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
Hadil Owda
Salaam! I'm Hadil Owda, a sophomore majoring in Electrical Engineering. I am a native Arabic speaker with a passion for the language, and I have even participated in debates in Arabic. In my free time, I enjoy listening to music, going bowling, and trying new foods. Through the LCP program, I'm eager to share my love for my mother tongue with you and look forward to our conversations.
Chinese LCPs
Kaiqiao Tang
你好呀! My name is Kaiqiao :) I’m a sophomore from Xi’an, China, studying Mechanical Engineering with minors in Computer Sciences and Aeronautics & Astronautics. Beyond academics, I’m involved in the First-Generation and/or Low-Income Students Success Center through Leland Scholars and Stanford Summer Fellows Program. In my free time, I love yapping with my friends, hiking, traveling, and listening to music, especially Taylor Swift (I’m THE Biggest Swiftie :) I grew up speaking both Chinese(Mandarin) and my local dialect at home, and I started learning English a few years ago. I can’t wait to yapping with y’all in my mother tongue!!!
Tina Lu
Hi! My name is Tina, and I am from Shanghai, China. I am a junior majoring in STS and Psychology. Beyond my academics, I am also a member of the women's golf team. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with friends, going on road trips, and exploring new cuisines. Chinese is my first language, and I can't wait to speak my mother tongue with you!
French LCPs
Caroline Sturdza
Hello! My name is Caroline and I am from the French-speaking part of Switzerland. I am a senior double majoring in STS with a focus on Communication & Media and Psychology. Alongside my academic pursuits, I am on the Women's Golf Team at Stanford. In my free time, I enjoy listening to music, hanging out with friends, going on trail walks, and cooking.I look forward to speaking French with y'all.
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.
Lavi Sundar
Lavi Sundar is a junior at Stanford University, majoring in psychology with minors in political science and modern languages (French & Italian). She has always been an avid learner of languages, and an advocate for the expansion of foreign language acquisition programs in the United States. In her free time, Lavi is also a student researcher, speech & debate coach, singer in Stanford Talisman, and amateur poet.
Sophia Younge
Hi! My name is Sophia :-). I am a sophomore from Lausanne, Switzerland. I was born in Colorado and moved to Switzerland when I was 11. I grew up speaking English at home, and I learned French through immersion at school. People often told me the best way to learn a language was to "just start speaking." That is very difficult! It's challenging to speak when you're sure you'll make mistakes or forget words. I've lived through those difficulties as a non-native speaker :-). As your tutor, I want to create an environment where you will feel comfortable speaking. We can work together on fluency and accuracy. I am very passionate about supporting you through this process and fostering a low-stress environment. I look forward to meeting you!
German LCPs
Lilly Mariam Salus
Hi! I’m Lilly and I am from Berlin, Germany. At Stanford I am a junior majoring in Economics. In my free time I enjoy reading novels, going on hikes with friends to the dish, and rowing with the Stanford Dragonboat team. LCP tutoring has really helped me improve my conversational Chinese, and I am very excited to meet you soon!
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!
Ilaria Chen
Hey guys! My name is Ilaria and I am a junior studying Symbolic Systems. I was born and raised in Rome, Italy and am super excited to chat with you all in Italian. Outside of schoolwork, I am a director for the Alliance Dance team and also a member of the Stanford Equestrian Team. Super excited to meet you all ;)
Japanese LCPs
Yuka Yang
Hi! My name is Yuka Yang and I am a sophomore from Memphis, TN studying Economics and International Relations. I am a native Japanese speaker, and on campus, I am involved in the Stanford Japan Exchange Conference where I have had the opportunity to collaborate with students from Japanese universities! In my free time, I love watching shows, online shopping, and going to coffee shops. I am excited to meet everyone through LCP!!
Korean LCPs
Richard Oh
Hello! I am Richard, and I am a sophomore studying theoretical mathematics. I have lived half of my life in the states and the other half in South Korea. Naturally, I have fought against the blazing California sunshine as well as the freezing Korean winter. Outside of class, you will often find me enjoying music or working out. I cannot wait to talk with you!
Portuguese LCP
Caroline Cahilly
Oi! My name is Caroline, and I am a co-term studying CS. I first travelled to Brazil when I was 9 years old and totally fell in love. Since then, I have been back to Brazil many times and have even travelled to Mozambique and Portugal! I took my Portuguese to the next level studying it here at Stanford---as well as during an internship this past summer in São Paulo---and am excited to help you all do the same :)
Isa Calero Forero
Oi! My name is Isa (they/them) and I am a senior studying International Relations and co-terming in Latin American Studies. 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 sixth-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
Isabella Barrientos
Hi! My name is Isabella Barrientos and I'm a rising junior planning to major in Economics. I'm from Cali, Colombia so I've spoken Spanish my whole life. I'm extremely passionate about languages (took a Gap Year in Paris), love to travel and try new foods, and am a huge adrenaline junkie. Can't wait to meet you!
Laura Paola Gomezjurado Gonzalez
¡Hola! My name is Laura and I'm a second year student from Bogota, Colombia. I'm currently majoring in CS and I hope to focus on AI, but I love to talk about all kinds of topics! From astronomy, biology, the meaning of life, to art and famous reggeaton singers. I love to dance - especially Tango. I'm looking forward to meet you :D
Luciana Bridges, Lead LCP
Hola! My name is Luciana (she/her), and I’m from Lima, Peru and New Orleans, Louisiana. I am a senior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CSRE). Growing up in a bilingual and bicultural household, I had to quickly learn how to navigate switching between languages and cultures, in order to fit into both. My upbringing also gave me a love for reading, playing volleyball, and dancing. In my free time, I like listening to Taylor Swift, Hozier, and boygenius. I can’t wait to work and share my love for Spanish with you!
Lyzet Montañez Hurtado, Lead LCP
¡Hola! My name is Lyzet Montañez Hurtado (she/her/ella), I am a senior majoring in Political Science and minoring in Spanish/CSRE. I am a heritage Spanish speaker from Clearlake, CA and my family is from a small rancho in Michoacán, Mexico. On campus, I am most involved with Stanford Derechos and Folklorico. I love to crochet, paint, propagate plants, make bracelets, and decorate, among other things. I am very much looking forward to meeting you and learning more about you and your interests! :)
Ronak Shetty, Lead LCP
¡Hola!My name is Ronak Shetty, and I am a Junior at Stanford University with a background in Spanish and Portuguese language and Iberian and Latin American Cultures.I’m a global citizen and a product of colonialism. Simply put, I’m a South Asian that loves studying connections and opening doors that investigate the various similarities between the languages and cultures of South Asia, the Iberian Peninsula, and Latin America.While I did not grow up with Spanish as my first language, I’ve spent the past few years working with students who are learning Spanish as a second language. In truth, I find that second language learner (L2) students typically encounter the same struggles in communication that I once did. Therefore, I can relate well with the experiences of L2 students. As such, I’m ready to get to work with you and speak on various topics ranging from travel to favorite hobbies/pastimes. Let’s have some fun! Nos vemos :)“Cuando una puerta se cierra, otra se abre.”“When one door is closed, another is opened.”-Miguel de Cervantes (the Shakesphere of Spanish Lit :)
Silvana Alfaro
Hi! My name is Silvana and I am a Junior 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 and I just finished my undergrad in SymSys and now I'm an MS&E Coterm. 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!