Student Ambassador

Originally from Nigeria, Christabel Okoh, 19, resides in West St. Paul, Minnesota, and is a 2014 graduate of Mary and Martha Juniorate Convent in her homeland. A sophomore at Inver, Christabel is studying chemistry with plans to transfer to Metro State. Her career goal is to become a doctor or pharmacist.

She belongs to the Black Student Union (BSU) at Inver and enjoys dancing, making new friends and creating jewelry.

Three words that describe you as a college student: HARDWORKING. LESS SLEEP.

Why did you become a student ambassador?

"Because I want to be able to show students around the campus and also help them out."

12 Answers

1. Favorite sport or physical activity: Track events
2. Place you would most like to visit: Dubai and South Africa
3. The most exciting thing you’ve ever done: Everyday I do exciting things.
4. Your personal motto if you had to have one: “Your dreams don’t have an expiration date.”
5. Favorite all-time TV show: Empire
6. Second favorite all-time TV show: Gilmore Girls
7. One thing you most want to accomplish in life: Be the CEO of a jewelry company
8. Most precious material possession: My toy
9. Dream occupation: Doctor or pharmacist
10. Person you would most like to meet: Tie: Chidinma, Beyoncé and Tiwa Savage
11. Skill you would most like to learn and master: How to be creative
12. Most important issue or problem facing humankind: We don’t want to love one another like the way we love ourselves.

Student Ambassador

Larissa Marques, 18, hails from Recife, Brazil. A 2015 graduate of Professor Arnaldo Carneiro Leão, Larissa resides in Rosemount, Minnesota. She’s a freshman at Inver Hills majoring in engineering with plans to add a second major in international business.

After Inver, Larissa is looking at transferring to Minnesota State Mankato or the University of St. Thomas. Her goals are centered on opening a Mathnasium franchise in her home country. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, reading, dancing and playing piano.

Three words that describe you as a college student: HARDWORKING. ORGANIZED. RESPONSIBLE.

Why did you become a student ambassador?

“I have always liked helping people and I can do that as a student ambassador.”

12 Answers

1. Favorite sport or physical activity: Volleyball
2. Place you would most like to visit: Ranch Neverland in California
3. The most exciting thing you’ve ever done: When I came to the U.S. for the first time as exchange student
4. Your personal motto if you had to have one: "Never stop trying."
5. Favorite all-time TV show: The Vampire Diaries
6. Favorite all-time movie: Moonwalker
7. One thing you most want to accomplish in life: Change people’s lives in Bangladesh
8. Most precious material possession: Michael Jackson Bad 25 box set
9. Dream occupation: Open a Mathnasium math learning center in Brazil
10. Person you would most like to meet: Michael Jackson
11. Skill you would most like to learn and master: Drawing
12. Most important issue or problem facing humankind: Health issues

Student Ambassador

Alec Mitzuk, 26, is a sophomore at Inver Hills, earning his Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree. Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, he graduated from St. Paul Central High School, class of 2009. ("Go Minutemen!")

Along with serving as a student ambassador, Alec is the treasurer on the Student Senate Executive Board. His transfer plans are centered on attending the University of Minnesota to study philosophy and economics. His career goals are twofold, open a microbrewery and/or start a consulting business.

Alec resides in St. Paul and in his free time he enjoys videogames, touring microbreweries, socializing, and reading philosophy and history, the latter especially about World War II.

Three words that describe you as a college student: OUTGOING. FUNNY. DETERMINED.

12 Answers

1. Favorite sport or physical activity: Football
2. Place you would most like to visit: WWII locations across Europe
3. The most exciting thing you’ve ever done: TBD
4. Your personal motto if you had to have one: "Live fast and take chances."
5. Favorite all-time TV show: Stargate SG-1
6. Favorite all-time movie: The Godfather
7. One thing you most want to accomplish in life: Travel and experience broad ranges of culture
8. Most precious material possession: Miniature Terra Cotta Soldier replica from China
9. Dream occupation: Owning a microbrewery
10. Person you would most like to meet: Winston Churchill
11. Skill you would most like to learn and master: Speaking Spanish
12. Most important issue or problem facing humankind: Lack of critical and philosophical thinking

Student Ambassador

Matt Elsenheimer, 20, calls Eagan, Minnesota, home. Matt graduated from Eagan High School, class of 2016. He's a sophomore at Inver Hills earning his Associate of Arts (A.A.) with an interest in sociology. He serves a NAMI secretary, belongs to the LGBT+ student club and participates in Student Senate.

After Inver, Matt plans to transfer to UW-Lacrosse, UW-River Falls or Winona State - he hasn't decided which school yet, but he’ll be starting spring 2019. In his free time, he enjoys writing and publishing poetry, running, Netflixing, reading and walking in the woods.

Three words that describe you as a college student: WARMHEARTED. OPEN. ORGANIZED.

Why did you become a student ambassador?

"I became a student ambassador because of how tied you are to the students and the campus. A different reason is how you directly get to help students and see the impact."

12 Answers

1. Favorite sport or physical activity: Watch soccer and play hockey
2. Place you would most like to visit: Santiago, Chile
3. The most exciting thing you've ever done: Doing a double-flip on my bike and landing it off a jump in the woods
4. Your personal motto if you had to have one: "Today I will do what other won’t so tomorrow I can do what others can't."
5. Favorite all-time TV show: Supernatural
6. Favorite all-time movie: Dodgeball
7. One thing you most want to accomplish in life: Equality for everyone and anyone
8. Most precious material possession: A binder of poems
9. Dream occupation: Advisor or admissions advisor in higher education
10. Person you would most like to meet: Matt Hammer
11. Skill you would most like to learn and master: Ping pong
12. Most important issue or problem facing humankind: The amount of inequality in society and people have to face it everyday

Student Ambassador

Sommer Meyer, 19, is originally from Eagan, Minnesota. Sommer graduated from Eagan High School in 2016. She’s a sophomore at Inver Hills and very active on campus. She serves as president of Phi Theta Kappa, president of Engineering Club, and president of NAMI. She is a member of Student Senate.

Sommer is triple majoring, earning her A.A., her A.S. in Chemistry and A.S. in Engineering Fundamentals. After Inver, she hopes to transfer to the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, and complete a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and minor in German. From there, she plans on earning an M.S. in Alternative Energies at Rochester.

Her career goals are centered on becoming a chemical engineer working with solar panels and other alternative energies sources to make the world a better place.

In her free time, Sommer enjoys knitting, reading sci-fi and fantasy as well as comic books, watching Star Trek and volunteering at the Animal Humane Society.

Three words that describe you as a college student: STUDIOUS. INVOLVED. MOTIVATED.

Why did you become a student ambassador?

"I love the campus and wanted to get involved in any way I can. I also wanted to help new and current students learn their way around and get involved in the campus."

12 Answers

1. Favorite sport or physical activity: Quidditch
2. Place you would most like to visit: Germany
3. The most exciting thing you’ve ever done: Went on an amusement park road trip
4. Your personal motto if you had to have one: "Just keep swimming."
5. Favorite all-time TV show: Star Trek
6. Favorite all-time movie: The Lord of the Rings
7. One thing you most want to accomplish in life: Help create a greener world
8. Most precious material possession: All my books
9. Dream occupation: Chemical engineer
10. Person you would most like to meet: Wonder Woman
11. Skill you would most like to learn and master: How to read faster (so I can finish more books!)
12. Most important issue or problem facing humankind: Being unable to work together

Student Ambassador

Carlos Enrique Matos Vasquez, 23, is originally from Caracas, Venezuela. Carlos resides in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota and is a Minnetonka High School graduate, Class of 2012.

A sophomore at Inver Hills majoring in EMS, Carlos works for Student Life in the Cultural Center and serves as a Spanish tutor. He has AHA CPR certification, EMT certification and NREMT certification.

In his free time, Carlos enjoys light reading, cooking, videogames, watching movies and TV, exercising and playing soccer, talking and hanging out with friends.

After working and saving money as a paramedic or an emergency medical technician EMT) in an E.R, he would like to transfer to a four-year school and earn his bachelor’s degree on his way to becoming a physician assistant or going to medical school.

Three words that describe you as a college student: OPTIMISTIC. DETERMINED. HONEST.

Why did you become a student ambassador?

"I was always looking for a position within Student Life since it seemed like a fun job, and one of the best ways to get involved at Inver."

12 Answers

1. Favorite sport or physical activity: Soccer
2. Place you would most like to visit: Excelsior Bay, Minnesota
3. The most exciting thing you've ever done: Go for an exchange program and become a foreign exchange student
4. Your personal motto if you had to have one: "Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened."
5. Favorite all-time TV show: Tough one, it’s between House M.D and Scrubs.
6. Favorite all-time movie: The Dark Knight
7. One thing you most want to accomplish in life: Become a doctor and work in Doctors without Borders.
8. Most precious material possession: An old 30GB Black iPod video with my nickname on the back; it has been with me for at least 10 years and still works!
9. Dream occupation: : Physician.
10. Person you would most like to meet: If it could be anyone alive or dead, Nelson Mandela, but if it was someone who is alive, the pope.
11. Skill you would most like to learn and master: Could be cooking, or medical-related skills in order to save lives.
12. Most important issue or problem facing humankind: Alienation between people when we are more connected than ever, also lack of empathy for those in need.

Student Ambassador

Rece Wingo, 23, is in the Criminal Justice program at Inver Hills, studying corrections. Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, he graduated from Creative Arts High School, class of 2013.

After Inver, Rece is looking forward to transferring to Metropolitan State University. His goal is to finish school and get a job in the corrections field.

In his free time, Rece enjoys basketball, watching movies and learning new things.

Three words that describe you as a college student: HARDWORKING. MOTIVATED. ACHIEVER.

Why did you become a student ambassador?

"To learn what this job is all about, gain more experience in customer service and be more involved with my school."

12 Answers

1. Favorite sport or physical activity: Basketball
2. Place you would most like to visit: Miami
3. The most exciting thing you’ve ever done: Graduate high school
4. Your personal motto if you had to have one: “Within every curse, there’s a blessing.”
5. Favorite all-time TV show: None
6. Favorite all-time movie: Zootopia
7. One thing you most want to accomplish in life: Graduate college
8. Most precious material possession: My jewelry
9. Dream occupation: Juvenile probation officer
10. Person you would most like to meet: No one
11. Skill you would most like to learn and master: English
12. Most important issue or problem facing humankind: None