WMACS 2023 Counselors

 

Emily Cheng (she/they) – Head Counselor

North Potomac, MD

University of Maryland, College Park, 2021 & 2023

Camper: 8 years (2010-2017)

Counselor: 4th year (2018, 2019, 2022)

Emily recently graduated from the University of Maryland with a Master’s degree in Higher Education/Student Affairs! They are currently working as an academic coach at George Mason University helping students from NOVA community college transfer to Mason. Emily likes to dance, go to the gym, go on nature walks, build legos, pet animals, go to concerts, and all things kpop（っ＾▿＾）

As someone who basically grew up at camp, Emily’s favorite time of the year is definitely the last week of July. They met some of their closest friends at camp and looked up to the counselors that always made her feel welcomed. They are super excited for their second year as co-head counselor with Maddie, because she’s passionate about maintaining this close-knit community for Chinese/Taiwanese American youth. They’re really easily entertained, like really, so if you ever need someone to laugh at your jokes, find Emily! They especially love lame dad jokes. She can’t wait for another memorable week with new and returning faces<3

 

Maddie Tchong (she/her) – Head Counselor

Fairfax, VA

Virginia Tech, 2022

Camper: 4 years (2013, 2015-2017)

Counselor: 3rd year (2019, 2022)

Maddie is a recent graduate (jk… it’s been one whole year) of Virginia Tech with a Bachelors of Science in Business Information Technology and a concentration in cybersecurity and a minor in Chinese Studies. Maddie started her big girl job the week after WMACS 2022, so this is her first summer after 16+ years of school without a summer vacation 🙁 In her free time, Maddie is an avid bubble tea connoisseur and country line dancer. She also really enjoys crocheting (Gee! What a grandma hobby!) snowboarding, and hobby jogging (her knees do not appreciate these two activities). 

Camp has been such a big part of Maddie’s life, in fact, she wrote about WMACS for one of her college essays! She’s always looked forward to camp and has been so fortunate to have met so many wonderful and influential people, whether that may be fellow campers or past counselors, along the way. Maddie has had such fun and fulfilling summers improving relationships with returning campers and creating new ones with first-year campers which influenced her decision in returning to camp and serving as co-head with Emily!  She hopes that she can be that figurehead to campers as those before her once was for her and cannot wait for a week of camp filled with endless laughter and memories. 

 

Clarissa Xia (she/her) – Counselor

University of Maryland, College Park, 2023 

Camper: 1 year (2015)

Counselor: First year! (2023)

Clarissa is a soon-to-be graduate of the University of Maryland where she double majored in Physiology and Neurobiology and Psychology (all fancy ways of saying she likes learning about how people’s brains work). Following graduation, she’ll be starting a job at the NIH studying more brain science while applying to medical school. In her free time, Clarissa loves reading novels, eating good food, taking frequent naps, ice skating (except maybe she should stop after breaking her ankle from this), petting her two kittens (ask for pics!), and annoying her neighbors by singing karaoke loudly and badly at random hours of the day.

After a tragic 8 years away from camp (she doesn’t know how she lasted this long either), Clarissa is excited to make her triumphant return to WMACS as a first-time counselor. To make up for all the lost time, she hopes to make 8x the friends and memories at camp this year and make it the best summer ever!

 

Callie Xu (she/her) – Counselor

Chapel Hill, NC

UNC Chapel Hill, 2023

Camper:  3 years (2014-2016)

Counselor: First year! (2023)

Callie is counting down the days until her favorite week of the year, WMACS! She had an unforgettable time during her first year as a camper alongside her best friend and fellow camp counselor (Katheryn!). Ever since, she has had a soft spot in her heart for WMACS every year. She can’t wait to meet all of you at camp this summer and is eager to experience another unforgettable week of WMACS.

When she’s not at camp, Callie can be found listening to the podcast AsianBossGirl, indulging in 油条豆浆 (but no 油条豆浆 will be as good as her mom’s), or playing pickup volleyball with her friends. She dabbles in anime occasionally—every time a new Spy x Family season releases. Her guilty pleasure is watching K-Dramas & C-Dramas, it’s guilty because she has watched so many… ask her about any of your favorites and she will probably have seen it or will add it to her list! 

 

Katheryn Wang (she/her) – Counselor

Rockville, MD

Harvey Mudd College, 2023

Camper: 5 years (2012-2016)

Counselor: First year! (2023)

Katheryn is ecstatic to be back at camp, with the WMACSer she loves the most (Callie)! She’s been away from camp for a long time, but she still thinks about her time at camp with a lot of love. In her free time, you can find Katheryn tagging herself and Callie in old WMACS photos on Facebook, reading manga and manhwa (manhua is not very good, sorry China!), and eating pho.

Katheryn’s pho opinions:

– should be served so hot, I burn my tongue for the next two days

– meat should be pink when served

– bowls should be huge

– no tripe or tendon

– yes bean sprouts and lime; no basil, hoisin sauce, or sriracha

– should be cash only

– yes vietnamese iced coffee, forget my lactose intolerance

– soup > noodles > meat

 

 

Jasmine Sheng (she/her) – Counselor

Alexandria, VA 

Virginia Tech, 2024

Camper: 9 years (2011-2019) 

Counselor: First year! (2023)

Jasmine is currently a junior studying Marketing and Journalism at Virginia Tech. When she isn’t busy trying to finish her assignments, she loves watching rom-coms, baking yummy treats, going on hot girl walks, annoying her sisters, and making playlists for every mood possible. She LOVES going to concerts and is super into kpop (ult. bias is Jimin from BTS :o). She has even dragged her family to NYC to see BTS in concert twice. This past April she also convinced her mom to let her go see Suga in NYC during finals week! (haha sorry mom) 

WMACS has given Jasmine some of her best friends and memories throughout her time as a camper. July always holds a special place in her heart as WMACS has been the highlight of her summer since she was 10 years old. She is beyond excited to create new memories as a counselor while seeing some familiar faces. If you ever need someone to hype you up or give you a good laugh, Jasmine will be there!

 

Jennifer Sheng (she/her) – Counselor

Alexandria, VA

University of Virginia, 2023

Camper: 9 years (2011-19)

Counselor: 2nd year (2022)

Jennifer is a recent graduate of the University of Virginia with a Bachelors of Arts in Mathematics and Computer Science with a Psychology minor. She will begin her first big girl job this summer, so send some luck her way as she joins *the real world* :0 While at first glance her majors may look daunting, fear not, as she does more than just beep boop beep boop on a computer or calculator all day. In her free time, she enjoys baking, dancing, graphic design, spoken word poetry, and the periodic crossword puzzle. She also loves the occasional Netflix binge and exploring new TV shows, movies, and music so send any recommendations her way 😀

WMACS has been a part of Jennifer’s life for as long as she can remember. During her time as a camper, she loved coming back each year to reconnect with old friends and to meet new faces along the way. From running around doing team activities to sitting around eating XiaoYe with everyone, some of Jennifer’s fondest memories are during her years at camp. After being a first-time counselor last year, Jennifer loved the experience and can’t wait to jump back into the fun and excitement all over again this summer!

 

Julia Maa (she/her) – Counselor

North Potomac, MD

University of Maryland, College Park, 2020

Camper: 8 years (2008-2015)

Counselor: 4th year (2016, 2017, 2019)

Julia currently works as a Supply Chain Manager at a Biotechnology company in Rockville. In her free time, Julia loves to play and chill with all her fur babies (please make sure to show Julia all your pet photos <3). She also loves sleep/naps, kpop, puzzles, & consuming large amounts of french fries & bubble tea. Unfortunately, Julia had to miss the last couple years of WMACS, but she is SO excited to be back for the best week of the year!! WMACS made up most of her childhood & is where many of her core memories and friendships started, so she cannot wait to be a part of this amazing community once again.😊

 

Megan Hu (she/her) – Counselor

Derwood, MD

University of Maryland, College Park

Camper: 6 years (2010-2011, 2013, 2015-2016, 2018)

Counselor: 1st year (2023)

Megan is set to transfer to the University of Maryland, College Park in the Fall. There, she will major in, well, she hasn’t quite figured that out yet. Fun fact about Megan, she once almost set fire to her kitchen by trying to pan fry glitter paint. She was seven. Nowadays in her free time, Megan loves reading (YA and fantasy especially), watching movies, sleeping, daydreaming, and trading playlists with her friends. 

After not participating in WMACS for the last two years, Megan is very excited to return as a first-time counselor. Ever since a rather eventful first day of camp thirteen years ago, WMACS has been incredibly important to her. At camp, she met her best friend, made some of her greatest memories, and got to know some of the most interesting people. Megan can’t wait to see everyone at camp this year and looks forward to meeting all of you! Something to note, she does have a tendency to stare off into space from time to time. Most of the time, when she does this she is not contemplating the secrets of the universe. Her mind is just in lala-land.

 

 

Ethan Liu (he/him) – Counselor

Potomac, MD

Salisbury University, 2021

Camper:  6 years (2009-2011, 2013-2014, 2016)

Counselor: 4th year (2017, 2022, 2023)

After over four years working full time in the Esports entertainment industry, Ethan is looking for a change of pace. He is currently applying for Creative Director roles in the DMV and is excited for a change in career! In his free time, Ethan loves sports! Whether it is learning volleyball, coaching Track and Field, or being blown out in rec basketball games with fellow counselors David Ho, George Wu, and Justin Wu, Ethan loves to stay active.

Ethan loves everything about WMACS.  Ethan thinks that the years he spent as a counselor were possibly even better than the years he spent as a camper! Ethan heard about WMACS through some of his best friends, and made even more friends once at camp. Ethan hopes that campers will find WMACS every bit as fulfilling and meaningful as he does.

 

Calvin Tamulonis (he/him) – Counselor

Bethesda, MD

Salisbury University, 2023

Camper:  5 years (2015-2019, 2022) 

Counselor: 1st year (2023)

Calvin likes: Listening to music (especially kpop), Dancing to Kpop, Red Velvet (ultimate favorite best kpop group), bodyweight workouts, pushups, biking, Raspberries, Some anime, Hatsune Miku and other vocaloids, reference drawing his own posters, Star Wars, Spicy Food (the hotter the better), CHINESE FOOD FOR LIFE!, helping people (especially younger kids),  and of course WMACS.

Calvin fears: heights, fear of falling, deep water/ocean 

Calvin dislikes: drawing attention to himself, certain elementary school kids during my clinical field experience, and for the gamers ( losing the 50/50 D: and bot laners (adc “carries”)) 

This is my first year as a WMACS counselor and I am super excited to be able to continue being a part of the WMACS community. During my time as a camper, WMACS allowed me to step out of my comfort zone in a safe, understanding and supportive environment. One of my favorite memories of WMACS is the relationships and friendships I formed among my group mates and team members. I will never forget the experience of helping lead the Minions or 小黄人 during the team activities. I am very much looking forward to this summer, and am grateful to finally not having to worry about getting beamed by Clement in counselor vs. camper dodgeball 😀 

 

George Wu (he/him) – Counselor

Tysons, VA

University of Maryland College Park, 2020

Camper: 5 years (2009, 10, 14-16)

Counselor: 4th year (2017, 2018, 2022)

George graduated from UMD in 2020 and had been working in tech consulting before joining a finance startup in in late 2022. He spends his free time gaming, cooking, playing with his 2 kittens, and laying down wasting away the day watching Youtube. Apart from that, he still aspires to some day complete the 10,000 calorie challenge. 

He’s made it a personal goal for himself to get to know campers better this year, so don’t be afraid to come up and talk to him!

 

Justin Wu (he/him) – Counselor

Rockville, MD

University of Maryland, College Park – (Graduated: 2020)

Camper: 11 years (2006-2016)

Counselor: 5th year (2017-2019, 2022)

Justin is a graduate from the University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelors in Information Systems. Despite that degree, Justin to this day does not know exactly what an information system is and could not define it for you! Currently, he is working his first job at IBM Consulting. During his free time, Justin loves to exercise in the gym, play team sports, socialize through online gaming, eat food uncontrollably, and document his avid foodie life. 

As someone who has been active in the WMACS community for the past 17 years, Justin believes that camp has shaped his life in various aspects, including his friend group, sense of community, social skills, and much more! Justin believes that the relationships and skills learned at WMACS are everlasting and still make an impact on his character to this day! As a counselor, Justin found the experience so fulfilling that despite saying he’s in his last year every year (he has said this for the past 3 years), he keeps coming back!

 

David Ho (he/him) – Counselor

School: University of Maryland College Park, 2019

Work: Kite Pharma

Camper: 6 years (2010-2015)

Counselor: 6th year (2016-2019, 2022)

Hi everyone! My name is David, and I’m so excited to be on the counselor team again! I graduated from the University of Maryland in 2019 with a B.S. in Biochemistry and currently working at a biotech company in Maryland. I like to play basketball and I’m getting worse at Chinese yoyo with each passing year. When I’m bored, I like to play all kinds of video games and listen to my music obsession of the month. I’m looking forward to seeing old faces and meeting new faces at camp this year!

 

Jimmy Ho (he/him) – Counselor

Camper:  7 years

Counselor: 3rd year 

Jimmy has been working as a software engineer for almost two years now after graduating from the University of Maryland in 2021! In his free time, he loves lifting weights, playing volleyball, and playing basketball. He’s recently gotten into video editing. You can see some of his content on instagram @jimmylargelegs!

After being away from camp for a couple years, Jimmy is super excited to come back again as a counselor. He might not know many campers from last year, so don’t hesitate to say hi or chat with him about anything! Camp was a HUGE part of his childhood and he can’t wait to spread his love for camp with everyone this year.

 

Ephraim Su (he/him) – Media

Fullerton, CA

University of British Columbia, 2018

Camper: 4 years (2011, 2013, 2014, 2016)

Media: 1st year (2023)

Ephraim is currently in pilot school training to be a commercial pilot. He is a recent graduate of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. There he earned a degree in political science and a minor in economics. Ephraim enjoys binge watching Netflix, lifting weights and trying new restaurants. His favorite animal is a Panda.

Ephraim loves every aspect of WMACS from the amazing counselor team to all the wonderful campers! During his time as a camper, he has met some lifelong friends and made unforgettable memories with them.  Of all the activities in camp, Ephraim loves playing the Chinese Yo-yo the most. He looks forward to having an amazing time with all of you this summer!