Meet Our LCPs

Our language conversation partners (LCPs) are excited to meet you to have unstructured and structured conversations in your target language, practice oral drills, and meet someone new who is fluent in the language. Read about our LCPs that host sessions in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Want to meet with one of our LCPs? Schedule an appointment here. 

Arabic LCPs

Asmaa Sultan

Chinese LCPs

Tianshu Luo

Hey! I am Tianshu from Shanghai, China. I was born in a small city in Henan, and then moved to Shanghai with my family before elementary school. I went to Long Island, New York for high school, and then moved to Cali for undergrad. Besides mandarin, I also speak two dialects in Chinese, Henanese and Shanghainese. I love playing tennis, and cooking. I can't wait to meet and have a great conversation with you! 

Vivian Zhu, Lead LCP

My name is Vivian Zhu, and I'm a Senior from Sydney, Australia majoring in International Relations and East Asian Studies. I was born in Hangzhou, China and have always loved all aspects of the Chinese language, from everyday speech to classical literary works. When I’m not learning a language (I have studied French and Latin, and am now studying Korean), I enjoy reading Chinese novels, going on jogs and long walks, cooking, photography, and debating. I am so excited to get to know you and share our love for Chinese!

French LCPs

Angie Lopez, Lead LCP

Hello! My name is Angie Lopez, and I’m an upcoming senior studying Art History and French Studies. I grew up in Miami, Florida where I spoke Spanish at home and began my French studies in first grade! Over the years, I fell in love with French’s global scope and rich literary history. I am so excited to connect with you all, talk about anything and everything, and become part of your language learning journey!

Elisa Ponte

Hi! My name is Elisa and I am a sophomore planning on majoring in chemical engineering. I grew up speaking French at home and spent a couple of years in Paris. In my free time I enjoy getting outside, drawing and doing anything spontaneous. I'm excited to meet you and can't wait to learn more about you as we chat.

Maleah Webster 

Hello! My name is Maleah (she/her) and I am a Korean and French LCP this year. I am a Junior from the Chicago area. I major in International Relations with a specialization in East and South Asia and I minor in Translation Studies. I've studied Korean and French both for 5+ years. Outside of classes I spend my time cooking, reading, painting, and watching my favorite Youtube channels. I can’t wait to get to know y’all through LCP and to support you in your language-learning journey!

Maroua Bezzaoui

Hey there! I am Maroua, a Frosh from Casablanca, Morocco. I was born and raised in Casablanca by Amazigh ( native North African) parents from a small town named Figuig. I studied French dramatic arts for 10 years of my life so theatre and French language are very close to my heart. In addition to French, I also speak Arabic ( my first language) and Tmazight (Berber). I love reading fiction and watching soap operas. I Am looking forward to chatting with you in such a fun language!

Pauline Arnoud

Hello! My name is Pauline Arnoud and I'm super excited to be one of the French LCPs this year! I'm currently a Junior pursuing a major in Computer Science and minor in education. I speak French, English and a little bit of Spanish. I was born and raised in San Francisco but attended a French high school and only speak French at home. I also enjoy traveling back to France a couple months a year to see my family! I'm very excited to chat together this year and look forward to meeting you and being a part of your language learning journey!

German LCPs

Italian LCPs

Giulia Scagliotti

Hello! My name is Giulia and I’m a PhD student in Civil Engineering. I was born in Casale Monferrato, a small town in northern Italy. I speak Italian, English and German. I have been in the United States since 2016 but I always enjoy spending a few weeks of the year in Italy, visiting my family and traveling. In my free time, I love cooking, gardening and hiking. I am excited to meet you and have conversations in Italian!

Rachel Dubit

Hi, my name is Rachel. I was born and raised in Rockbridge County, Virginia, and I am currently in my fifth year at Stanford as a PhD candidate in the Classics department with a focus on genre, gender, and landscape in first-century Latin love poetry. I love languages in general, and Italian has a special place in my heart as one of Latin’s closest modern relatives. I have lived in Italy at various times for a total of more than two years and studied Italian for about 9 years, and now I am excited to share my experience with you as an LCP here at Stanford!

Japanese LCPs

Mario DePavia

Mario DePavia is a sophomore at Stanford University. He has been studying Japanese language for seven years, over a year of which he spent living in Japan, working and commuting to a public high school. He is considering majoring in East Asian Studies and Computer Science.

 

Mayumi Kuze

Hello! My name is Mayumi, I use she/her pronouns, and I'm a rising senior at Stanford. I was born in Kanagawa, Japan, and I grew up in Tokyo. At Stanford, I'm majoring in Economics, minoring in Data Science, and I am a very passionate member of Stanford Taiko, a student-run music group at Stanford dedicated to the art of Japanese drumming! I am interested in traditional Japanese culture, especially traditional music and performing arts. My other hobbies include reading, writing, and listening to music. I'm excited to be an LCP this year, especially because I took Spanish and French courses at Stanford. I'm looking forward to meeting you all through this program!

Korean LCPs

Maleah Webster

Hello! My name is Maleah (she/her) and I am a Korean and French LCP this year. I am a Junior from the Chicago area. I major in International Relations with a specialization in East and South Asia and I minor in Translation Studies. I've studied Korean and French both for 5+ years. Outside of classes I spend my time cooking, reading, painting, and watching my favorite Youtube channels. I can’t wait to get to know y’all through LCP and to support you in your language-learning journey!

Yoo Ra Sung

My name is Yoo Ra Sung, and I am a Junior from Honolulu, Hawaii majoring in International Relations and minoring in History. I was born in Incheon, South Korea and moved to Hawaii with my family when I was young. Besides Korean I have also studied Mandarin Chinese and have a general interest in East Asian language and culture! On campus, I am a part of SIAS (Society for International Affairs at Stanford), am an editor for the Stanford Undergraduate Law Review, and worked at the Center for Human Rights and International Justice. Among other things, I love photography, painting, bowling, writing, and watching Korean dramas on Netflix. I am excited to get to know you by conversing in Korean and look forward to supporting you in your language learning journey!

Portuguese LCP

Isa Calero Forero

Oi! My name is Isa (they/them) and I am a junior studying International Relations and Iberian and Latin American Cultures. I was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador, but my family is from Cali, Colombia. I began learning Portuguese in high school, and took classes at Stanford. However, most of my learning came from taking a gap year in Brazil, and being immersed in the language and culture. I have loved learning about Brazilian culture and finding aspects of my own culture in it. Some of my hobbies include dancing in the Stanford Salseros, writing, and learning other languages like French and ASL.

Tania Flores

Oi! My name is Tania Flores, and I’m a fourth-year PhD candidate in Iberian and Latin American Cultures. Born in México and raised in California, my upbringing was binational, bicultural, and bilingual. I began learning Portuguese in the summer of 2019; I could not have imagined then the ways that the process of learning Portuguese would transform me. Today it is one of the languages I use the most in my day-to-day life. Outside of my PhD, I’m a dancer, political organizer, gardener, and poet. I can’t wait to learn more about you and chat with you about literature, music, popular culture, travel, politics, and anything else that’s of interest to you!

Spanish LCPs

Ana Ximena Sosa, Lead LCP

Hola! My name is Ximena I am a junior majoring in Civil Engineering and minoring in Energy Resources Engineering. I was born in Linares, NL, Mexico and moved to South Texas when I was eight. I grew up with Spanish as my first language and continue to speak it with my family and friends. On campus, I am most involved in the Western Equestrian Team and Los Salseros de Stanford. I love speaking about life on campus, travel, classes, hobbies, your favorite books and movies, music recommendations to improve Spanish (Bad Bunny, La Rosalia, Juanes, Morat...), cooking, and pretty much anything you want to practice your vocabulary on. I can't wait to meet you!

Elaine Michelle Hernández González

Hi! My name is Elaine and I am a senior majoring in Biology. Being from Puerto Rico, I have been speaking both Spanish and English since I was very young and now I have decided to learn a third language, French. I love to talk about Spanish and Latin American culture, especially the cuisine and literature. I also love to go to the beach and listen to any type of music (I am always open to recommendations). I am looking forward to meeting you and speaking in such a beautiful language!

Luciana Bridges

Hola! My name is Luciana, and I’m from Lima, Peru and New Orleans, Louisiana. I am a sophomore planning on majoring in Psychology and minoring in Comparative Studies of Race and Ethnicity. Growing up in a bilingual and bicultural household, I had to quickly learn how to switch between languages and cultures, in order to fit into both. My upbringing also gave me a love for reading, playing volleyball, baking, and treating people with kindness. I can’t wait to work and share with you my love for Spanish!

Lyzet Montañez Hurtado

¡Hola! I am Lyzet Montañez Hurtado (she/her/ella), a sophomore planning to major in Political Science and minor in Spanish/CSRE. I am a heritage Spanish speaker from Clearlake, CA and my family is from a small rancho in Michoacán, Mexico. I love to crochet, paint, propagate plants, make bracelets, decorate, among other things. I look forward to meeting you and learning about your interests! :)

Silvana Alfaro 

Hi! My name is Silvana and I am a sophomore from El Salvador. I love languages: Spanish is my native one, I learned English and French at school, and am now currently learning Italian. At Stanford, I am majoring in Human Biology and am very interested in Neuroscience and Psychology. In my free time I love to go on outdoor adventures like scuba diving, water skiing, and kayaking and I also love to cook savory food. I'm really excited to meet you and help you learn this wonderful language!

 Valerie Hernández

Hello! My name is Valerie Hernández and I'm a rising Junior majoring in Symbolic Systems with a concentration in HAI. I'm from Puerto Rico, so I grew up speaking Spanish at home, in school, and around the island. Some of the things I love to do are going to concerts, trying new foods, and spending time at the beach. Excited to chat!

 

Victor Meza

Hola! My name is Victor (they/them). I hail from the beautiful border cities of El Paso, Texas and Juárez, Mexico. I am a sophomore thinking of majoring in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity and Environmental Anthropology. I love talking about poetry, film, food, and anything art-related. Super excited to get to know you all!