SAC Members 2021
Close collaboration with students is a highlight of working at USF. We appreciate the effort and work of the 2021 academic year Student Advisory Committee.
Name: Anastasia Vrachnos
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Hometown: Zevgolatio, Greece
Languages Spoken: Greek, Ancient Greek, Latin, Bahasa Indonesia
email: avrachnos@usfca.edu
I am thrilled to serve as the Associate vice provost of International Initiatives at USF. I most recently served as the Vice Provost of international affairs at Princeton University. Before that, I was Dean of International and Professional learning at Yale-NUS college in Singapore and Executive Director of Princeton in Asia. I've lived in Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, East Timor, Greece, and New Jersey (which sometimes felt like its own country!) One of the things that drew me to USF was the university's global perspective and the international nature of the student body. I love learning from USF's over 1300 international students who hail from over 90 countries in the world. Landing in the Bay Area has been a food lover's and nature lover's dream. I never get tired of crossing the Golden Gate bridge--it takes my breath away every time and, if it's foggy, my three young children like to roll down the windows and yell at the top of their lungs, "We're in the clouds."
Name: Bhumika Srinivas
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Class Year: second year
School/Major: Data Science
Hometown: Bangalore, India
Languages Spoken: English, Kannada, Telugu, and Hindi
email: bsrinivas@dons.usfca.edu
Hey everyone! I am a second-year international student from India, majoring in Data Science. Being an international student has been a roller coaster ride due to the cultural differences and challenges of living in another country. Joining the OII Student Advisory Committee is a great opportunity for me to share my journey, spread happiness, and collaborate with other international students to actively represent their views and concerns.
Name: Pauline Bayiha
Pronouns: She / her / hers
Class Year: Junior / Third Year
School/Major: Accounting
Hometown: Douala, Cameroon
Languages Spoken: French, English, conversational Portuguese
Email: pngobayiha@dons.usfca.edu
Hello, my name is Pauline Bayiha. I am an international student from Cameroon. This is my 5th year in the United States and my third at USF. It has been a rollercoaster living here and getting used to not being home but I would not trade this beautiful experience for anything. I met amazing people and I get to build myself in every way possible every day.
Name: Shennel EP Henries
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Class Year: first year
School/Major: International Studies
Hometown: Monrovia, Liberia
Languages Spoken: Liberian Colloquial and English
Email: sehenries@dons.usfca.edu
My name is Shennel EP Henries and I am a first-year International Studies student. As an international student, I believe in the power of diversity and inclusivity. Therefore, one of my goals is to authentically integrate my experiences and what I have learned living in another country, to give people a different scope of addressing issues. I joined the OII Student Advisory Committee because I believe that one of the roads to creating a better world is acknowledging the opportunities that you have received from others and spreading good energy into the world.
Name: Concesse Nyirazikunze
Pronouns: She/Her/hers
Class Year: Sophomore
School/Major: Architecture
Hometown: Gisenyi, Rwanda
Languages Spoken: English, French, and Kinyarwanda
Email: cnyirazikunze@dons.usfca.edu
I am a second-year international student from Rwanda, in the East of Africa and I am studying Architecture. I am excited to serve on the International Student Advisory Committee. As an international student, who traveled miles away from my country and family, I was shocked by the cultural differences and missed my home very much and I still do. Serving on this committee is an opportunity for me to grow as a person and represent other international students to make the USF experience the best we can.
Name: Emma DeBow
Pronouns: She / her / hers
Class Year: Junior / Third Year
School/Major: International Studies, Asian Studies Minor
Hometown: Beaverton, Oregon (USA)
Languages Spoken: English, Conversational Korean
Email: eedebow@dons.usfca.edu
My name is Emma DeBow and I am a third-year student in the International Studies department. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to work with a group of driven International students here at USF through the International Student Advisory Committee. I previously spent a year abroad in South Korea as a student so I have had a very small taste of what it is like to leave your home for somewhere new (and scary). I want to help represent and work with International students in the United States to ensure they have a welcoming and enjoyable experience just like I was able to experience when I went abroad!
Name: Berkeley Phan
Pronouns: She/They
Class Year: Freshman
School/Major: Undeclared
Hometown: Hanoi, Vietnam
Languages Spoken: English, Vietnamese, and conversational Japanese
Email: lbphan@dons.usfca.edu
My name is Berkeley. I am an international freshman student and Getty Scholar from Vietnam. The privilege of having a global education has motivated me to join this committee and I cannot wait to join the discussion on international initiatives at USF! This is also an opportunity for me to meet new people and I am beyond excited to share this space with like-minded students who care about leadership and advocacy. Away from school, I am currently binging the Criterion Collection and enjoying Maryland’s unpredictable weather. Feel free to reach out to talk about international matters, film, or anything in between!
Name: Keiko Lee
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Class Year: Senior
School/Major: International Studies, Asian Studies, and Hospitality Management minor
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan, and Singapore
Languages Spoken: English and Japanese
Email: khiranolee@dons.usfca.edu
I am Keiko and a senior International Studies major from Japan, Singapore, and the US. Being a third culture kid for my whole life, I became accustomed to the perceived struggle of not fitting into one specific category of people. However, I accepted my uniqueness and want to help others feel more comfortable/at ease in their own skin. By joining this committee and accentuating the voices of international students, this opportunity brings on a different perspective to consider as well as breaking the normalized stereotypes that exist in the community.
Name: Courtney L’Abbe
Pronouns: She/her
Class year: Senior
School/Major: International Studies
Hometown: Portsmouth, NH
Languages Spoken: English
USF email: cmlabbe@dons.usfca.edu
My name is Courtney L’Abbe and I am a senior in the International Studies department and will be graduating in May. I am excited to be a part of the International Student Advisory Committee and work with other students here at USF. Last spring I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to study abroad last spring in India and understood partly some of the struggles international students face when leaving home. I hope through working with the International Student Advisory Committee we can help with the transition these students face and make the overall study abroad experience more accessible to more students.
Preferred Name: Marcella DeProto
Pronouns: She/Her
Position: ISSS Director
Hometown: Guerneville, CA
Languages Spoken: English
Email: mjdeproto@usfca.edu
My name is Marcella and as the ISSS Director, I am so fortunate to get to work with students from all over the world. I have been at USF since 2007 and prior to that, I was in graduate school completing a Master’s in International Education. I have also worked for the Institute for International Education (IIE) in San Francisco and Vietnam, and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Nepal. USF is a great place to work because it is a collaborative environment and faculty and staff are motivated to support students in their learning and development (cura personalis). We do a lot of things right, but we need input from our students to know what you need and how we can best help them.