JESSIE HUANG
Co-President
Hi Hello Everyone! My name is Jessie Huang (she/her) and I am a 4th year Neurobiology and Psychological Sciences double major. I am from the Bay Area in a city called Fremont about an hour away from San Francisco. My hobbies include attending sporting events (ice hockey, soccer, baseball, etc), cooking, and hanging out with friends. I really love traveling and hope to explore Singapore someday. One of my favorite travel spots has been Seattle, Washington because of the hot coffee and gloomy weather. I would say I’m an ambivert who enjoys a mix of chaos as well as moments of solidarity. I love going on late night Seaside runs and will always be down to grab a green thai tea despite my lactose intolerance. :))
I joined MEMO during my first year at Zoom University and have been here ever since. When I first joined this organization, I was immediately welcomed by a passionate group of individuals who inspired me to explore new things and step out of my comfort zone. Since then, the people I’ve met through MEMO have become my second family and continue to motivate me. I have enjoyed all the laughs from our socials, our fundraising efforts on Ring Road, and every community service event we host locally and abroad. I am so excited to meet all the new and returning members this upcoming year. I hope to bring the same welcoming spirit that I was introduced to when I first joined MEMO. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about anything or just want to chat! I look forward to seeing you all soon!
CONNIE TRAN
Co-President
Hi everyone! My name is Connie (she/her/hers) and I’m a 4th year Public Health Sciences & Anthropology double major :) I was born and raised in Little Saigon my whole life so OC is a very familiar home to me. Some highlights for me this past summer include going on the 14G Mission Trip, going to Regal 5 times (to watch Spiderman, Past Lives, & Barbenheimer), and going to Head in the Clouds for the first time (my wallet is crying but I’d do it all again). In my free time, I like to be a couch potato and watch a bunch of shows, explore new vegan recipes, bake bread/desserts near midnight, and go on spontaneous adventures with my friends.
I feel like each year of university has been a brand new arc for me. I like to divide my years into three arcs: zoom university, commuter life, and bearhouse. I’m not sure what arc I’m going into this year, but I’m excited! I first joined M.E.M.O. around the end of fall quarter my first year during Zoom University after hearing so many good things about the club from other people. Ever since then, I live, laugh, M.E.M.O. and was forever trapped. Jk, but truly all the closest friends I’ve made were from M.E.M.O. I’ve joined a lot of other organizations during my time at UCI, but nothing compares. Everyone is so supportive and welcoming here, which made my zoom year much more enjoyable and meaningful. Although the community has grown and evolved over the years, I can still say that we are still all very closely connected and supportive of each other. I can’t wait to meet everyone, new and old faces, this upcoming school year! Feel free to reach out to me anytime if you want to ask about any of my experiences or just hang out :)
TOBY NGUYEN
Co-Public Relations & Social Chair
Hey everybody! My name is Toby Nguyen (he/him) and I’m a 3rd year Biomedical Engineering major. Some of my favorite things to do in life involve my friends: playing pool or bowling, then grabbing street tacos, then finding an empty parking lot to talk and chill until 2AM. I also enjoy karaoke and trying new places to eat with friends because, even though I lived in OC my whole life, I still don't know many good food places myself (SO GIVE ME RECS 🤬🤲). When I'm by myself, I like going to the gym, playing games like Minecraft, Terraria, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, and doing calligraphy.
I found out about MEMO at AIF before my first quarter at UCI! I was enticed by the annual mission trip to Vietnam as well as service events like HOPE STEM (which is unfortunately no longer active 💔) where I would teach elementary students lessons about health and science. But what really made me stay is MEMOs inclusiveness: I was able to be myself without having to worry about fitting in. I was pretty quiet walking into my first meeting, but after one of the officers struck a conversation with me, talking suddenly felt so easy. We quickly learned a lot about each other, and we even continued to talk at our post-meeting fundraiser. Obviously, I did other things throughout the year like perform at Gala and participate at ICS, but it was really that first meeting where I knew MEMO was going to be a very special club to me.
Eager to learn more about MEMOs behind-the-scenes work, I decided to become an intern during my second year. I thoroughly enjoyed exercising my creative muscles in making icebreaker activities, Canva flyers, and our (last minute 😳) photobooth backdrop for our Big/Little Reveal. All of this time invested into MEMO opened up many opportunities for me to grow closer with my MEMO community. During my time as an intern, I enjoyed karaoke socials, late night talks, and spontaneous UTC runs with MEMO. And even throughout the summer when MEMO wasn’t active, we still hit viewpoints after dinner or pop on MEMOs Discord server to play Minecraft until 2AM: things only first-year Toby wished he could do with a college club. I’ve truly made MEMO my second family at UCI, and as one of this year’s Co-PR & Social chairs, I hope everyone can find a family in MEMO too 😎🤘
KALVIN NGUYEN
Co-Public Relations & Social Chair
Hey, hey, hey! My name is Kalvin Nguyen (he/him) and I am a 3rd year Psychology major. I have lived in OC for my whole life. I moved around in OC a few times, but I would say my hometown is Westminster in the Little Saigon area. In my free time, I like playing video games, swimming, going to get boba (If you have any boba recs let me know >w<), and I’ve been trying to get into crocheting. When I’m not doing those things, I like to wallow in the despair of existential dread… I mean watch YouTube videos, shows, and streams :D. Though I am an introvert, I still look forward to meeting new people and exploring new things!!!
I joined M.E.M.O back in Winter Quarter of my freshmen year. I was looking for ways to get involved with the community, find volunteer opportunities, and get some medical and health experience for my future career prospects, and that’s when I stumbled into M.E.M.O. At first, I was a little intimidated because I heard about the notorious pre-med and pre-health communities at UCI, but, to my surprise, some MEMObers (who have since graduated) talked to me and helped welcome me. Ever since then, I have met and gotten to know so many wonderful, hard-working, and inspiring people in M.E.M.O. Though I was initially attracted by all the service opportunities, such as health fairs, the M.E.M.O Gala, and the mission trip, and workshops M.E.M.O had, I truly stayed due to the amazing community that made every Thursday something to look forward to. Through it all, M.E.M.O has helped my introverted homebody learn so many things from different healthcare professions to breaking out of my shell and comfort zone. M.E.M.O has been an important and indispensable part of my college experience, and I hope it will continue to be for future MEMObers! I can’t wait for all the M.E.M.O. fun and antics for this year and beyond!!! ヾ(●ω●)ノ
JOSEPH SI
Co-Fundraising Chair
Hi! My name is Joseph (he/him) and I am a 3rd year Biological Sciences major. I was born and raised in the East Bay so I love the cold. I like to stay active so I try to workout as often as I can and I love to play basketball (im trash). When I have the free time, I like to play Maplestory or Valorant. I also love hanging out with my friends and doing things spontaneously, definitely a go with the flow kind of person. Another thing is that I like to make interactions awkward because I think it’s funny.
I joined M.E.M.O in the Spring Quarter of my freshman year. I remember telling myself every quarter that I’ll attend one of the meetings but kept pushing it off each quarter. Something that held me back from joining earlier was the intimidation of having to initiate conversations because I thought it would be weird if I went and didn’t talk to anyone. But, when I attended my first meeting it was really welcoming and friendly. Everyone was willing to strike a conservation with me and just get to know me which I thought was really sweet. This was my reason to continue attending meetings and the reason I was able to form the community I have with my friends today. There are definitely many opportunities and services to help local and abroad that M.E.M.O provides its members, all of which are amazing. But, the main thing that attracted me to this club is definitely the community. I’m looking forward to what the school year has to offer and can’t wait to get to know you all!
CALVIN MA
Co-Fundraising Chair
Hello hello everyone! My name is Calvin (he/him) and I am a 4th year public health sciences major. I am from an LA suburb called San Fernando Valley. I am a very active person as I enjoy things like the outdoors and playing sports. My two favorite sports right now are basketball which I have played for most of my life and volleyball which I started about a year ago. If anyone wants to play hit me up or join memo’s Intramural team >:). I am pretty goofy and awkward so please bear with me lol. When I am free, I do like watching anime (my fav is AOT), playing games like Val and eating lots of good food places!
I joined Memo in the beginning of my 3rd year and I was instantly hooked by how friendly and welcoming everyone was. Memo provided many volunteer opportunities from health fairs, food harvest and education to grade schoolers that allowed me to get experience and make a difference in the community. Through getting involved I was able to create many friendships that I am forever grateful to memo for. Being pretty introverted before joining, Memo helped me break out of my shell and helped me find a place I could look forward to after a long week of classes and work. Before I knew it the first year of Memo passed by in a flash but I am SUPER excited for this upcoming year and the many MEMOries to be made with all of y’all!
NGOC (NINA) NGUYEN
Co-Sponsorship Chair
Hi hi! My name is Ngoc Nguyen (she/her/hers), but I also go by Nina. I’m a 3rd year Psychology major, currently on the premed track. I am from the East Bay but I was born in Vietnam, so I guess I have two hometowns. If anyone would like to practice their Vietnamese with me, please feel free to do so because I also need to practice mine. My hobbies always seem to be changing, but my current ones are building legos, listening to music, and watching horror game playthroughs. I am also into anime, kdramas, and kpop and am always looking for recommendations, so please suggest some of your favorites to me! I am usually down for hanging out, whether it is getting food, going to amusement parks, or karaoke, or anything really, as long as it’s fun ^v^.
My reason for joining MEMO is probably similar to everyone else. I felt very connected with MEMO’s mission statement, which is to serve underserved communities locally and abroad in Vietnam. I always look for a chance to be able to give back to the community, and MEMO is the very place that provided me with such opportunities. Additionally, MEMO also offered me a very welcoming place to go to every Thursday, and has really helped me be more social and make a lot of new friends during my first year, when I was most anxious about everything. I will always remember my first MEMO meeting when I dragged my roommate along because I was so nervous, but I was immediately welcomed by a board member, who have now graduated. From then, MEMO has continued to help me create many precious MEMOries (haha…sorry), ones that I would like to keep for as long as I could. My college experiences would truly have not been the same without MEMO, so I hope that all MEMObers this year, new and returning, will be able to enjoy their time at MEMO!
DYLAN SIMS
Co-Sponsorship Chair
Hey everyone! My name is Dylan Sims and I am currently in my fourth year, pursuing a degree in psychology. I was born in China and moved to the US when I was 6 years old. I was fluent in Chinese, but I forgot ALL of it (my fault!). I'm currently on the pre-med track with aspirations of specializing in either anesthesiology or psychiatry. In my freetime I like going to the gym and working out chest and back (we skip leg day). My favorite foods are Chick-Fil-A, Canes, and In-and-out. There was a time when I had all three in one day (still haven't recovered from that one). I enjoy playing first person games such as Valorant. As you can see, we have other board members who also like to play valorant so we can run a 5-stack :D. I also enjoy hiking. My favorite hike is Angels Landing trail in Zion national park which sparked my interest in challenging hikes. My goal is to be able to hike Half Dome by the end of next summer.
I have a strong passion for helping the underserved. In highschool, I organized a project where we gather medical and baby supplies and donate it to an orphanage in Beijing, China. I had the opportunity to travel to the same orphanage and meet the founders where they were able to share their story. I was so inspired that I did not want to stop there so upon entering college, I actively sought out organizations where I can continuously work to help those in need. MEMO caught my attention because it perfectly aligned with my aspirations. MEMO’s inclusive and welcoming community immediately resonated with me allowing me to connect with fellow MEMObers and create enduring friendships. At the same time, I was able to continue my mission of making long lasting impacts on underserved communities. My experience in MEMO has been nothing short of remarkable, and I am looking forward to getting to know you all!
CHLOE WONG
Co-Outreach Chair
Hello! My name is Chloe (she/her/hers) and I’m an incoming third year Biological Sciences major! My hometown is Honolulu, HI, and some of my hobbies include golfing, baking/cooking, thrifting, and spending time outdoors (picnics, hikes, beach trips)! I have my golf clubs this year, so please let me know if you ever want to play a round! I also love trying new foods and restaurants or cafes around the area; lmk if you have any must-try recommendations!
I first became interested in M.E.M.O because the opportunities they provided and their mission statement. As an incoming Biology student unsure about medical school, I wanted to hear about my peers' experiences and their thought processes to help give me insight on my future career paths. I attribute M.E.M.O to helping me make the decision to pursue medical school. However, even if you aren't pre-med, listening to everyone’s stories, experiences, and insights here at M.E.M.O have always been a joy; I have learned a lot and recieved great professional and personal advice. The community created at M.E.M.O was ultimately the driving reason for my dedicated involvement. The warmhearted, lively, and accepting community has been an integral part of my college experience that I have thoroughly enjoyed. No matter what aspect entices you — going abroad, volunteering, mentorship — I hope you decide to give M.E.M.O a chance! We’re so excited to see our returning and new members alike! Cheers to more amazing MEMOries <3!
ALICIA LIN
Co-Outreach Chair
Hello everyone! My name is Alicia (she/her/hers) and I am a 3rd year Neurobiology major. I grew up in the Valley of LA with my black cat Amao (P.S. she is very cute, ask me for pics). Two of my biggest hobbies are making art and playing video games. My favorite video games are JRPGs as well as gacha games such as Honkai Star Rail; feel free to ask for my UID! Additionally, I like drawing digital fanart of characters, and I occasionally take commissions. I also enjoy going to musicals like Hamilton and concerts ranging from classical to punk rock music.
Like many incoming students, I had joined M.E.M.O. with the prospect of gaining some kind of medical volunteer experience. Not only did I gain super valuable opportunities such as volunteering as a dental assistant during health fairs and getting connected to alumni with a treasure of experiences to share, but I became more confident in what I wanted to do with my time in college. I found out through Project S.H.U.E., for instance, that I really enjoyed teaching younger students about educational topics such as nutrition and exercise, especially by making the activities fun and interactive. The best thing about M.E.M.O., in my opinion, is that fun comes with hard work– there’s plenty of Fam events and socials to meet new people, and for the foodies, there’s tons of fundraisers to try out with friends. Although I joined for the healthcare experience, I stayed for the fun memories. I know new MEMObers can look forward to doing the same!
SIANA SCHEIDEGGER
Co-Outreach Chair
Hello! My name is Siana Scheidegger (she/hers) and I am a 3rd year Human Biology major. I’m from San Diego so I love all things beach–surfing, swimming, sunsets, and beach volleyball! I’m a very outdoorsy person so I love going on hikes, traveling, and appreciating pretty views. During my free time I enjoy reading, crocheting, listening to music, and checking out thrift stores for good deals. When I’m busy with school work, I love to study at new cafes, or go to Wallwriters, which is my current favorite (I love their honey rose latte).
When I joined MEMO near the end of my freshman year, I was nervous that it would be hard to make friends since clubs seemed so intimidating to me. MEMO exceeded my expectations when I walked in for the first time, and was greeted by someone who was already interested in getting to know me. Although I joined MEMO because of my passion both for healthcare and serving the community, I stayed because of the welcoming environment, genuine friendships, and support in my healthcare journey. While volunteering is one of my favorite aspects of MEMO, I have also gained so much beneficial knowledge of different health professions, medical skills, and the path to becoming a healthcare provider. I also can’t go without mentioning all the socials, fundraisers, and meetings where I get to spend time with all the wonderful people in MEMO. I am so excited to see what 2023-2024 has in store for MEMO this year, and can’t wait to make so many more fun memories with MEMObers, both new and returning!