I'm an avid hip-hop listener, big sports fan (I led the sports rotation last year), and a fun dancer. Above all, I love to chill with any and all peoples.That's it for now, I'm off to work on a time machine: Camp Kesem 2013 just can't come soon enough!
Ruth Abrams [Cinnamon]	Hey Y'all! In real life people call my Ruth, but I much prefer my camp name, Cinnamon. I'm currently a junior studying neuroscience. I'm originally from Texas, though, and I've got a Texas sized amount of enthusiasm to match! Along with that comes a Texas size appetite, so while at school I've been teaching myself to cook and bake. I've also been going to and working at camps since I was 8 years old, and I can say there is no place quite as amazing and wonderful as CK MIT! I can't wait to start making CK MIT 2013 even better and more amazing, if that's possible!
Teen Program
Devin Cela [Ash]	Hi, my name is Devin, but at camp you can call me Ash Ketchum (it's a Pokemon thing). I'm a senior majoring in Physics. This will be my fourth and final year at camp and third as the Teen Coordinator. I love rowing, cooking, eating (after the cooking), and reading. I'm excited to be planning the biggest and best Teen Program yet!
Kwesi Phillips [Pheonix]	Hi! My name is Kwesi Phillips, Pheonix for short, and I am a Teen Coordinator for Camp Kesem 2012-2013! To say that Camp Kesem is an amazing program is an understatement, because this student-run group has changed the course of my MIT career. When I am not studying on campus for my Comparative Media Studies major with a minor in Architecture, I love dancing in various groups on campus, playing jazz with friends, and spending time with my brothers from Nu Delta. I am so excited for this next year training with new counselors and catching up with the old ones. I hope you are all ready for some incredible experiences for the next few months, because here they come!
Public Relations
Rachel McDermott [Squagel]	My name is Squagel, but you can call me Squags or, if you must, Rachel. In my free time, I'm usually spending quality time with my awesome sisters in Theta, or singing in a cross campus a cappella group called the MIT-Wellesley Toons. If you still can't find me, there's a good chance that I'm cutting the round parts off of bagels. Those are just ridiculous. I can't tell you how excited I am to be working as a PR coordinator this year with Scooby and Waka! CK love!
Vivek Desari [Waka]	Waddup! I'm Vivek (better known at Camp as Waka). I'm currently a junior studying Computer Science and Biology. I do lots of random things around campus, but nothing quite as exciting as Camp! I'm can't wait for my third year at Camp. Looking forward to singing lots of songs, going on crazy adventures, and having a ball with all our amazing campers.
Kenny Lam [Scooby]	Hi! My name is Kenny, and I don't do much in the day, but I spend my nights riding around in the Mystery Machine as Scooby Doo. I am a current senior at MIT in Computer Science and Physics. In my spare time, I mostly tinker around in photography and write lots of code. This will be my third time at camp, and I am already so excited!! Looking forward to my second year as a coordinator, and working with Waka and Squagel!