ELM Certified Peer Mentors (CPMs) are a cadre of leaders who continue to engage with new inductees into the program and train future peer mentors on campus. They interact closely with mentors in training on leveraging the ELM principles and working on specific areas of professional and personal development to help them become more mindful, empathetic and well-rounded leaders.
Interested in meeting with a Peer Mentor? Click here to set up a meeting time.
Shivam Patel
Nabilah Siddiqui
Nese Gulay Altintas
Christopher Converse
KyLee Hennes
Riki Osako
Matthew Nejedlo
Nazia Hasan
Eddie Silber
Ahmad Muhammad
Katherine Castaneda Argudo
Matt Nicole Fajardo
Hayley Robbins
David Singer
Delisha Mehta
Navya Sheth
Saumya Sukhthankar
Aditi Kumar
Lucy Kegley
Rafaela Silvano
Andrea Ocampo
Yasaman Mostafavi
Taylor Frye
Raghukarn Sharma
Kanishk Pal
Miyako Nakamura
Associate Academic Coach
Hello! My name is Shivam Patel. I am a third year student majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a specialization in Medical Imaging on the pre-medicine track. Currently, I am the co-president of the Illinois Tech chapter of a nonprofit organization called Project Sunshine. Feel free to contact me regarding any general opportunities at our university or for any advice and help!
Associate Academic Coach & Teaching Assistant for CS115/116
Hey everyone! My name is Nabilah Siddiqui and I am a third-year computer science student at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). I’m really grateful to be a part of the IIT community because it has essentially allowed me to develop my leadership skills and become a leader who could help provide both academic coaching and mentoring to my Illinois Tech peers.
As someone who wants to make a positive change on campus, I aspire to help and support others around me. Currently, I am a Leadership Academy Scholar, Teaching Assistant for Object-Oriented programming courses, Associate Academic Coach, and Vice President of the WiCyS (Women in Cybersecurity) chapter at Illinois Tech.
I definitely look forward to connecting and meeting with new individuals throughout the academic school year!
Associate Academic Coach
Hey there! My name is Nese, which means joy in Turkish. I am a fifth-year Architecture student and a senior scholar of M.A. and Lila Self Leadership Academy at IIT. I am currently serving as a Marketing Assistant in the Office of Campus Life and the Student Director of the American Institute of Architects Illinois Chapter.
I have been actively involved with organizations in Architecture and Design such as the American Institute of Architecture Student (AIAS) and the National Organizations of Minority Architects (NOMA) since my freshman year. For AIAS, at the national level, I served as the Council of Global Representatives Committee Member (2019-2020) and Committee Chair (2020-2021). At the regional level, which is the IIT Chapter of AIAS, I served as the Events Committee Chair (2019-2020) and the Chapter President (2020-2021).
On the other hand, I was a part of the Student Design Competition Team of NOMASiit -student chapter of NOMA at IIT- in 2020. As a member of I-NOMA (Illinois Chapter of NOMA) I have been volunteering in the Project Pipeline initiative as a mentor for the last two years. This summer I interned at Quinn Evans -an architecture firm- in Washington DC, representing NOMA as part of the Noma Foundation Fellowship 2022 Cohort.
Little (maybe even fun?) facts about me: my favorite color is turquoise, being near/in water makes me happy, I don’t know how to bike but I am good at sailing, I am interested in photography and film. Also…I believe our names influence our personalities, so if you don’t know the meaning of your name already, google it, please :)
Hi, my name is Christopher Converse and I am an Associate Coach.
I am a 4th year Chemical Engineering Major and I am apart of a couple of student orgs at IIT such as the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the National Society of Black Engineers, and Camras Scholars. I have experience in Technical Sales from a previous internship as well. In my free time I like to exercise, play games, and dance to Latin music.
Peer Mentor
Major: Architecture (Undergrad) & Music (Minor)
Peer Mentor
Associate Academic Coach
Hello! My name is Matt Nejedlo, and I’m an associate academic coach. My job is to advise students in their general learning strategies journey. I work under a professional academic coach, and our team is dedicated to your academic success.
A little about me: I’m a second year Aerospace Engineering major from Random Lake, WI. I’ve always loved aviation and Engineering, I’m a big DIY hobbyist, I love flying, and grabbing food with my friends.
Academic Associate Coach
Hi, my name is Nazia!
I am a second year undergraduate student studying Biology and Psychology. Specifically, I find the brain and all of its functions and maintenance fascinating. I am a pre-med, interested in going into Emergency Medicine. I like binging TV shows including Friends, Grey’s Anatomy, Bridgerton, etc. and I watch Turkish shows. I am obsessed with cats (although I might be allergic..). I am so excited to meet new students and be a part of their support system as they navigate college. If I am not in class, you’ll probably find me at Prtizker, so please stop by and say hi!
Associate Academic Coach
I am a first year clinical psychology PhD student at Illinois Tech. I received my master’s degree at Louisiana State University (LSU) in kinesiology with a specialization in psychological sciences. While at LSU, I served as the instructor for two undergraduate courses. My master’s thesis examined the moderating roles that mindfulness and physical activity have on behavioral inhibition sensitivity and psychological distress. After completing my thesis, I was awared national recognition as an AKA Scholar. My current research agenda takes a motivational approach to better understand cognitive and behavior change. Specifically, my recent interests have focused on utilizing digital health outlets as a means of increasing excercise behaviors and reducing psychological distress. Thus, my long-term goals include studying new technologies (digital health services, VR/XR) to promote mental and physical health changes.
Ahmad here:
A fifth-year co-terminal, Camras Scholar obtaining my Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Master’s in Marketing Analytics. To share more of my background, I am a Chicago native and a student-athlete at the university and have been involved in projects such as co-founding the startup Beyond the Sole where I’ve explored leveraging wearable technology and machine learning algorithms to optimize athletic performance, detect common movement patterns related to athletic injury, and assist in recovery after injury within physical therapy practices. I’ve also founded the World Languages and Cultures Club here on campus and spearheaded events across the city of Chicago while becoming an integral part of the university Men’s Basketball Team. Beyond this, I’ve volunteered for the non-profit organization ChiGivesBack and have been an advocate for partnering with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention where I’ve participated in our annual campus-wide prevention walk.
Ultimately, I’ve been exposed to a multitude of elements of the business world while here —including finance, marketing, and data analytics, all through a tech-focused lens—and this has fortunately helped me land internships at companies such as NBC Sports, this summer working at 2K Games on their NBA Global Marketing Strategy team, and starting this fall at Warner Bros. Discovery as a member within their NBA on TNT & NBA TV marketing department.
As driven as I am to make the most out of my own journey, I am just as willing to lend a helping hand and see others reach success. That being said, always feel free to reach out. I’m open to even chatting about daily life and hobbies in general.
Associate Academic Coach
Hi I’m Katherine. I am currently studying to be a Biomedical Engineer at IIT and I love art and comedy!
Associate Academic Coach
Hayley Robbins is in her fourth year of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. She dreams of working in the city on high-rise or residential architecture, with a passion for sustainable and affordable design. Architecture, to her, is not just about designing beautiful, captivating structures. It’s about the people we design for, all people, and the environment we design in.
In addition to her studies, Hayley is also the President of 33rd Street Productions, IIT’s theatre organization. She loves performing, whether it’s dancing, singing, or acting. She also designs and builds sets, plans and schedules events and general body meetings for the organization, and is currently directing a play. She currently works as an Associate Academic Coach through the IIT ARC. Hayley is also an active member of AIAS and NOMAS, and is an executive delegate on the communications team of the CAMRAS Scholarship Program.
Academic Coach/Peer Mentor
Hi,
My name is David, you can either call me that, da-veed, or singer. I have no preference :)
I am currently a 4th-year Information Technology & Management student on the 5-year track for a Master’s in the same degree with a specialization in Web Technologies and a Minor in Artificial Intelligence. Besides that, I am involved in the Leadership Academy, Food Recovery Network, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and also an athlete for IIT Men’s Volleyball alongside my many other passions like entrepreneurship.
I’ve got a strong passion for living life to the fullest and I want to help you conquer whatever might be holding you back, I have a lot of experience and insight when it comes to school, health, mindset, life balance, and the whole rest of the list of possibilities.
It all starts with that one step forward, just reach out to me and we can go from there :)
Associate academic coach
I am a fourth-year student, pursuing a bachelors degree in Architecture while doing a co-term in Construction Management. I am a recipient of the Leadership Academy Scholarship and am involved with activities and organizations in and around campus such as the student government association, College of architecture mentorship program, the Office of residence life as a Community Desk Assistant and Yield Engagement Coach.Besides that, in my free time I like to do photography , fitness, adventure activities or just explore places.
Peer Mentor
Hello I am Navya Sheth. I am a 4th year undergraduate student majoring in Computer Engineering with a minor in Finance. I am an international student from India, specifically Gujarat. I have worked on-campus at the Academic Resource Center as a part-time Computer Science tutor for 2 years, Supplemental Instructor for Computer Science 100-200 courses for 1 year, and an Associate Academic Coach for 6 months now. I would to love to share tips and strategies as to how to get academically stronger after experiencing college all this while, so feel free to schedule a 1-1 with me.
First Year Mentor
Certified Peer Mentor and Team Lead
Hi! My name is Andrea and I am a 4th year computer science student. I am a team lead in the Yield Engagement and Academic Coaching programs and have a passion for helping others! I am also involved in the student council for the College of Computing and am vice president of Go Running IIT.
On my free time I enjoy watching movies, running, cross stitching, and drinking lattes. I also love spending time in the city!
