After a successful rush planned by Jonah Elisofon, Theta Tau Xi Chapter is excited to welcome our Fall 22′ Pledge Class!
Alex Schmitz
Year: Freshman
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Hometown: Walworth, WI
Why your major: I love creating things and solving problems with my ideas.
Why UW-Madison: Growing up in Wisconsin, I’ve always visited campus and enjoyed many aspects of the university. I knew UW Madison was the place I would have the most fun and also develop the most professionally.
Describe yourself in 3 words: Funny, loyal, gritty.
Hobbies and interests: Sports, music, theatre, and cinema
Fun Fact: I have a twin brother
Favorite spot on campus: four lakes
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?: I want to give a paraplegic person the ability to walk again.
Rhea Marwaha
Year: Freshman
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Hometown: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Why your major: I picked mechanical engineering because I’ve always been interested in designing and innovating. Math and science were always my strong subjects and I love applying those subjects into engineering based projects.
Why UW-Madison: This university has every aspect of a full college experience. The engineering program is pristine and lots of amazing opportunities.
Describe yourself in 3 words: Passionate, outgoing, and hardworking
Hobbies and interests: Tennis, learning new languages, and designing
Fun Fact: I speak 4 fluent languages
Favorite spot on campus: Sunset lounge in Memorial Union
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?: Create a product that is life changing to people all over the world.
Stephen Bail
Year: Sophomore
Major: Electrical Engineering
Hometown: Lake Forest, IL
Why your major: In high school, I loved robotics. I was good at working with circuits and coding, so I thought electrical engineering would highlight what I was good at.
Why UW-Madison: I love the engineering program and the campus is beautiful
Describe yourself in 3 words: Charismatic, hard working, clumsy
Hobbies and interests: I love golfing, working out, and doing personal projects
Fun Fact: I won a pie eating contest in 5th grade
Favorite spot on campus: Any 2nd floor classroom in the Engineering Hall
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?: I want to climb Mount Kilimanjaro
Liam Gaiden
Year: Freshman
Major: Computer Science
Hometown: Libertyville, IL
Why your major: I have always had an interest in math and science, and computer science allows me to continue using both those skills in an applied setting. Computer science also has a wide range of applications and allows me to work on solving real-world problems.
Why UW-Madison: UW Madison has outstanding academic programs. The school culture and spirit were something that I enjoyed a lot, and Madison is a great city!
Describe yourself in 3 words: Enthusiastic, respectful, curious
Hobbies and interests: Soccer, saxophone, guitar, being outdoors
Fun Fact: I can ski and snowboard!
Favorite spot on campus: Observatory point
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?: Running a marathon
Mariana Alibali
Year: Sophomore
Major: Computer Science & Linguistics
Hometown: Madison, WI
Why your major: I enjoyed block coding from a young age, and then started coding in Java and decided to major in CS. I also love to learn languages, and I am interested in computational linguistics.
Why UW-Madison: Growing up in Madison, I already knew what the culture of the school was like and it was something I wanted to be a part of. They also have an excellent computer science program which was a major plus for me.
Describe yourself in 3 words: energetic, creative, fun-loving
Hobbies and interests: Anything outdoors (kayaking, camping, hammocking), baking, board games, spending time with friends & family
Fun Fact: My favorite type of ice cream ever is Babcock’s chocolate chip cookie dough flavor.
Favorite spot on campus: The discovery building
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?: I want to apply my education at UW Madison to a job that will help people in the future.
Ike Fritz
Year: Freshman
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Hometown: Naperville, Illinois
Why your major: I wanted an engineering major that was more general and broad that allowed me to have leeway in the future. Mechanical engineering is known as the most general discipline in engineering, so I thought it worked well.
Why UW-Madison: Fun campus, good engineering program, close to home.
Describe yourself in 3 words: Creative, Caring, Friendly
Hobbies and interests: Sports, writing, service, film.
Fun Fact: I can recite the script of Lion King.
Favorite spot on campus: The Terrace
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?: I want to travel and see the world.
Will Krueger
Year: Sophomore
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Why your major: I’ve always had a strong interest in the automotive world, and I believed that mechanical engineering would be the best way to achieve that dream.
Why UW-Madison: Loved the engineering campus, and immediately felt a connection when I toured my sophomore year of high school.
Describe yourself in 3 words: Empathetic, driven, compassionate
Hobbies and interests: Weightlifting, Watches, Cars, Baja Team
Fun Fact: I am afraid of heights.
Favorite spot on campus: Anyplace that serves coffee.
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?: Make a significant contribution to sustainable car development.
Duncan Lawler
Year: Freshman
Major: Chemical Engineering
Hometown: Ladd, Illinois
Why your major: I grew up with life long food allergies. After my allergist introduced me to sublingual immuno-therapy, I was able to outgrow some of them. I chose chemical engineering because I want to make a difference in someone’s life similar to this.
Why UW-Madison: UW Madison is a prestigious public engineering college as well as a top tier research university. It was the perfect distance from home and had the best campus I visited. I am also a very big sports fan and love the culture behind the Division I teams
Describe yourself in 3 words: Friendly, Outgoing, Kind
Hobbies and interests: Sports, Video Editing, Weather Tracking, Travel
Fun Fact: I can jump over my height.
Favorite spot on campus: Memorial Union Terrace
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?: I want to travel to every continent.
Ash Krishna
Year: Sophomore
Major: Computer Science and Data Science
Hometown: Calgary, Canada
Why your major: I chose Computer Science and Data Science because I fell in love with coding and designing websites and apps. There is so much you can do with computer science and my goal is to utilize it to my full achievement.
Why UW-Madison: Loved the computer science program here and what the school offers. It’s a beautiful campus and I wanted to take part of many clubs here as possible.
Describe yourself in 3 words: Ambitious, hard working, goal oriented
Hobbies and interests: I love traveling and making vlogs. Hope to become a part time youtuber.
Fun Fact: I moved countries 5 times.
Favorite spot on campus: Memorial union terrace
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?: I want to make sure that I achieve my goals that I set since I was a kid and travel the world and collect souvenirs from each place I visit to.
Grace Bowen
Year: Freshman
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Hometown: Lakeville, MN
Why your major: I want to work in healthcare, and biomedical engineering allowed me to combine my interests in math science with medicine.
Why UW-Madison: I really liked the balance of academics and social life, and I think the campus is really pretty.
Describe yourself in 3 words: Kind, hardworking, compassionate
Hobbies and interests: I’m really interested in traveling and volunteering
Fun Fact: I have the entire Hamilton soundtrack memorized
Favorite spot on campus: 3rd floor college library
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?: I want to learn how to whistle
Anya Hadim
Year: Freshman
Major: Biomedical engineering
Hometown: Madison, New Jersey
Why your major: I picked biomedical engineering because I am fascinated by the novel innovations biomedical engineers design and manufacture to help advance the world of health and medicine. I hope to be able to help others through my own inventions and make a change in our world of medicine, we would not be able to survive without it!
Why UW-Madison: It is very rare to find a school with stellar academics, an abundance of resources, a huge social atmosphere, a beautiful large campus between two lakes, and college city with urban areas too (picnic point, lakeshore path etc.). UW Madison had everything I was looking for in a school, except for the warm weather, but I was willing to sacrifice that for all of the other benefits the school has, and I am so happy I did. Most importantly, all of the students here are very happy, and above all I think that says the most about what kind of a school UW Madison is.
Describe yourself in 3 words: outgoing, adventurous, friendly
Hobbies and interests: travel, cooking/baking, walking, dancing
Fun Fact: I am trilingual and can speak French, Spanish, and English fluently!
Favorite spot on campus: Memorial Union
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?: In my lifetime, I want to go skydiving, and I want to travel all around the world for at least 6 months!
Lily Anderson
Year: Freshman
Major: Mechanical engineering
Hometown: mahtomedi, mn
Why your major: i chose mechanical engineering because of the flexibility and versatility it has in the professional world. also i love the ability to problem solve and work with a team that comes with engineering in general.
Why UW-Madison: the work hard play hard atmosphere
Describe yourself in 3 words: live, laugh, love
Hobbies and interests: i’m from Minnesota so i love the lake and everything that comes with it (fishing, wake surfing, boating)
Fun Fact: my favorite article of clothing is a hoodie
Favorite spot on campus: the terrace
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?: be able to say that everything I did, I did with full effort
Wilfred Shereni
Year: Freshman
Major: Computer Engineering
Hometown: Zimbabwe
Why your major: I have always had an interest in Math & Sciences and problem solving
Why UW-Madison: UW-Madison has a great engineering program and I really admire badger culture
Describe yourself in 3 words: Determined, empathetic, adventurous
Hobbies and interests: Music, hanging out with friends, martial arts, binge-watching series
Fun Fact: I’ve never experienced long term snow
Favorite spot on campus: Memorial Union Terrace
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?: I’d like to travel around the globe
Aidan Mir
Year: Sophomore
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Hometown: St. Paul, Minnesota
Why your major: I like critically thinking about complex problems and want to be an innovative part of the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy systems.
Why UW-Madison: I chose UW-Madison for its diverse engineering programs and excellent academics while also having an exciting social background. The UW-Madison College of Engineering also has a great amount of funding for research and well established organizations that allow me to learn
Describe yourself in 3 words: Innovative, energetic, sleep-deprived
Hobbies and interests: Backpacking, cycling, running, precision shooting, automotive engineering
Fun Fact: I am a dual citizen.
Favorite spot on campus: Engineering Centers Building
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?: I want to restore and modify a car in my lifetime. Preferably a EURO or JDM vehicle.
Max Gertner
Year: Freshman
Major: Material Science and Engineering
Hometown: Menlo Park, CA
Why your major: Material science is applicable to a broad range of fields and provides a unique understanding of many aspects of our world. Some of the most important discoveries in history have been made in the field of material science.
Why UW-Madison: I wanted to go somewhere new for college. UW Madison offered a great engineering program, beautiful campus and location, and has a good school/social life balance.
Describe yourself in 3 words: curious, thoughtful, and diligent
Hobbies and interests: Mountain bikiing, skiing, building things, and being outside
Fun Fact: I like Rubix cubes
Favorite spot on campus: Historical Society Building
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?: Go backpacking in Patagonia